Seth Godin explains two ways to use SEO to make money. The first, owning a keyword in Google paid search or organic search, is a "glorious crapshoot," with only .00001% of companies succeeding.
He still thinks it's worth trying.
The second technique involves "inventing a trademark and then building a business or service or organization around this trademark that people actually talk about," he writes. "You want to be able to say to someone, 'just type ____ into Google.'"