There are still people and entire companies who do the stats crunching and run the specialized software that's supposed to make their work look better to the bots and become highly ranked . But every magic button that is supposed to guarantee you will be able to beat the latest algo change doesn't work for long any more, if it even works at all.

But the basics - those haven't changed since before Google first appeared. If you understand and know your customer, your words and your SEO work will help the right audience find you. No magic button, no unicorn dust, no wizardry needed.

I completely agree with you about poor titles. Those and the poorly written descripts or the ones full of bot bait are not only search killers but sales killers for the visitor who might accidentally find you. as well.