REDDING, CT — Having done past SEO work in porn is a desirable trait for mainstream web companies looking to hire a traffic expert company.
But if a company is still in adult, the association hurts.
According to a recent article on tech site Search Engine Land that offered a Cosmopolitan-type quiz asking whether web professionals should get in bed with an agency or bring the work in-house, the first two questions asked if the agency ever worked in porn or is still working in porn.
Interestingly enough, having worked in porn (pills or poker) yields high points, but still working in porn yields a negative score illustrating the hypocrisy that adult experience is valuable, but the stigma could hurt a mainstream company.
Other high score answers ask about measuring success by quality traffic and financial and business metrics (profitability) — both key components in gauging better adult sites.
Although the agency that scores highest on the quiz is most recommended, the report's author states that SEO should be an in-house function for two primary reasons.
“First, SEO touches many departments. It is extremely difficult to outsource anything that requires interdepartmental cooperation and coordination," the report said.
“Second, given the potential for long term disaster through the implementation of black hat tactics, I’d never outsource an SEO function unless I knew exactly what the agency was doing. And if I knew exactly what it was doing, I could probably either do it myself or hire someone to do it.
The advice, and the obvious barriers that porn carries may not be new to adult SEO experts seeking to offer their services to mainstream companies, but the quiz illustrates how adult continues to lead the way in technology.