The first such allegations were raised when the website run by Dan Savage named “SpreadingSantorum.com” showed on top of the SERP on any search by the name of Santorum. According to Santorum’s supporters, the website portrays a distorted and distasteful image of Santorum and sullies his apparently pristine image.
According to experts, intentional manipulation of the SERP for the purpose of “image-jacking” is usually termed as a Google bomb. Supporters alleged that a Google bomb was used to take websites making adverse reports on Santorum to the top of the search page when anybody searched with Rick Santorum’s last name.
The head of Google’s global communications, however, maintains that the algorithms choose their results on objective criteria and it is the same in this event.
Stricker said that “There definitely are people who are finding this to be the best answer to their question, and they are indicating this by either clicking on this result or linking to this result as the best answer to that question,” reacting to allegations of manipulation of a Google bomb being used to toplist SpreadSantorum.com.
A reputation management expert, Kenneth Wisnefski, told Fox News that “The more attention such sideshow distractions receive only takes away from politician’s ability to get their message out.”
The latest threat to the presidential race seems to be a new website that depicts Mitt Romney in poor light.
However a Google representative categorically denied any Google bomb, and said the new SpreadingRomney.com site, run by Jack Shepler as a comic rebuttal to the more serious SpreadingSantorum.com was naturally gaining popularity.
The Google representative informed SearchEngineLand.com, a leading site on search engine algorithms and conduct, that “This site has been live for about a month and has attracted a fair amount of attention both on TV and online, and Google’s algorithmic rankings are reflecting that fact.”
The one that seems to be on the horizon is SpreadingGingrich.com, which has made its appearance and asks guests to “submit your definition of gingrich and take your shot at internet immortality.”
In response to questions raised about SpreadingSantorum.com, the head of Google’s Global Communications, Stricker said that Google often gets requests from political figures and other celebrities to remove certain sites from the search engine result’s page, but Google does not comply with such requests unless someone was breaking the law or inciting violence.