SEO has changed a lot over the years. Years ago SEO was a big game. It was about having your website properly structured, stuffing as many keywords in as possible and creating or buying garbage backlinks.

As Google's search engine and AI has improved traffic no longer comes from SEO as we used to know it. Today content is and engagement is king.

I think two phrases I often hear which wrap this up nicely are "every company is a media company" which is something Gary Vee says a lot. The second thing is content is king which is more of a general statement.

I would focus less on actively trying to create links and more on trying to engage with people in your niche or community. Create valuable content, educate and inform people. Be active on social media and be in front of communities who are interested in your product or what your doing and the backlinks will come naturally.

Youtube is king for SEO. It's very easy to rank highly on Google by answering questions that your niche or community wonders about. You should also be trying to guest blog or be a guest on relevant podcasts, be active in forums within your niche, etc.

All this will lead to you being shown at the top of Google[.