I have done a little research and, yes, Google are seriously cutting out the crap, so to speak... even it it's not crap to you and me.

Basically, anything that remotely looks like being a link to another site just for that purpose is being removed by Google.

Worse, if you upset Google in this way, they'll take a look at EVERYTHING else you do.  They check the IP and domain registrations you are involved with and lower your ranking on all of them.

So, the guys who know these things are advising something new to get around the problems.

It's called 'Multi-Layer Linking'.

They spoke of this in a workshop earlier this year as a suggested way of linking but now, it seems, we will HAVE to link in this way in order to survive Google's latest slap.

Basically, link wheels and link pyramids are involved where you have many 'lesser' sites protecting your main 'money' site.

Your outer sites have all the links going to and from them using conventional methods like blog commenting, article directories etc. which point to your upper level sites which can use Squidoo, hubpages, wordpress, livejournal, weebly, blogger (the site that I had closed down by Google), blogsome, glogster etc. etc., then you link, one way, to your second level which point to your main money site.  This level must not be free sites but your own domains.

So if Google close down the site(s) that have the 'dirty' links, it won't matter as your money site has all the quality sites associated with it.  These have higher PR value and the money site is not associated with them directly.

Google can, however, trace back to see what your game is so, you use a webhosting company that doesn't use the same IP address for each site you own.  You use an account that gives you a different ID each time.  This will prevent any search engine tracing your links back to you, personally.

These hosts are called 'SEO Hosts' and DO NOT give you the same 'Class C IP Address' for each domain you create.

Apparently, Google is going to clamp down hard on sites that link to others for that purpose, big time.  At least now we can all prepare to alter the way we currently do things in order to stay safe.

I'll update with any latest news when I find out more this week.