Why their thinking is wrong

I can't say that their idea of search engine optimization is wrong. If it suits them, that's fine. What I can say is wrong is the way they openly declare that certain search engine optimization methods, of which they disapprove, are unethical. To be unethical is to be immoral, or to be wrong in a moral sense. Even though they cannot explain what is morally wrong with any of the 'unethical' methods, they still make the claims, and they do their best to tarnish people who use them by declaring them to be unethical. That's unethical!

Because the engines disapprove of some search engine optimization methods, people who use them run a slight risk of having the website or page penalised. It would be unethical for a search engine optimizer to use the methods on clients' sites without the client knowing and accepting the risk. 'Ethical' SEOs agree with that, but they don't stop there. To them, any use of the methods is unethical - even if done with full knowledge of the risks involved. To them, it's a matter of principle - the methods that they disapprove of are unethical, and that's that.

An eye-opening example

I call this an "eye-opening" example (of the failure of 'ethical' seo) because of who it is that failed. I'm not going to divulge the person's name, so I will refer to him/her as male, which may or may not indicate the person's actual gender.

He is one of the most prominent of the self-styled 'ethical' SEOs, if not the most prominent. His prominence is due to several things:- (1) he is frequently paid to speak as a search engine optimization expert at seo conferences, (2) he is very active and visible in more than one SEO forum, (3) he produces a regular SEO newsletter which is read by thousands of people.