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I think what everybody is saying here is that they can see the same things, and that in reality the answer is to take a calculated risk knowing that the worst case scenario is a clean up task, but...the bit that has me chewing my arm is the fact that this advice is the exact opposite of almost every mainstream sites advice (including everything on this site). What I have yet to find is a single honest guide, because the fact is most of them are guides that tell you how to rank a site in the world of fairy dust and magic, but in the real world, it is very rare that this is ever going to work.

By the way guys the problem here isn't that it is one or two bad apples, it is all of them, every single page in the top ten, and more beyond that first page. There is a lot of real genuine content simply not ranking because of the sheer weight of spam tactics, it is not an isolated instance, and not just related to just this one keyword. I can show you the same thing on keyword after keyword.

The real frustration here is that I provide a genuine service, and have genuine real content that I work hard to produce, I gain natural links now and then and do rank - but these guys generate more revenue than me because they spam...why should I not just follow suit?

Take a look at this site http://www.bafhs.org.uk/ in the footer - do you see the image for the developer of the site in the bottom right? Now view source, it is a link with exact match anchor text for the keyword hidden with an image.

But...this makes a mockery of everything does it not? That one single search result "web design Bristol" on Google UK clearly demonstrates that footer links, directory spam, cloaked anchor text and other tactics can and do get you ranked. Genuine real valuable content is not able to outrank those spam sites...the evidence is there! It is plain to see. If that is the case, then is it not time to just accept that in some niches the principles discussed on this site are hogwash and you need to fight fire with fire?

Bristol is my home city Web design bristol, Bristol web design, web designer bristol, all have the same issue.  I am also not currently targeting that keyword due to the state of the first page results, it is just an example of a keyword that I refuse to invest in because spammers are winning.

I assume you can see exactly what I am saying? I can demonstrate the same in almost every vertical I target, I mainly work in the B2B space and this is SO common. Keep in mind this is not one competitor, that search phrase is at least the top 20 results all responsible for spam tactics, look at the inbound link profiles!

Sorry guys it is the #3 spot with the cloaked mass footer links

Using Google UK search for web design bristol the** #1 and #2 **spot are populated by companies that are ranked with footer links, directory spam, suspect links and other tactics. The #2 spot is even using cloaked anchor text in most of his footer links. The rest of the first page do not fair much better, it is generally a bit of a mess!

The problem is you guys are going to tell me that they will lose in the end, that I should ignore it and carry on, but the problem is these sites have been there for years, those links and those tactics are standing the test of time and in a competitive B2B niche it is hard work to push forward with quality content and valuable information when people can just spam and cloak year after year and outrank you...

I know for a fact that if you search for SEO Bristol that several of the top five guys are using private blog networks, not even very clearly ones at that...seriously, how can we all sit here with a straight face adviding people that content is king while it clearly is not!

That became more of a rant than I intended it to

Using Google UK search for web design bristol the** #1 and #2 **spot are populated by companies that are ranked with footer links, directory spam, suspect links and other tactics. The #2 spot is even using cloaked anchor text in most of his footer links. The rest of the first page do not fair much better, it is generally a bit of a mess!

The problem is you guys are going to tell me that they will lose in the end, that I should ignore it and carry on, but the problem is these sites have been there for years, those links and those tactics are standing the test of time and in a competitive B2B niche it is hard work to push forward with quality content and valuable information when people can just spam and cloak year after year and outrank you...

I know for a fact that if you search for SEO Bristol that several of the top five guys are using private blog networks, not even very clearly ones at that...seriously, how can we all sit here with a straight face adviding people that content is king while it clearly is not!

That became more of a rant than I intended it to