Great question, Michael! Maybe I should write an article about that.

Until then, I use keywords on Medium to:

• Gauge interest in topics
• Get external clients
• Build my portfolio
• Direct traffic from Medium articles to my website or YouTube channel (where my content is monetized with display ads and affiliate offers)

Also, although I doubt the conversion rate is huge, some of the organic Google traffic probably does convert into paying Medium members. I think you get something as a writer when someone converts in the first 30 days after using your link.

Hope this helps!