Political Search Engine Optimization: Abusing the Power of SEO to Influence People

Google Search rankings are determined by an algorithm, a mathematical formula that helps associate terms and concepts with the ultimate objective of providing an accurate search result. Yet, as anything done automatically, it is subject to intentional manipulation. This is the case for the latest SEO news break where republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is being targeted by a mixture of “bad chose of words” and search engine optimization consultants that want his image associated with the keyword “completely wrong”.

The Danger of using the wrong Keywords in Political Speech

It seems to be the case that Mitt Romney advisors have not being good at optimizing his speeches for the web and this has backfire. Every search engine optimization consultant knows that using keywords in a negative sense might associate a corporate image with the wrong idea if done incorrectly. “Negatives” are kind of complex keywords (phrases) for humans as it is, imagine what robots do when they encounter a keyword in a negative connotation? If I was Mitt Romney’s SEO guy I would thoroughly scan all his speeches to include more positive keywords that perhaps we would want to be associated with his online image.

The Political Power of Search Engine Optimization

It is kind of understood that most SEO consultants tend to be young and addicted to the online world… most of them are democrats. 1+1 = boom an explosion of negative keywords associated with the candidate they DO NOT want. Optimizing blogs to praise the opposition is not enough, as we learned… negative SEO is possible not only to sink rankings of the competition for high yielding keywords but also to associate the competition with “scam”, “gone wrong” and even “completely wrong”. How do they do it? Well, most SEO consultants have Google Plus, you just need to sign in with your account, search for the keyword “completely wrong” and simply hover over the images and give a “Plus One” vote. This keeps the images up in the rankings since you are literally “recommending it”.

Search Engine Optimization can be a powerful tool for political campaigns and every political ticket should have at least a search engine expert in its team to maximize efficiency.