Google Page Rank & Link Popularity

Ever since the Google Page Rank came out most of my sites that were doing well based on the page elements involved have lost positioning. At least on Google. I know my thinking has been, how can I be expected to link to a competing site or vice verse?

After all we work hard to get traffic and to put a link off the site is madness, right? Well, the system is what it is and there will always be those of us who want to find the way around the rules. Sure these things will work for a short time but Google is working night and day to mess with us.

Reciprocal links for example, IE. you link to me and I will link to you. Google will find a way to map out all the sites that only have reciprocal links and shame on us for trying to fool them, right? Then there's the guys that will offer one way links in exchange for the same from you. Good idea, let's trick Google again into thinking we earned this link and that it was not manipulated in anyway. It works for now but we are still trying to trick the search engines.

Get text links with your keywords in them, Purchase a keyword link from a high PR site, the list of tricks or strategies is huge and I don't feel like going into them anyway.

Here's an idea? Build websites with good content and resources that people will want to link to freely and without a bribe. An idea a little before it's time but the time is coming.