Continuing on a theme that there's more than one way to rank on Google, here's a very good intro into different factors and trends for SEO in 2021 (and beyond). Note that Google is now also including podcasts in their results.
https://flyingcatmarketing.com/seo/seo-trends/
Here's an important point from the article:
Quote:Aatif Mohd - Organic Marketing at Razorpay - says that “the future is not looking good for sponsored/guest posts used to earn links. Over the years, Google has stressed the importance of avoiding this.
Note "sponsored/guest posts"...IMO I would shy away from posting on sites that have
any kind of footprint relating to "submit your article" etc., just for link building...Only do it if they can give you direct traffic.