I personally see and feel better taking the approach of building a technically sound websites with good UX, getting a dedicated marketing manager who can write good copy (and not this SEO drivel of 10 paragraphs with no substance) and then know how to engage with customers instead.
Well, here's an SEO (and I can point you to probably 300 others) that don't feel slimy. We don't do "10 paragraphs with no substance". We help companies make their websites more usable, more targeted, and with better content so that they deserve to rank. I wish I could show you the websites that we work with that are actively doing SEO. Any big site is.
I suppose part of the problem is the low barrier to entry combined with the fact that it's the web (which is also there playground) so you see and hear more of the bad ones than you do good
But I look at it the way the way I look at mechanics: There are a lot of great ones out there, and a lot of slimy ones out there. The slimy ones make a bad name for all their peers, despite the many people doing hard, important, quality work.
There are many wonderful SEOs (and Mechanics) out there, but if you're ever in doubt, just ask to speak to some of their clients. You'll know the good SEOs because their clients will be ambiguous in praise, with clear definable results they can discuss.
