JC Penny managed to absolutely own the #1 Google position for a huge number of consumer items.  How?  By hiring an SEO company that used so called ‘black hat’ SEO techniques.

Then Google’s new algorithm took hold and they took a slight dip.   Then Google learned about how they were managing their SEO and manually intervened… essentially burying them from search engine results.

A lesson in why to avoid SEO practices or vendors that seem too good to be true.  A must-read for all site owners, marketing professionals and we folks alike:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13search.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1