He didn't say "hiring SEO consultants is bullshit". He said "SEO is bullshit". Those things I listed are part of SEO.

And, FWIW, you can do ANYTHING without paying ANY consultants. File your tax return, sue somebody, build a bridge. You don't need a professional-- all you need is the time to self-educate.

With SEO, the questions are: "How easy is it to learn the SEO stuff I need to know?" and "How important is SEO to my business?"

Tony, please correct me if I'm wrong - but I think he was just advocating some simple best practices that improve SERP rankings NOT paying SEO consultants.

True 'nuff. And the OP was not attacking SEO consultants-- he was attacking SEO.

Sure, if you already know all of those things, and can do keyword research, etc... Many small business owners don't and can't. Hence the need for a service.