Well, it sure didn't take Google long to respond - with actions, not words - to the New York Times story that came out last week about JC Penney's alleged "black hat" SEO techniques. According to today's Wall Street Journal, Google has modified its search engine algorithms to prevent websites from using JC Penney's techniques to game the system. (See Google Revamps to Fight Cheaters, Wall Street Journal, Monday, Feb. 28, 2011).

It will be interesting to see just how effective Google's changes are, and how much they impact the page ranks of sites that heretofore had relied upon "white hat" SEO techniques. If you rely on your site for new leads, new business, etc. (and who doesn't these days), you need to pay careful attention to your site's rankings over the next few weeks to see if there are any changes resulting from Google's algorithm mods. Our guess is that the more extensive your link building efforts, the more likely this will effect you.