jdancing - 3:28 pm on Jan 5, 2010 (gmt 0)

It depends on the site, topic and keywords he is ranking for. Massive link campaigns can work wonders in google, I have seen it and still see it. They also can collapse like a house of cards if every link is not natural.

When the collapse happens rinse and repeat. This is not a cheap strategy, and if/when it does work money to cover link expenses needs to be recovered quickly.

Anyhow, I think your suggestion is good. He needs to wait and see for signs of movement in google before spending more money.