I said from time to time, I’d highlight some bad search results I come across. Here’s a killer — a top ranking for us national anthem on Google that when you click on it brings up random web sites that have nothing to do with the song. Behind the scenes, there’s an Ask.com connection. Let’s dive in.

Here’s the listing:

For those who can’t view images, I’m pointing at the fifth listing, which says:

gbjann.com Get an auto loan that’s right for you. Compare auto loan rates of top lenders. … Loan type : Sort by : State : City : New auto, 48 mo. New auto, 60 mo. … gbjann.com/anthem/history.htm

How on earth has Google decided that this page should be among the most relevant for a search on “us national anthem” out of 5 million possible matches? Let’s do some digging.

It appears according to the Internet Archive that until last year, this WAS a page that was about America’s national anthem. It shows a copy of the page from as far back as October 2000 on that topic:

And, as late as July 2008, the page still seems to have looked the same way.

Read the full article from Search Engine Land >>>

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