It is hindering to see web developers and SEO 'experts' still attempting to trick Google with their illegal search engine optimisation tactics. Illegal SEO tactics such as keyword spamming will do more damage to your website's standing on Google than good.
Recent Hitwise website statistics suggests Google's Australian search engine market share is a massive 88%. Therefore it is clear that impressing Google will assist your website's rise in search engine rankings. The fact that every tenth website visit is to Google means if Google rates your website highly, you will almost certainly receive referrals which could lead to crucial business.
This question is directed to those web developers and SEO 'experts' who feel dumping a bunch of keywords into an obscure area on a web page (keyword spamming/stuffing) will result in positive search engine results.
Technically, Google spiders will see these keywords. Technically, these spiders will recognise these keywords as keywords regardless of the fact that they may be totally irrelevant to services offered by the website. Technically, your website's ranking may rise in the short-term as a result of this tactic.
The reality is that Google has developed advanced spiders which will detect such keyword spamming. Also, Google has developed the largest network of 'dobbers', allowing spotters of keyword spamming to report spam to Google very easily.
There are many examples of Google banning websites from appearing on the search engine for a certain period of time. A certain multi-national car manufacturing company was caught recently, and as a result, it did not receive a Google referral to their website for 6 months! For 6 long months, this company was unable to reach the widest worldwide audience due to an ill-advised decision to keyword spam.
Google is market leader due to the fact that it is the most relevant search engine. Their rules and guidelines are in place to ensure their relevance is maintained.
For example; if you were a business analyst, you wouldn't want a climate change company to appear when someone searches ‘business analyst'. If keyword spamming was allowed, this could be possible if the climate change company dumped the words ‘business analyst' on their website. The person searching for a business analyst would be upset because their search returned a climate change company, while the business analyst will feel dudded that they lost potential business.
As this example shows, Google's rules are there for very valid reasons, and everybody looking for SEO must target SEO companies that follow Google guidelines and optimise within Google's valid boundaries.
google does have the tools to catch such cheats. i had an experience in my line of work where a furniture supplier was stuffing keywords onto their page. they were using the same colour as the background to dump well-known brands. lo and behold, you go on their page and that brand is not even supplied. anyway, we reported them. so did our customers. they haven't appeared on google since and that was a few months back.
I agree keyword stuffing shouldn't be allowed. However, I feel Google's monitoring tools are still underdeveloped and many people in my line of work are getting away with it. I know they're screwed if they get caught. I've reported them for this reason. But as yet, no action by Google, and my cheating competitors are ahead of me in rankings.