One of the most discussed topics in marketing is Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. Over the past few years, SEO has become more and more important as bloggers and marketing managers realized the value of optimizing their sites for maximum search engine visibility. The goal, of course, is to get your amazing images and your insightfully written content high on the list of your ideal customers’ web searches. But what really drives SEO on a photography blog? How do you rank higher in those searches to make sure your blog posts show up when your dream customers are surfing the web?

As you are creating your content, it is important to consider SEO and how to leverage it on your blog, in your website, and in the content you create. It’s not really as intimidating as other people would lead you to believe.

SEO Basics for Photographers:

So many people come to us at Fotoskribe and ask us about how to write better blogs. While writing is important, that’s not the only thing that drives your SEO. In fact, SEO is built using a number of different building blocks—all of which you can master for your photography blog. As a photographer, the things YOUR blog needs are different than if you were writing an article for Buzzfeed. With that in mind, here are some SEO basics to help you with your photography blog.

1. Blog Regularly and Consistently

It’s not enough to post one or two really awesome blog posts. Posting regularly and consistently teaches search engines to come back and check your website more regularly. Over time, that consistency causes your pages to rank higher. This will not work after two weeks. It takes time for the search engines to find you. That’s why it’s so important to stay on a schedule.

2. Craft a Compelling Title

Just like a title for a book, a catchy, compelling title to a page is your most important first step to SEO. A good title page should both be a little exciting, but also include your keywords as close to the beginning as possible.

The title is what you see when you look at the top of your browser window. Try to keep it under 66 characters to avoid being cropped by search engines. Your title should be clickable, something that your dream client would be interested in reading. Once you have a title, the rest of the post starts to fall into place.

3. Master the Art of Keywords

One of the hardest parts of SEO is mastering the keyword game. What keywords do you want to rank for?

Luckily, there are tools available to help you find what your potential clients are searching for and the phrases they are using in their searches. By embracing them, you can search, refine, and rate a core group of keywords to use in your website. One of those tools, the Google Keyword Tool, is designed specifically for you to research keywords to see which are trending and popular. Using this tool allows you to see exactly how competitive a given keyword may be.

Once you have your keyword selected, it’s important to put it in the right places. In order to rank for keywords, they need to be used in strategic places. Your keyword should be found in:

• The page title
• In the URL
• Within the body of the blog
• Incorporated in the blog’s metadata

Focus on building good content that includes one or two well-researched, thoughtful keywords on each page of your site and on each blog post as part of an overall content strategy. Remember that shoving your posts full of keywords and writing content for search engines instead of for readers can actually backfire. The key to writing good blog posts is to write for your customers. The rest will fall into place.

4. Words are your Friends

The ideal post length for blog posts is between 300-500 words. So, even though your beautiful images tell stories that are worth thousands of words, your blog posts must have words to go along with them. The beauty of photography is every unique session you shoot has its own story. Whether you are telling a love story of a couple or one of a newborn baby, your images document precious moments.

Need some help? Here’s a post that might offer you some inspiration: “What am I Supposed to Write About? Writing Advice for Photographers.”

5. Building Links

Links, both outbound and inbound, are essential to growing your search rank. Here are a few ways to incorporate links into your blog posts.

• Link to the vendors from the wedding day
• For newborn blogs, link to the hospital or birthing center
• Engagement sessions can link to the location the images were taken
• Link to other helpful articles

When you’re featuring other local vendors in your blog posts, make sure to share them. Don’t be afraid to ask for links on their pages as well. The more links to your site, the more traffic you will have.

6. Optimize your Images

The meat of your posts will consist of your awesome images. Your ever-growing arsenal of beautiful photographs is the best resource you have for SEO. However, make sure they are optimized for the web.

Rename the file name of all images to include your keywords. Include the keywords in your image title, alt text, and description.

In Conclusion

SEO is a topic that can be surrounded by a cloud of doubt for many photographers. By understanding the basics, you will be able to drive more qualified traffic to your site, and improve your business. If you are interested in learning more about SEO for Photographers, download the guide: “How to Rank #1 on Google”.

And, of course, if you have any questions about blogging, contact us! We would love to help you grow your business through blogging.