SEO is a wondrous marketing tool which, when done right, can bring new customers to your website, increase conversions, reduce your cost-per-lead, and ultimately make your business more profitable.
With great power, comes a great Google Bomb
Google Bombs are exceptional SEO campaigns that showcase the true power of this essential modern marketing tactic. Never underestimate the potential of proper link building and on-page optimisation.
Or you might end up like these guys:
5. Micro-what?
The Microsoft Google Bomb is where it all started. Considered to be the first SEO blunder/stroke of genius (depending on how you view things), an unknown web master managed to optimise the homepage of the Microsoft website with a slightly different keyword research flavour. When someone, for some reason, searched for “more evil than Satan himself”, Microsoft’s homepage would appear in the search engine’s top ranking position.
4. George dub-ya
Microsoft may have been the first, but George W. Bush was definitely the biggest. Around the time that Bush ran for his second term of presidency, Google searches that matched the phrase “Miserable Failure” would return Bush’s White House biography page as the number one search result. It seems Google’s algorithm was fairly accurate even before Hummingbird.
3. Scientology
Hacktivist group Anonymous not only possesses the skills to hack accounts and other top secret government, religious and corporate documents, they also do great SEO. In 2008, they hacked the Church of Scientology’s website, did some standard on-page optimisation and BAM! The church’s site ranked at the top of Google for the term “Dangerous Cult”. This what some in-depth keyword research and effective SEO can do.
2. Creed
In the modern era of music, where heavy beats and auto tune have made it easy to become a star, artists and bands still, somehow, manage to cop backlash *cough – Nickelback – cough*. But no band will ever – past, present, future, and in all undiscovered dimensions – be as bad as Creed. In 2001, when the rock band made its way on to main stream radio, searching for the term “worst band in the world” did not exactly show results for Creed… but Google did offer users an obvious suggestion.
1. Chuck Norris knows the last digit of Pi
Understanding keywords and phrases that customers use for searching on Google is an essential part of a content marketing strategy, and heavily influences site visibility. And this one is a great example. An enthusiast who seeks to find the mythical enigma known as Chuck Norris would typically search “find Chuck Norris”. If users hit the “I’m feeling lucky” button on Google, they are taken to a webpage that displays the following message:
This goes to show that web design and a user-friendly experience are just as important as SEO.
Although these are some fun and insightful examples, they show just how valuable and powerful SEO can be. With suitable on-page optimisation, backed by sound keyword research, credible link building, and an integrated content marketing strategy, your site can also experience the growth and exposure like these Google Bombs… but, you know, in a more positive way.
To find out more about effective SEO and marketing strategies for your website, contact Assemblo today. Phone (03) 9079 2555 or email [email protected]