Reading the threat at WMW is frustrating. Can't seem to glean any real information or real insight.

A lot of chatters there say - just do nothing. Keep adding content and take your time. How much time do their clients have?

There's such a fundamental lack of definition of SEO, SEM, online marketing, etc. - and the specific roles and skills sets necessary for them all. I mean, really, if you insist that a website should be left alone and all you need to do is add content and that'll be that, then you are making some big assumptions. Forget assuming that doing nothing will help you. I want to focus on assuming that the content you write (the "good" content) is going to do the job - but do you know what job it's going to do?

It just seemed like a copout way of dealing with this Google SNAFU.

But all of this makes me wonder if Google is doing something more sinister: cornering the SEO/SEM market. Amid reports of lower-PPC spending, the market has been slamming Google's stock price. It's down $3 a share today. I wonder if Google is testing out filters on SEO - so they can corner SEO and add SEO services to their AdWords/AdSense. This sounds possible to me because now that Google is public, shareholders/board could be much more sensitive to Google's position. Google could be trying every which way to gain a strategic revenue advantage. Google can incorporate SEO package - SEO consulting - and actually guarantee that if websites follow their guidelines, then the sites can gain better natural rankings (maybe they put a Google-SEO'd-certified filter in place so that all sites SEO'd by Google get pushed to the top). I would imagine that way Google could even further ensure QC.

I mean.. am I being overly cynical or does this sound plausible... at least possible?