Most modern search engines examine a number of factors when determining a website's rank within the results:  keyword saturation, age of the site, linkage, etc.  From almost the time search engine crawlers started ranking websites using algorithms and computer programs, people started trying to find ways to trick the engines into assigning them heavier weight than they actually deserved.  As search technology continues to improve, those tactics will start paying off less and less.

Google, in response to questions asked at SES Paris, has published a brief overview of its handling of linkage and page ranking.

According to the post, Google has spent considerable time refining and improving its algorithms that determine the weight given to links.  The company has assigned more of its people to work on the issue and significant strides have been made in detecting seedy link spamming techniques.  Google also touched the topic of link baiting, digg, and other socially-driven websites.  Their advice is the same as mine has always been:  focus on content and plan for the long-term.

While a few links here and there will likely increase your SERP rankings, manipulative tactics will ultimately hurt your website more than they will help.  If you need a few good, trusted links that can be acquired relatively simply, check out my previous post Four… Six… Eight Links For Your New Domain.