[Cthulhu_]

That's the gist of it. SEO is quantity over quality, you may get plenty of visits but it'll be low value; bots, people idly or accidentally clicking links, etc. Not potential customers, unless your website's primary revenue stream is ad impressions, in which case it doesn't matter much as long as they're views that the advertisers will pay for.

[spaceman_2020]

It does work pretty well for consumer brands and B2Bs focused on cheap, low-value, high volume plays.

The problem I see is SaaS and B2B businesses using the same playbook as a skincare brand for their content. That just doesn't work.

In OP's case, their content should have skipped written content altogether and focused more on podcasts and videos where they discuss specific problems they solve, even interviewing clients. Written content should have focused more on case studies and should have been used only to prop up the sales pitch.

The rest of the marketing budget should have been spent on sponsored listings on all these agency search websites and placements on relevant startup/small business podcasts.