Before we discuss this topic further, let us first know what lies behind the word Google Bomb?

For a lay man, it can be attributed as a collective effort to link to a website with a key phrase that helps a site to artificially elevate its ranking on search engines for that particular searched ‘term’. Google bombing relies much upon the value of Page Rank. Usually, Google bombs are motivated politically, done as pranks and some are promoted on its own. We all agree to the fact that to place a website on top rank on Google or on any other search engine, we would require as many people as possible to link to our page using anchor text. So by using this technique, ideally we can say that Google bombing creates a positive effect and theoretically getting the site listed at the top of search engine for targeted keywords would be possible. Application of such technique is aimed at manipulating search results.

Google-bombing is done purportedly where linking a wide array of web pages to one site via a specific set of keywords has been the followed procedure. The process is also referred as a site wide linking and is considered more effectual way of building links, utilized by majority of the web masters. These are normally found in the footer or sidebar of a site.

Does footer links with same anchor text work?

What does Google do if it sees hundreds of links on a site and many of them present in the footer? Does Google penalize for that?

One has to be very careful with linking, as Tedd said in general, “Eliminating, or lowering the number of internal links in the footer is worth a try. Also note if there are many repetitions of an important keyword in the anchor text anywhere on the page. When that’s done to excess, it does seem like it hurts rather than helps.”

If we talk about footer link optimization practices, it is a common observation that anyone, belonging to any niche, is building links in the footer section of their sites. Furthermore, some over enthusiasts web masters optimize footer links with keyword rich anchor texts also. Also, when Google declared that they would bring down the value of site wide links, we have seen people experiencing a slight drop in their PR. So, are site wide links in the footer section really helping in case of SEO?

According to what we have achieved and observed till now, we can not deny the fact that, in the past,  it has definitely shown good results in respect to SEO. Although, over-use of links with same anchor text makes a site look clumsy for a visitor.

What effects do site wide links have on SEO?

As per the observation, the real advantage of site wide linking can be seen for the sites that are established, which means the sites that already have decent amount of indexed existing backlink. Sitewide linking done to an established site doesn’t appear out-of-the-blue to the search engines as existing links indicate quality content as well. Relying predominantly on site wide links is not an idea appreciated in SEO world, and trust us, Google is going to hate it. And this should particularly be avoided in the case of a relatively new website.

One should always keep one thing in mind that “no negative results” does never mean a “positive result”.Site wide linking is considered effective if, for a moment, we do not give value to its impact on search engines. It encourages users to feel secured by making the site look more consistent. But if we take SEO into account, the impact of site wide linking is dubious.

It is a common belief that site wide linking acts as a ranking activator and thus it helps stimulate websites’ popularity in the web world. One can not be very specific about results it gives, it helps or it hurts instead. According to some, site wide linking have never hurt their sites but it didn’t help them either. Where as others say that it had adversely affected their site. So, do not pay big bucks for sitewide linking in a hope that it will shoot up your rankings in Google. But if it is offered cheap or free, taking 5-10 links is not a bad idea though.