Even after all this, clients usually ask if there are any “tricks” that could be used to push up the ranking of their site. Derek Powazek gives a very good rant on this, but in short, I suggest one of the following replies:

“Using tricks is engaging in a “cold war” against Google. They don’t react well to it. Sooner or later, Google will plug the exploit. When they do so, they will usually force sites that used the trick to the bottom of search results as a punishment. Do you want that?“

“Google is useful because it delivers accurate, relevant search results. Why do you want your site to be the exception?“

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