Drawing the Line: Using a National Tragedy for SEO Gain?

Something really bugged me tonight – I read a blog post on the blog site for a local company (who shall remain unnamed) focused on the recent tragedy that affected the Navy Seals. Their post’s primary focus was on the tragedy, highlighting the fact that many of the victims were from our area. They included links to a non-profit that supported the families of victims.

My first thought was that it seemed unnecessary to write such a post. And my next thought was that it seemed like they had written the article (using strong keywords that have recent worldwide usage), with the intent to boost their SEO juice. Maybe I’m thinking this as the company that wrote the article is an SEO company.

I’m not making an accusation but when a story is written that is irrelevant to your business, other than the fact that your city was the home for the victims, what is the purpose?  I don’t doubt that they are upset about the tragedy, but the story didn’t mention anything about a direct connection with any of the victims.

Thoughts?