Since today is officially Blue Monday, we thought we’d write about something a little fun to brighten up this miserable January day!
Of course, as a digital marketing agency, SEO is incredibly important to us. For us, SEO is all about client’s sites ranking on Google, and ensuring that browsers then become buyers.
But it turns out that SEO might be being used for other purposes too… Welcome to the intriguing world of Celebrity SEO conspiracy theories.
(NB: All the below theories are just alleged: this is just a bit of fun for Blue Monday!)
So, what are celebrities supposedly using SEO for?
Of course, SEO rankings are important for celebrities just as they are for any brand. But when we talk about celebrity SEO conspiracy theories, we’re actually referring to celebrities who secretly use SEO trickery to bury stories about themselves on the internet. The best way to explain it is to take a look at some examples…
The Disney “Frozen” SEO theory
This is probably the original celebrity SEO conspiracy theory. For years, rumours have persisted that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen when he died, as he wanted to preserve his body so that he could be brought back to life once the science had been developed. For a long time, a Google search for the term “Disney Frozen” would bring up articles about this rumour.
So what did the Disney corporation do to try and bury the rumour? If conspiracy theories are to be believed, they created the smash hit film, Frozen. So now, all the search engine results refer to the film frozen, with no hint of the cryogenic story in sight.
SEO conspiracists also point out that the title “Frozen” goes against the usual pattern of naming Disney films. Usually they will feature the names of the characters: “Sleeping Beauty”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Pocahontas”, “Mulan”, “Snow White”, etc. So following this pattern, it stands to reason that ‘Frozen’ should really have been called “Elsa and Anna”… which begs the question, why did the Disney corporation choose to call it ‘Frozen’..?
Taylor Swift and the great ‘jet’ cover up
If recent conspiracy theories are to be believed, Taylor Swift seems to know how to use SEO to her advantage.
Back in 2022, sustainability-driven marketing agency Yard published a report about which celebrities were the “worst private jet CO2 emission offenders.” It was revealed that Taylor Swift was at the top of the list, having taken 170 flights on her private jet since the start of the year, with an average flight time of 80 minutes, and her shortest flight clocking in at 36 minutes. Yard’s research indicated that her total flight emissions from that year (which, at the time of writing, was only just two-thirds of the way through) were already over 8,000 tons, which is at least 1,000 times higher than the average person’s annual carbon emissions.
At a time where climate change is near the top of most people’s list of concerns, being named as the worst offender wasn’t the right type of publicity for Taylor Swift. And to make it worse, a Google search for any phrase that contained the words “Taylor Swift Jet” would bring up this story.
Fast forward to the beginning of October 2023 though, and the search results for the phrase “Taylor Swift jets” suddenly looked very different. Why? Because that week, Taylor and a group of her famous friends such as Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were spotted at the New York Jets game to watch Taylor’s football-player boyfriend Travis Kelce. This garnered so much attention that it immediately became the news story that appeared in the search engine results for phrases relating to “Taylor Swift jet”.
Of course, no-one will ever know if Taylor went to a Jets game specifically to shift the SEO for “Taylor Swift jets,” but what is true is that interest in that search became the highest it’s ever been on Google Trends. Not only are the search results upended, but now TikTok videos about the “genius” move are getting half a million views.
Did Taylor Swift really attempt to draw search engine attention to the fact that she saw the Jets play rather than news that she reportedly took scores of private jet flights in 2022? Britney Muller, a marketing and machine-learning consultant based in New York, posted on X that the move was ‘a PR Masterclass’. “It almost feels like she’s the queen on the chessboard,” Muller said. “It’s a possible theory, and if it’s just a wild coincidence, it’s a wild coincidence, but it could also be one of the most calculated PR stunts of all time.”
Selena Gomez gives new meaning to the word “single”
Lastly, let’s take a look at the Selina Gomez “single” theory. SEO conspiracy theorists point out that Selena’s relationship status has long been something that her fans are fascinated by, and as a result, “Selena Gomez single” is a common search term.
Allegedly, Selena Gomez decided to capitalise on this fascination, whilst also attempting to pivot unwanted attention away from her love life. With this in mind, she supposedly released a new song called ‘Single Soon’. And now, when people search ‘Selena Gomez Single’, they will be redirected to Selena’s new music. Which some might say is a move of marketing genius!
The power of SEO
As any digital marketer knows, SEO is a powerful thing. But if any of these conspiracy theories are actually true, it takes the power of SEO to a whole new level!
Get in touch to see how you can harness the power of SEO today. Whether you’re wanting to get your website ranking, or hoping to cover up a story about you being cryogenically frozen, we’ve got your back.