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PageRank wasnt bad. But the 'game-able' mechanism went on way too long.. and it was compounded when Google "went to bed" with SEO firms

> it was compounded when Google "went to bed" with SEO firms

What does this comment refer to?

It just seems like Google was incentivised to have a relationship with SEO firms to make page rank work.

I doubt that. Google is Google because it was/is better than others at finding relevant information.