SEO really does have a bad reputation

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I’ve pondered the issue for awhile: does SEO have a really bad reputation? With bloggers, there’s no question. Comment spammers have done their level best to fray everyone’s nerves. I assume other tactics we see used by certain SEOs will also leave a bad taste in the mouth of the average consumer, but I never had much proof. I don’t actually do SEO for any clients, but rather use SEO like a cheap one night stand, when it suits my purposes Yesterday, a man who does sell SEO services to end users confirmed my suspicions. Rand Fishkin reveals that SEO clients don’t want to be revealed.

There are a number of legit reasons that companies would want to keep their involvement with SEOs quiet. For purely competive reasons they may not want others in their fields to know they’ve employed a firm to help them. But also listed as one of the reasons is the far more sinister:

Stigma - The SEO industry still has something of a negative reputation that gives executives the feeling they’re doing something “sneaky,” even if the tactics are entirely white-hat.

In reality, I doubt the term “white-hat” comes up in meetings with clients. The reason they might feel that they’re doing something “sneaky” is because they’re attempting a willed manipulation of the search engines for profit. Regardless of what tactics they use, their intent is to increase their rankings for additional profits. Hardly a humanitarian cause.

Not being able to even come up with a list of your clients is “sorta creepy” really. This almost screams out the need for more professionalization of the industry. The clients should have a positive image of the industry in the long run, but not all do. This is still such a young industry, that time will mend some of these issues.

What do you think of the words “SEO”? Does this acronym have a negative reputation?

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