The use of questionable techniques has been going on for years. From the perspective of the Search Engines, they have a "product" to deliver. Their "product" is the integrity of the search match. It's that simple.

When they see the integrity of their product compromised, they react. (note, in part, the Florida update..)

I have found that not playing the over-optimization game, providing rich and meaningful content, and still keeping an eye on the best practices of keyword density, effective site structure and other specifics that can be left for another time has enabled the vat majority of my clients sites to achieve and retain decent ranking based on respective keywords.

Quite simply, you can't go wrong by playing well with others and adhering to the rules.

Cheers,

David

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David A. Grant
ReWritables Professional Web Services
www.ReWritables.net
"Dare to Dream"