What does he actually want the website to do? Why is he using
SEO? It could be that he is keen to create a huge web presence to build brand awareness, to get one up on his competitors, to prove he can have a significant presence both on and offline. Of course, he may also want to make money and sell stuff, but it doesn't sound to me like that is the case, oddly enough. I think the clue is that a couple of years ago he was a complete internet newbie. He may be excited by how many sites can be on Google p1, what rankings his site is getting and generally a bit obsessed by the whole thing. Is he an obsessive kind of person? Does he like to take on and master new things? I think there is more to this than meets the eye.
best wishes
Fiona