To my moral standard, all of this is manipulative if the intention is to manipulate the Google ranking instead of seeing an improved Google ranking as a result

To my moral standard, all of this is manipulative if the intention is to manipulate the Google ranking instead of seeing an improved Google ranking as a result of delivering better service to the visitor. This does of course not imply that these things can be proven, which implies that no action can be taken. Not everything that is immoral is punishable.