taking advantage of Google's idea that "number of links to your page == relevancy to the topic."

This has been the primary tactic of Search Engine Optimization firms for quite some time (e.g. backwards link farms). There's no better way to get your website to come up first for something on google than to get people to link to you. And the quickest and easiest way to do it: Post comments in popular blogs with a link to your site. I did this for my website for those Orbitz games and was #1 for that search in no time. Not to mention, as a result of those backwards links I also get spidered over 15 times a day by Google. I agree with you that Google still has a lot to iron out as far as backwards links go.

- trs