If my profile photo was a photo of a beautiful woman, would I get more traffic?

1. 68

   Phil Plasmaposted 12 years ago

   If my profile photo was a photo of a beautiful woman, would I get more traffic?
   
   I will admit easily that I am a guy, but I'm curious if such a photo would increase my traffic.
   
   

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2. 77

   mattdigiulioposted 12 years ago

   Hey Phil, did you get some work done? You seem less... scaly. I'm going to be your most LOYAL follower from now on.
   
   ahhhh
   
   wait, what was the question?

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3. 0

   Giselle Maineposted 12 years ago

   No, especially not if your Hubpage name was Phil! and especially not if you had made reference in your hub to your wife, etc, which you have done.  I don't like it when people have a photo that is obviously even their gender, as it then makes me wonder how honest they are being in general. I am a big proponent of either using a photo of oneself, or a photo that isn't of a person (like your fish pic).

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4. 83

   anusha15posted 12 years ago

   May be, but one thing is for sure, the increased traffic won't be targeted, quality traffic, and thus will be a temporary phenomenon.

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5. 48

   breathingposted 12 years ago

   I think your content/article helps you getting more traffic. People who attracted by a beautiful woman's photo, they use to visit others site where they get more photo like that.

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6. 60

   TheWorldNowposted 12 years ago

   I think you might get a bit more one time traffic, but you wouldn't get as many people to take you seriously and follow you.
   As Giselle Maine said, it would make you untrustworthy and frankly kind of weird.
   I probably would never have started following you for one b/c I'd be creeped out once I found out you were actually a male just posing as this random lady in your profile.

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7. 80

   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   Those who search on the search engines will not see your picture...you want traffic from those engines more than from Hubpages

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8. 61

   nightwork4posted 12 years ago

   if you had a name that went with the picture(not phil) then i promise you would get more followers. one thing about hubpages, people like to act like it wouldn't matter but they are lying. being politically correct is all important on here. censorship rules so be careful.

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9. 85

   stricktlydatingposted 12 years ago

   Hi Phil, I think it could be confusing or misleading if you had a picture of a woman as your profile photo, since you are a male writer, and her photo probably isn't relevant to the topics you write about (Though maybe the fish isn't either?).  I often look to the Authors photo when reading their Hubs, becoming familiar with other writers here over time.  But in saying that, I am female and for a long time here on HubPages I had a glamour photo of myself as my profile photo.  A few months ago I took my photo down and changed it to the heart icon I use on other sites, just so all my profiles matched up, like branding, and there hasn't been any change in my traffic, so maybe it doesn't really matter a great deal.

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10. 69

    puddingicecreamposted 12 years ago

    Nice tactic, but I don't think it will work for long. People might look at your tiny avatar for a few extra seconds but they might not read your hubs if they aren't interested.

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11. 67

    Rosie2010posted 12 years ago

    I like using my own pic because I want people who know me who happen to read my articles say "Hey I know Rosie.. didn't think that airhead could write."  lol  Seriously tho', when you've written something you are proud of, don't you want people to know that you wrote that article?  I do, but that's just me.  To answer your question, it would be weird to use a beautiful woman pic as your name is Phil.  I know of at least one guy here, who write under a woman's name and have a sexy woman pic.  Does he get more traffic?  I don't know.  But knowing he is a man, with a sexy woman profile pic, is a tick off.  But to each his/her own.  I guess it depends on the topic of your hubs or articles.  How do you want to be known for your writing, is the question.  IMHO, own photo is the most honest way but some writers cannot post their own photo in the internet for personal reasons, so an avatar is their only choice.  If you choose an avatar, make it reflect your writing style and what you write about.  You chose a fish avatar.. are you writing about fish?  jus askin'

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12. 84

    M. T. Dremerposted 12 years ago

    You probably would get more traffic, but I don't think it would be significant enough to justify the change. I'll admit that I've clicked on a hubber before because they had a pretty face, but the amount of times I've done that doesn't compare to the amount of times I've clicked on something based on the subject matter. Also, like Uninvited Writer said; search engines will not display your profile picture, so it won't help you in that regard.
    
    I do want to say, however, that I wouldn't find you untrustworthy to be a man with a female avatar. A lot of artists and photographers prefer to draw the opposite gender, and thus they prefer to display that as their picture rather than a real one. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Plus Phil could be short for Phillis.
    
    Anyway, it comes down to three bullet points that you need to assess for yourself:
    
    -Does the picture relate to the subject of my hubs? Or, does it need to?
    
    -Which picture do I like the most?
    
    -Do I like this picture enough to keep it forever? (Branding is very real and very important. You want to be recognized at a glance.)
    
    Once you go through these questions, I think you'll have your answer.

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13. 70

    rob_allenposted 12 years ago

    I dont think so. That would be a really crazy idea knowing the fact that your name is "PHIL"

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14. 93

    Blond Logicposted 12 years ago

    This is actually an interesting point. I have noticed this happening on Twitter. There are several profiles with very pretty young women which all seem to be advertising the same 'get rich quick scheme'.
    
    Therefore, in answer to your question. Yes you probably would get more traffic but in the long run it would be detrimental and lose you credibility.
    
    Interesting question Phil.

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