Google brutally penalized scholarship link building technique

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

• 
  Jason Malone: They brutally penalised it? Do you have a source for this?
  
  You only listed two options (remove the page or promote and build links) but there`s also a third option: Just leave the page alone.
  
  Then the client can refer people to it as needed, but you don`t take on risk by building links to it.
  
  Tbh I wouldn`t mind a few schol links as part of a well rounded link profile
• 
  Ameet Chhimpa: Jason Malone Very correct to the greatest degree possible.
• 
  Ajay M Verma: Thanks jason...I got this impression after reading case-study of 10beasts. Thanks for the suggestions.
• 
  Ameet Chhimpa: Focus should be on user signal, meaning provide as much value as possible as Google won`t even penalize, except to give you rankings and quality authority for sure.
  
  Yes, you should be building local links around your region to signal Google that your site is authoritatively useful to people who are in the region by far.
  
  Above and beyond - Today, SEOs are never concerned about User Signals such as bounce rate, pageview sessions and repeat users coming to site, and user experience that`s more driven when a site is highly customized, responsive and beautifully designed.
  
  That`s what I have to say!
• 
  Ajay M Verma: Thanks for the detailed suggestion Ameet. I appreciate.
• 
  Ameet Chhimpa: Ajay M Verma Sure, dude.
• 
  Michael Martinez: What Google went after were the scholarship links on educational Websites. I think your friend should leave his scholarship page alone. Just get legitimate, editorially bestowed links from the kinds of Websites that would naturally, normally link to sites like his.
• 
  Ajay M Verma: Thanks. You are always a great help.