Rand applies the label "SEO" quite liberally, and I think it does everyone involved a disservice. If you look to see which sites linked to your last post and pinged them the next time you post to let them know there's new content, is that SEO? If you research the topics your target market are interested in and then address them, is that SEO? If you contact bloggers and media about your new product and encourage them to write about you and link to you, is that SEO?

Maybe you call it that. But I think it's about optimizing for searchers as much or more than it's about optimizing for search engines. Whatever it is, it's valuable, and "White hat SEO" (aka "marketing") has an important place in the weapons chest of startups.