mat - 7:52 am on Sep 28, 2002 (gmt 0)

No, he's not OT. He is addressing succinctly the - fundamentally very simple - fact that there are no shortcuts. Don't optimise your site, don't even attempt to crack the algo, just always remember the very simple fact that a well designed, well respected and enriching site is ALL that ANYONE, Googlebot included, cares about. Build it and they will come. This is not to say some slime will temporarily ooze in through the back door, but it's ephemeral.

I've never seen such a heated and pain-filled response to an update. Understandable when you see income threatened. But, to be frank, just tough up and take your lumps. I would be surprised if most calls of 'foul' end up as anything more than 'my reading of what's needed worked just great for a while there - it doesn't now, and that's not fair'.

'Google have just attempted to improve their results, and they didn't notify me beforehand'? Wise up and start typing. Mat