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*Updated December 23rd, 2023
The TLDR List of how to rank on Google as a Wedding Photographer
(still read, listen, and watch below to get the most out of this article!)
1. Do keyword research using a keyword research tool (such as Ubersuggest) and choose keywords that have traffic! Gather these related keywords into a bucket.
2. Pick one of those keywords and include it in your homepage's page title, along with your business name (XYZ Photography | "My good keyword"
3. Put that keyword in an H1 heading that is high on the page, ideally so high that they don't have to scroll to see it.
4. Remember that bucket of keywords? Now, start using the rest of those keywords naturally on your page.
5. Get verified with Google Search Console
6. Set up Google Analytics
7. Set up your Google Business Profile and get verified
8. Watch your Google Search Console "performance" tab for keywords you start showing up for!
9. Watch Google Analytics to see if your website is engaging users, and then make improvement to the user-experience when they are not!
10. Get good, industry specific backlinks
And, #11 for a bonus: Join my Facebook Group to get more insight including regular livestream trainings! ; )
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Who This SEO for Wedding Photographers Post Is Actually For
We’re wedding photographers, so we aimed this post primarily to be SEO for wedding photographers, but the same things apply for any photographers, so it can also be considered, SEO for photographers, SEO for family photographers, SEO for portrait photographers, etc. We’ll just be using wedding photography examples, so you may need to re-apply the principles to your particular niche if you’re another type of photographer looking to learn SEO for your photography website.
Just know that no matter what type of photographer you are, this article will help your photography SEO!
: )
SEO for Showit Users, SEO for Squarespace Users, SEO for Flothemes Users, Etc.
But, you might ask, “what if I use Squarespace"?” OR, “what if I use Showit/Wix/etc.”. That’s ok, too! We use Squarespace and rank for thousands of keywords and receive over 6-8k unique visitors every month at the time of writing this!
We’ve found that each platform has it’s own quirks, but if you’re applying what we call “EasySEO” you can rank wonderfully on any platform.
So if you’re looking for tips on SEO for Squarespace, SEO for Showit, SEO for flothemes, or any other website building platform, you’re in the right place!
Our SEO Background (Why You Might Want to Listen to Us!)
A really good, close friend of ours helped provide a human element to the algorithm that determines which sites rank for what.
There were lots of things that we both learned from that friend—things we’ve used to help our site rank and connect us with our ideal clients.
And guess what!
SO. CAN. YOU. : )
(BTW, did you know that you can join our SEO for Wedding Photographers FB Group!?)
(And also, if you want our popular Top 5 Easy SEO Tips Free Download, click here!)
Over the years we’ve learned a number of ethical SEO tricks that have our pages ranking on the first page and even #1 on Google for a number of keywords.
You may be thinking, “uhg! I HATE SEO! It’s so confusing.”
While it’s true that SEO definitely can get more complicated, the truth is that there are several reeeeeeally simple things you can do to boost your SEO and start getting seen.
What SEO Did For Us (and Can Do For You!)
SEO has been a HUGE part of our business. It’s put us in contact with amazing couples that we wouldn’t have gotten in touch with otherwise.
Before we were ranking on Google, we were very limited on when and where our leads came from. Whether it was word of mouth or paid advertising, we noticed that we needed more inquiries so we could be more choosy.
SEO IS EASY, But Many Have NO Idea What to Do
Most photographers seem to have little or no idea about SEO. It seems like a daunting concept and a burden insurmountable.
But, it’s honestly very easy once you know what you’re doing!
That being said, let’s just into our SEO for wedding photographers tips!
1. Discover Keywords That Matter
Ranking for ideal keywords is critical. Your site can be amazing, but if the content on your page doesn’t contain keywords that your ideal clients are actually using when they Google search, then they probably won’t find you.
Here’s where you’ve got to get inside your ideal clients’ minds. Imagine what they’re searching for, what words they would use to search for you/your product and where they would be looking for it (e.g., “wedding photographer in Tampa, Florida”).
There are tools that exist to help you find great keywords, such as Ubersuggest. Even slight variations in your keyword can matter, so take a moment to research using one of the keyword planning sites to see how many people actually use a keyword or similar keywords.
If no one is actually searching for a keyword you have in mind, or if a similar keywords has more traffic, you’ll want to adjust the keyword that you choose to focus on. For example, “New Haven Wedding Photography” may only have 10 searches per month, while “New Haven Wedding Photographer” or “Wedding Photographer in New Haven” may get up to 100+.
Want more help determining ideal keywords? Check out this SEO case-study to take the quick and easy path to results!
2. Include Keywords In Your Title and Heading Texts
Title Vs H1 vs H2 vs H3 vs Normal
When looking at your website, Google looks for indicators of what your website is about. One of the main ways it does this is by looking at your Title Tags and Headings.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what the different title tags indicate to Google:
Title (or “Site Title): This is the title of any given page and indicates what the page is about. “LA Wedding Photographer, John Bridges”. You can only have one per page.
H1: This is pretty much the same thing as your page title. Example, “LA Wedding Photographer, John Bridges”. Limit these to one per page!
H2: These are the sections of your page/article. If you page is about the “Top Bridesmaids Dress Trends of 2020”, then you might have multiple H2 for each one of the trends that you talk about.
H3: Use H3 for subsections. Need to divide a section into smaller parts? That’s where H3 comes in.
Normal (or “Body”): Your normal or body text is your actual content. This is where you want to talk about what’s in the H1, H2, and H3 text.
If you’d like specialized help learning how to set up your site’s title/heading texts for Showit, Wordpress, Squarespace or any other website buildier, watch this now!
3. Make Your Location and What You Do Visible Without Having to Scroll
We know this from Michele’s previous experience as an ads-rater. You should be able to see the following WITHOUT scrolling at all:
Name of your business
Where you’re located (city/state or at least the city)
What you do (e.g., Wedding Photography)
As a different example, Orlando wedding photographer, KT Crabb Photography has also done a great job at this as you’ll see in the example below. Notice that, without scrolling, you know right away what her site is about and where her primary business location is.
Example of properly SEO optimized website header by Orlando Wedding Photographer KT Crabb.
4. Include Content on Your Homepage!
For your homepage, use content that resonates with your ideal client—write a little about who your ideal client is and who you are! In this content, be sure to use your keywords!
Knoxville wedding photographer Abigail Malone has done a wonderful job at this while using the EasySEO method.
5. Track Your Rankings
Another essential for wedding photographer SEO is to make sure you’re tracking your progress so you can celebrate your wins! Our personal favorite way to track your site’s rankings is by using SEO Edge. Learn more about that in this video!
6. Get Good “DoFollow” Backlinks!
A backlink is when someone links to your website from theirs. When another website links to you, it can link to you as “nofollow” or “dofollow”. Dofollow linking tells Google that the site linking to you “believes” in you and that that Google should see your site as “recommended”, while nofollow links aren’t counted by Google as a reason for you to rank higher.
That doesn’t mean “nofollow” links are bad; they can be good for getting exposure for your site. But, nofollow links won’t help your site link.
Now, you can just go about trying to get as many links as possible, but that will sort of be a mixture of dofollow and nofollow links. But, generally, your local vendor friends linking to you will usually be dofollow links. Blogs that publish weddings/styled shoots can be very hit or miss. So, while getting the exposure might be nice, that feature may or may not help with your SEO.
If you’d like to know more about how to tell if a website generally gives out dofollow or nofollow links, be sure to watch this case-study on wedding photography SEO.
FAQ: Will SEO Help Me Reach My Ideal Client?
The short answer? Yes.
We’ve booked lots of ideal clients by showing up on Google. : )
Want Your Site Set Up To Rank On Google, Without All the Frustration/Wasted Time Associated With Difficult SEO?
We’ve only shared a BRIEF idea of what SEO is, how to use it, and what it can do for your wedding business!
If you want to get your site set up to rank and start driving more of your ideal clients to your website, watch this free SEO case-study now to learn how!
