Wikibombing refers to the use of search engine optimization (SEO) techniques for the purpose of maximizing the search engine results ranking of topics covered in Wikipedia. This may have the effect of elevating their prominence in major search engines. The term is a reference to the well-established practice of Google bombing.

Creating or expanding articles, linking them with templates, and nominating them for DYK are standard Wikipedia practices. In the case of noted SEO attempts, Google bombs, or other political controversies—in which coverage of the SEO attempt might be confused with its perpetuation—these practices require caution to avoid the appearance of promotion.

The following actions may create the appearance of promotion, both within the Wikipedia community and elsewhere:

• excessively detailed coverage on a topic (such as citing and linking dozens of trivial references, rather than a representative sample of major coverage)
• creating multiple navigation templates or portals that link to an article, and adding these to multiple unrelated article
• submitting multiple related articles for inclusion on Wikipedia main page (e.g., in the "Did you know ...", "Today's featured article", or "Selected anniversaries" areas).

Such actions, undertaken unilaterally and without discussion on an appropriate talkpage, may leave the community unsure of your motivations. Before pursuing the above, editors are encouraged to seek broad input from talk pages, noticeboards, relevant WikiProjects, or (in the case of DYK nominations) the DYK talk page, to determine the boundary between legitimate coverage and promotion.

When encountering the apparent promotion of a topic by another editor or editors, it is important to assume good faith. It's natural to want to link to articles that you've been working hard on, and editors may fall into the trap of promotion without realizing it. When dealing with a political controversy or suspected SEO attempt, discuss the apparent promotion with the involved editors and, if necessary, seek broad input on talk pages, noticeboards and WikiProjects. Keep in mind that none of the actions listed above proves that the editor has a conflict of interest or is editing for political or commercial reasons; these behaviors are often part of normal editing and in fact are sometimes encouraged. Editors who behave as described above often have no intent to boost search rankings and may well be unaware of the effects of their actions.

• WP:Activist
• WP:Advocacy
• WP:Advertising
• WP:Coatrack
• WP:DYK#Selection_criteria ("Articles and hooks that focus unduly on negative aspects of living individuals or promote one side of an ongoing dispute should be avoided.")
• nofollow
• WP:NPOV
• WP:Paid editing
• WP:Search engine optimization
• WP:Soap