Links on spammy websites can't hurt your site.

I'm sure some of you will disagree with me. But when it comes to SEO, there is really nothing you can do that will hurt your website. There are definitely things that you can do that won't help it, but the worst they can do is complete neutrality.

Here's why. If you could sabatoge a website by building a crapload of spammy backlinks to it, couldn't you easily torpedo each of your competitors? Yep. Would Google like it if someone found out they could do this, exploited it, and completely ruined the integrity of their index? No.

I am always seeing posts that warn you not to build links from spammy directories using automated submission software, and other similar practices. While this type of link-building is probably going to be recognized by Googlebot's algorithms as "unnatural", it CAN'T harm your website's rank in the index. All it would take is for one savvy marketer to figure that out, spread the word, and the next thing you know, SEO companies would become battleships trading heavy artillery fire with their clients' competitors.

Tell me why I'm wrong. I'd love to hear it.