After reading a couple of recent articles, some directly saying that Google hates SEO's and others being more stealthy in their aspersions, the question has to be asked. Does Google really hate SEO's?

Well in this authors humble opinion, No! Google does not hate SEO's, or at least search engine optimisation performed by ethical SEO companies - what would be the point?

Sure make life difficult for people trying to manipulate the search engine results, but in terms of hating an industry, I would have to draw the line short of that (although perhaps some of our less industrious spam-friendly friends may need their wings clipping somewhat).

To be brutally honest, I can see no reason for Google, or any other search engine, to hate SEO's. Search engine optimisation, I would suggest, is one of the key reasons why search engines have become as effective as they currently are in refining their results.

We search engine marketeers, at the end of the day, want our campaigns to work and rely heavily on a ROI focussed service. For this reason, all aspects of the marketing mix have to be working in synergy, so relevance and targeting are fundamental aspects of all our campaigns. Essentially, this is what Google wants - good quality, relevant results.

Google have also provided a wealth of tools, aimed at providing marketeers and potential marketeers with sufficient information to promote their sites - whether it be guidelines, webmaster tools, API access or blogs. Surely such activity is a clear indication of support and not a case of trying to minimise the effect of would be search engine marketeers.

Above all, most search engine marketing agencies don't just offer SEO, they offer paid search (PPC) as well. Surely if the search engines annoy these agencies by attacking SEO, they run the risk of affecting paid search spend. Google, Yahoo and MSN work very closely with agencies as regards their paid search campaigns, so it is logical to assume that to alienate the SEO activity of an agency would surely impact on paid search as well. Too much of a financial risk I would have thought!

Ultimately, the question "Does Google really hate SEO's?" boils down to one key factor. What commercial benefits could there possibly be in curtailing SEO activity?

Peter Young - A search engine optimisation (SEO) professional with E-Gain New Media Ltd, who offer online marketing, pay-per-click management and consultancy and UK SEO solutions.