Focus on content first
Are you answering questions your target audience members actually ask?
Are you setting up content to be READ? ie., formatted to get the reader to read the whole post and click on links?
Is your site set up to produce an EXPERIENCE? What does this look like? Well, when you go to sites like backlinko.com for example, you get the sense that SEO is doable.
Create an experience. Example: if your site is about picking up chicks, make readers feel that it is not only doable but PROBABLE or even VERY LIKELY. Similarly, if you have a site that focuses on tutorials, break everything down so people feel they are TAKING ACTION even with the smallest steps.
Get people to share and talk about you through the experiences you create.
Otherwise, you'll be creating just another forgettable site that will sink into the vast ocean of similar content....