SEO For Photographers In 2023 (Updated Best Practices That Work Fast)

Are you a photographer? If yes, I’m gonna make you an offer that you can’t refuse. You will get something that can make a profound impact on your business.

What is it?

“Best SEO practices for your photography website to improve search visibility in 2023.”

My friend, in today’s article, I’m going to discuss 15+ best SEO practices for photographers.

Why Do Photographers Need SEO? 

The most obvious answer is “to boost my business”. 

While there are many other ways to expand the reach of your business out there, deep down we all know that in the era of digital marketing, brands get created/made online.

Digital marketing is proven to be one of the most affordable forms of advertisement with maximum customer engagement and conversion rates across the globe. According to a recent study, an average time spends in the USA about 7 hours and 5 minutes on the Internet per day which is ¼ th of his day.

Now, if you join the dots, you will see a clear picture of where you want to invest your money. One of the main ways to make and bake a social presence online is to use search engine optimization services for photographers.

After reading this article, you will know what you need to fix on the website of your photo studio to increase relevant traffic.

Without further ado, let’s dive in:

SEO for Photographers: Practical Tips That Provide Fast Results

1- Title Tags

Title Tags are displayed on search engine ranking pages as clickable titles. They tell users and search engines what the web pages are about.

As title tags help search engines understand what a web page is about, you must optimize all the title tags of your photo studio website.

Here are some points to help you write good title tags:

• Keep your title tags around 50-60 characters
• Front load your title tags with main keywords
• Write a unique title for each page
• Write your title tags for humans

Title tags optimization is the first step in improving the search visibility of your photo studio website.

2- Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are brief snippets of your web pages. In around 155 characters, Meta descriptions summarize what visitors will find if they open those pages.

Follow these best practices to write click-worthy Meta descriptions for the web pages of your photography website:

• Keep the length strictly limited to 155 characters
• Include a call-to-action
• Don’t forget to include your focused keyword
• Make your Meta description unique for each of your web pages

The best way to write meta descriptions for your photo studio website is to think less about SEO and more about click-throughs.

3- Content With Targeted Keywords

Google itself has said that content is an important ranking factor.

To improve the visibility of your photo studio website, you should optimize the content of your website.

SEO for photographers will not yield optimum results without unique, optimized content including important keywords.

4- Heading Tags And Keyword Phrases

Heading tags are used to create heading in your web content. They are h1, h2, h3 h4, h5, and h6.

h1 is the most important heading tag, and it is usually used to create a title of web page content.

Now comes the question how will you plan heading tags in your content?

Ideally, you should use h1 tag as the title of your content, h2 tags for the subheadings of your content, h3 tags for the subheadings of h2, h4 for the subheadings of h3, h5 for the subheadings of h4, and h6 for the subheadings of h5.

Also, you should not forget to include focused keywords or key phrases in your headings.

5- Internal Page Linking

For powerful SEO for photographers in 2023, you need to make sure that your web pages are properly linked.

The thumb rule of interlinking is,

You should try to minimize the number of links between the homepage and any given page.

Moz has created a useful guide on Internal links. After reading this guide, I’m sure you will be able to get interlinking of your photo studio website right.

6- Image ALT Tags

According to Yoast,

The alt text describes what’s on the image and the function of the image on the page.

As title tags tell search engines what web pages are about, alt tags inform search engines what images are about.

So you should never use images on your web pages without alt tags. Doing so can affect the SEO of your photography website.

7- Use Canonical Tags

You should use canonical tag if the same content appears on the different URLs of your photography website.

“A canonical tag (aka “rel canonical”) is a way of telling search engines that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page. Using the canonical tag prevents problems caused by identical or “duplicate” content appearing on multiple URLs,” explains Moz

As copied content affects SEO for photographers, use canonical tags to avoid it.

8- Check Indexing

Google says,

Google may temporarily or permanently remove sites from its index and search results if it believes it is obligated to do so by law, if the sites do not meet Google’s quality guidelines, or for other reasons, such as if the sites detract from users’ ability to locate relevant information.

So you should check indexing from time to time and fix index coverage issues if you find any.

9- Ensure Mobile Friendliness

Mobile friendliness is very important for SEO for photographers in 2023. Why?

Now, people are using more mobile phones than desktops to conduct online research. If your photo studio website is not optimized for mobile devices, you will lose a significant number of users.

I have written a detailed guide on Mobile SEO. It will certainly help.

10- Promote on Social Media

According to Statista,

In 2023, it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe, up from 2.46 billion in 2017.

If you want to grow as a photographer, you cannot ignore social media. Aggressive social media marketing will not only build your reputation but also generate leads.

Therefore, photographers should make aggressive social media marketing plans.

Will it help with SEO? Yes, it will. The more relevant social media traffic will eventually improve your ranking.

11- Build Broken Links

Backlinks are trust votes. To improve the search visibility of your photo studio, you should not only try to build backlinks but also build broken links.

As rightly put by Joshua,

Broken link building is one of the most scalable link building tactics around.

Here is a complete guide to broken link building published on aherf.

12- Write Guest Post Blogs

No matter what people say, guest posts still rock when it comes to building PR and creating authority.

Guest posts not only drive relevant traffic to your website but also help increase lead generation.

“I’ve tried many different inbound marketing strategies, but guest blogging has remained my most treasured tool,” says Neil Patel.

However, not all guest posts bring the same glory. You will have to pick high-authority websites in the photography niche if you want to achieve lasting success.

Guest posts on high authority relevant websites are extremely good for SEO for photographers.

13- Get Interviewed

It is true that people want to hire experts. So you should try to build authority in the market if you want more people to know you.

And one way to do so is searching for opportunities to get interviewed. Approach bloggers and local journalists if they can take your interview. And once you are successful in securing an interview, you should promote it aggressively to amplify its reach.

Does it help with photographer SEO? Yes, it does. Google will definitely love you if people love you.

14- Optimize GMB Listing

Optimizing Google My Business (GMB) listing is a must for SEO for photographers.

Now you must be thinking that why GMB is so important. My friend, your business will not appear on Google Search or Google Maps if you don’t create Google My business listing.

Without optimizing Google My Business listing, you cannot make the cut for local ranking.

15- Build Citations

Local citations are the mentions of your name, address, phone number, and website (NAP+W) in local directories.

For local ranking, local citation (like backlinks) work as trust votes. The more citations your photo studio has, the better chance it will have to rank on the top.

Therefore, you should keep building local citations. Also, you should find broken citations and fix them. This will help you improve your local ranking.

16- Use Google Maps Marketing

Google Maps Marketing is a must to improve SEO for photographers.

You must have noticed that Google has started to show Google Maps results on the search engine ranking page (SERP). And these results are often shown right below the search box, meaning you will have better visibility if you feature on Google Maps.

Google Maps Marketing will help you rank high on Google Maps and generate more relevant clicks. This will eventually improve the ranking of your photo studio website.

Given that “ Ask Google/Alexa/Siri” is the new normal, our first reflex when we search for anything online is to check on the reviews and pictures posted.

These Google reviews and pictures go through Google Maps Marketing as they are posted. The SERP ranks the results with the best rating and reviews on top.

So never ignore Google Maps Marketing if you want to improve the SEO of your website.

17- Create and Share Local Content

People often prefer to hire a local photographer. So it is important that you should increase your visibility for local content. And the best way to do it is to create and share local content.

If you embrace the local community beyond selling your photography packages, you will find many opportunities to create and share local content, such as covering local events, taking interview of local biggies, etc.

Creating and sharing local content not only boost your local online visibility but also help you build authority in the local market.

A Blueprint to SEO for Different Types of Event Photographers: 

As we dive into the field of photography, you should know that there can be different genres to choose from. We will discuss some of the most common practices to improve SEO for photographers in each of these genres.

1. SEO for Wedding Photographers

i) Optimize Every Photo uploaded:

Every photo uploaded to your site needs to be compressed to increase the site speed as larger images slow down the website speed. Compressed photos result in faster access to web pages; as the attention span of humans is decreasing day by day, people will leave your website if it doesn’t load within 5 secs. 

Experts worldwide are now comparing gold fishes with humans as goldfishes are considered to have the least attention span of 8 secs. Ain’t that funny and weird?

ii) Post blogs of your best/favourite weddings: 

When content creates value, it will create an impression, and that’s the goal, my friend! You need to write a good blog with not only just the best pictures but also some really engaging descriptions of the event. 

Highlighting the key performances or arrangements you created and how you can create an immersive impact. Make it sound like a story, like a narrator. 

Google feeds on data, so don’t forget to use the necessary keywords in your blogs. Try mentioning venue names and optimizing them to improve on-page SEO and get highlighted. 

Here’s a basic SEO tip for wedding photographers- make sure to include the venue name in the title of your blog. You can thank me later!

iii) Interactive website: 

It’s only natural since most of us use the internet from mobiles more than from a computer. But first, you must decide whether the page should be responsive or adaptive.

For a responsive web page, the web design will change per the screen size of the device used.

While an adaptive design determines which version of the search engine should be displayed depending on the device’s hardware features e.g., screen resolution, software version etc.

To provide the best user experience, it is advised to choose a responsive website design for wedding photographers rather than an adaptive one due to its compatibility issue with a mobile site.

An interactive and responsive website creates a sense of joy for the people who are using it. Since marriage is an auspicious event of happiness and celebration, an interactive and responsive website will create a positive impact.

Also, keeping everything in place, one should never compromise the site’s speed as it attracts more users.

2. SEO For Newborn Photographers

Starting from pre-wedding photo shoots to baby showers, Western culture is being widely adapted across the country. Photos portraying newborn babies, however, are not something new in India. Professional photo shoots are quite trending nowadays.

To be at the top of the game, you need to play it right!

Here are some tips I will be sharing below to help you with your newborn photography website.

i) Target Organic CTR(Click through rate) : 

Click-through rate(CTR), as per Google, is a marketing metric that measures how often people click on links,ad mails. We need to generate organic leads through CTR keywords/images.

Now, this might not sound very clear to you. Let me narrow it down in simple words.

What happens to most people when they see a cute baby video or a newborn picture? They click on it to have a better view, right? Well, that’s it.

You need to put the cutest newborn baby picture or video on your website and optimize it so that people while navigating a photography site online, will click on it to have a better look at the baby.  We can call it image SEO.

It will land them on your website, and tadaa!! You have generated an organic lead.

3. SEO for Corporate Photographers

There is a fine line between Corporate photography and commercial photography which many photographers fail to identify and that sets the difference in the quality of work.

Commercial photography should focus on capturing a particular product or service the company offers. While Corporate photography should focus on telling a story about the brand and focus on the branding and where it portrays the company’s values and ethics.

To get that top Google search results ranking for your corporate photography page: 

i) Use the names as keywords:

When we talk about Multinational Corporations (MNCs) the first thing that pops into our mind is the brand. You need to target these brands by using big shots in the corporate world like Wells Fargo, JP Morgan & Chase, and Goldman Sachs as relevant keywords in your blog.

This will help you get highlighted in the Google rankings to bag in your potential clients.

ii) Showcase photographs from annual reports:

In case your services include photography for annual reports, it will be a great idea to include a few of these reports on your website.

That way, potential clients in need of quality photos for their reports can easily get an idea of your work in the past and gauge whether it would be suitable for their needs. Most importantly, if they search for annual report photography on Google or any other search engine, your site is likely to pop up in the search results.

iii) Build Social Media Presence:

No one wants to be that pebble lying on the ground, but everyone wants to grow and promote their brand, but how?

You need to optimize your posts to stand out from the aggressive marketing on social media.

To that end, you can use specific keywords for uploading short videos on social media platforms to gain your audience’s attention. Another useful technique is to add quick links for personalized quotations through mail/WhatsApp.

SEO for Sports Photographers

Sports photography brings action, passion, drama and emotions from real life through striking images. Perfection lies in capturing all that at the perfect timing.

These pictures provide us with a sense of nostalgia whether we want to relieve the moment or commemorate players in portraits. To drive website traffic to your sports photography page, you can use the following effective practices.

i) Creating your domain:

You need to think of 4-5 words that come first to your mind when thinking of sports and write those down on paper. Then you need to think of the words an average local parent will search for when they will search for sports photography or any sports-related content more like local SEO keywords.

To narrow down the search intent of the potential clients.

Think of names which you would have used in your blog post title, this helps optimize the content of the page even more.

After selecting the name, purchase that domain from any platform and make it unique which will showcase your brand!

ii) Using Seasonal sales with SERP:

The use of a Search engine results page (SERP) in introducing seasonal sales and offers creates a cutting edge over increasing sales organically. 

A lot of e-commerce platforms use SERP data by recording and monitoring its features to promote their sales. Several third-party apps record these data historically from where you can buy these data easily to optimize your page and launch offers accordingly.

Conclusion

With so many photographers out there, it is never easy to stand out from the crowd if you don’t follow the best search engine optimization strategies.

Follow the best SEO practices explained in this article to improve the search visibility of your photo studio.

What about you? Do you want to share any tip on SEO for photographers in 2023? Please leave it in the comment section. I would love to know about it.