To drill into the tension between the lower and the higher while continuing with the example: the former activity has values embedded in it, which, if left unexamined, can dispirit the overall project or bend one out of integrity.

For example, the conversations around optimizing for the lower-level things you list (SEO, AEO, AI search, etc.) carry the core value of reach, a value tethered to the activity itself and bolstered by the culture surrounding optimization, which often pairs reach with attention-capture.

The solution of subordinating reach to a higher-order value — one incompatible with attention-capture — still presents a challenge: the former remains readily quantitative, hence easier to measure, while the latter remains qualitative, mainly relational, hence harder to attune to in online environments like YouTube. This challenge can be mitigated by holding regular, communal gatherings with one’s audience. A content creator who arrives this far in the inquiry then wrestles with an additional question: whom am I called to commune with?

Your careful reasoning through such matters evidently accounts for how you’ve maintained integrity with your channel.