europeforvisitors - 5:51 pm on Jun 5, 2006 (gmt 0)

These points just prove that even if you are doing well in google, you are at their mercy.

Sure, and if you own a hotel or restaurant, you may depend on traffic from Michelin, Mobil, or the automobile club guides. And if you write a book, it probably won't make the bestseller list unless it's featured in the major review media. So what? That's just how the world works. (If you can't get a Michelin star and THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW won't feature your novel, launch a PR campaign or advertise.)

Google will always be like they are now. They are just over engineered and that means the smallest change they make here or there can have devasting effects on where your site ranks.

Or maybe not. I suspect that most "over-engineering" is on the Webmaster/SEO side, not at Google's end. If your site is organic and has enough editorial diversity, a tiny Google change here and there may affect individual pages, but it shouldn't affect your site's referrals and traffic overall. (That isn't to say that #*$! can't happen now and then, with Google as with life in general.)