@CM30 I don't really blame SEO. Google introduced a clear conflict of interest with AdWords and AdSense, which values quantity over quality. Google then removed tools for users to be able to curate their own results.
Google are self-sabotaging YouTube search now, where it only shows 3 somewhat relevant results, then floods the rest with unrelated "recommendations".
This is all Google's doing. Paid services like Kagi are the only real solution to this right now.