The consistent problem with SEO is that most SEOs don't understand Google's business model. They don't understand Google is going to best serve its customers (i.e., those doing the search). SEOs (and their clients) need to understand that getting Google to index a turd isn't going to change the fact that the content and the experience i'ts wrapped in is still a turd. Google is not interested in pointing its customers to turds.
For a turd sandwich to work, you have to wrap your turd (ads) with high quality results so people actually search on Google and then you can show them the turd along with the good stuff.
somewhat google is happy to serve you turd they can double dip on
people using google's free services to see those google results that have gone to shit since the past 10 years or so, and also are full page of ads without ad blockers, are google's product, which is acquired through offering free product and services that hook those customers to stay hooked even through the enshittification that has proceeded on those since the web 2.0 golden era
Google Search's users are people who do the searching.
If a service is free to use, you are the product.
* performance/SSR * interlinking/dead links * keyword cannibalization
to name a few
If a paying customer gives Google money to point eyeballs to turds, it points eyeballs to turds (this is how Google makes money today, it is the business model for search). The problem with SEO isn't that it degrades search, it's that SEO users aren't paying customers and don't make Google any money (and compromises Google's ability to direct eyeballs to paying customers).
This is classical "enshitification" - offer a service for free to capture eyeball share, then offer a paid service to companies that capitalizes on that eyeball share but compromises the "eyeball experience" (and then in the endgame, squeeze companies that become dependent upon the eyeball-platform to serve shareholders).
We must have been using a different Google over the past 3 years. It does this almost exclusively now.