Justin Bieber, Google, Rap Genius and Why This Headline Is Good SEO

The creators of Rap Genius awoke on Christmas morning to find a particularly large lump of coal in their stockings, courtesy of Google.

The search engine removed the lyrics site from its search ranks as punishment for attempting to game its algorithm through a strategy known as "growth hacking." As of Friday morning, Rap Genius still did not show up in a regular Google search (screenshot below), although its Twitter account and numerous stories detailing Google's actions did.

This situation shines a light on the murky world of search engine optimization, colloquially known as "SEO" or "growth hacking," and the value of search terms like "Justin Bieber." However, more importantly, it exposes the power Google has to make or break websites that rely on search traffic. Read more...