Legitimate Google-bombing?

Wed Apr 21 2004 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

So, I just got out of the concurrent session entitled, "Gatekeepers of the Web: The Hidden Power of Search Engine Technology" here at CFP 2004. One thing that was mentioned quite a bit was the process of "Google-bombing". (or "search-engine spamming" in a world where search services are competitive)

One question I would have liked to ask is, "Is their such thing as legitimate google-bombing?" That is, what if I know a page exists, and that it should be the first (or close to first) entry in the search results for a query?

For example, there is a great band from Olympia, Washington called Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes. If you do a Google search for this phrase (with or without quotes) like the following:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22veronica+lipgloss+and+the+evil+eyes%22

this band's official web site does not appear in the first page of search results (didn't check other pages).

So, how does someone go about correcting this? Well, I introduce legitimate google-bombing:

Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes
Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes
Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes
Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes
Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes

And yes, I've already attempted to add this site to the Google crawl.

UPDATE (): Check the comments for another example of legitimate Google-bombing and Seth F. has just released a report on the JewWatch example.

Posted by joebeone at Abril 21, 2004 02:35 PM