Ready to learn photographer SEO strategies for your business? Faith Hanan is a copywriter and organic marketing strategist who joined me in this episode to share 3 SEO strategies for photographers that can be implemented in under an hour.

Your Website Plays a Major Role in Your SEO Strategy as a Photographer

The first part of your website is what initially catches a reader’s eye and helps them decide if they want to read more or not. When people come across your website you have less than five seconds to capture their attention and answer their number one question. Which is – can you help me solve my problem?

It’s difficult as a photographer to figure out what problem you are solving exactly because photography is a service and a luxury. If you can explain in your above the fold copy how you can solve their problem and then optimize it with photographer SEO then that’s huge for your website.

SEO Strategy #1: Clarify Your Above-The-Fold Text

The first thing your potential client will see when they land on your website is called the “above the fold” section. Back in the day, when newspapers were popular, it would be delivered folded in half. You could only see the top half of the front page. This is the same concept when it comes to your website. You want to keep this above the fold copy no more than two sentences. Think of it as a 1-2 sentence statement clarifying what you do and who you serve.

Example: Dallas Newborn Photographer serving the DFW Metroplex

SEO Strategy #2: Figure Out Your Keywords To Use

Determine the right keywords to use for your business. You want to be using keywords that the right number of people are searching for each month. The sweet spot is about 3,000 to 5,000 searches per month. For example, if you’re a local based photographer you’d use the keyword of your city and then photographers because that’s what people would be searching for for photographers in your city. Use these keywords very strategically throughout your website in many many places. Example: “Atlanta Georgia Family Photographer”

One of the best ways to figure out your keywords is to download Ubersuggest for Chrome. It’s a free plugin that allows you to start typing in some words and get a general idea of what people are searching for related to your business. Find three to five keywords within the 3,000 to 5,000 searches per month range. Then use those keywords strategically throughout your website.

Remember too, there is so much involved with photographer SEO and it can be overwhelming at times. These are just starting points that are meant for you to get started and do these things in less than an hour.

SEO Strategy #3: Set Up Your Google Business Profile

Because your business is a local business, you need to be visible online in your local area. So when people search for your business or the keywords you have used, your Google Business Profile will pop up. Because photography is an in person service your Google Business Profile (also known as Google Maps) needs to be up to date.

You can take advantage of some of the keyword research and put some of those keywords in your description in your Google Business Profile. Then make sure that you have some actual photos on your profile and name them with some of your keywords. So when people put in the keywords your photos will also pop up and they’ll get to see your beautiful work. Your Google Business Profile is free and it’s just another way to market your business.

Bonus Photographer SEO strategy: Naming your images

When you name your images on Google you want to be doing this strategically for SEO. This carries across Pinterest, Google, your blog, your website. So you want to learn how to name your images to optimize your SEO. When saving your images make sure the file names are keyword specific. You want to separate the words for Google when naming your images so Google knows what it means. This quick bonus action step is something you can go through your website and do right now. Save your images that are on your website by keywords that you have found in your keyword search. And then when you upload them to your website, etc those images will pop up when someone searches for those keywords.

Let’s Recap: 4 Photographer SEO Strategies to Implement in Under One Hour

The 4 photograph SEO strategies that we went over are:

1. Grab their attention in your above the fold copy.
2. Research and figure out what your keywords are.
3. Go optimize your Google Business Profile or sign up if you don’t have one.
4. Bonus tip: Name your images on your website/blog, etc to keyword rich SEO names.

All of these quick photographer SEO tips can easily be done in less than an hour. Add on that bonus action step and you’ll be well on your way with bettering your SEO. You can dive deeper into SEO strategies with Faith Hanan on her podcast Simple SEO and Marketing with Faith Hanan. You can also find her on her website.

Here’s some other blog posts you can check out if you’d like to dive more into SEO and marketing strategies.

How to use Facebook to market your photography business

Top 5 tips for new photographers

Grow your following in 20 minutes a day