Google Webmaster, Matt Cutts gave some great insight in regards to this topic and we’d thought we’d give you some basic pointers on the positives of SEO.
First off, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which really means trying to make sure that your pages are well represented within search engines.
Positive White-Hat Methods to SEO
Crawl-able Pages |You need to your pages to be accessible- you want people to be able to find them just by clicking on links and thus working the same way with Search Engines being able to follow the links as well.
Correct Keywords | If you’re using industry jargon or lingo that not everyone uses, then a good SEO will help establish the keywords you should be using.
Usability | Ensure the design of the site is good (that’s good for users and search engines)
Faster Site | Google uses site speed in rankings but if you can make your site faster that will better the user experience as well
So to answer the question, Is SEO Spam, the answer is No. SEO is not spam. SEO can be very useful and helpful when integrated from the Architecture all the way to optimizing for your ROI (return on investment). SEO can also can be overused and abused, so finding a qualified SEO is key.
“Search Engine Optimization is a valid way to help people find what they are looking for via Search Engines,” says Matt Cutts.
The problem for Google is they want well indexed and findable pages that are authoritative and the problem for websites is they want to be found. It is kind of like the sea and the tide hitting the rocks. It takes a lot of sea (Google) and some big strong rocks (websites) to stay at the top of the Google SERP results.