[gk1]

Do I get quality inquiries from my site: Yes.

Would I pay for SEO: No.

SEO is not the only way to get traffic to your site. Most of my traffic coming to my site comes from my blog, where I write 1-2 articles per month. I try to make the posts interesting and insightful to the type of crowd that would include my potential clients (startups).

An added benefit of blogging is that your name will start to get recognized as an expert in your field (assuming your articles are good), which will play in your favor when you're talking with prospects.

[dotnick]

Interesting.

All the replies I got so far (both on HN and /r/freelance) seem to be negative.

Do you have an idea what makes a difference in your case? Is it your niche? Maybe, as you said, the fact that you establish yourself as an authority in your field through your blog?

[gk1]

I guess being a user acquisition consultant gives me a bit of an edge with lead acquisition. ;)

Whenever I talk to a new prospect (potential client), I ask them how they found my site and what caught their attention. The answer to the first question is usually my blog or an HN comment (just like this one!). The answer to the second question varies from "your site tells a good story" to something specific such as my ability to push code.