so i have a web design firm and, when i decided i need to offer seo services i originally went with an seo reseller company.

i decided to try them out on myself so i gave them 4 keywords to rank for and tried them for about 6 months.

when they started, our website was in google oblivion for those 4 keywords. after 6 months some keywords are on page 1 and some at the top of page 2. the ones on page 1 are the ones i also optimized for by putting the keyword in a footer link in all my clients' sites.

when i look over what they did they either wrote cheesy articles that link back to me and posted them in random places or they commented on people's blogs linking back to me. but it seemed to work. at least to get me from oblivion to page 2.

now it seems to me these methods are discouraged here but they seem to do at least some good. any thoughts or comments on this?