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.

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.