1. First, what sort of services do you offer to help photographers market their sites?
We specialize in organic search engine optimization (SEO) and online conversion. This meets two very important needs for photographers:
a. SEO helps to get their webpage ranking on the first page of Google, which exposes their portfolio to qualified shopping prospects. (Google Domination)
b. The work we do with conversion then increases their website’s ability to convert more of those visitors into paying customers. It amps up their overall call to action and conversion. (Leads/revenue).
2. What are the unique challenges facing wedding professionals trying to improve their search engine rankings?
The biggest challenges are always time and commitment. SEO is something you have to keep at. It’s not a “set it and forget it” situation.
There really is no secret sauce to SEO, it all comes down to posting great content to your site and gathering quality backlinks (other sites linking to your site). Both of these are easier – far easier – said then done Because let’s face it, Google is like an ATM machine with an unlimited amount cash. But unfortunately – they know they are! So they’re very careful about whom they ‘reward’ that first page status to.
In general terms he/she who knows how to do their keyword research the right way, and has the MOST (and the right kind of) backlinks – gets to withdraw MOST of the money. In a perfect world, business owners should take two hours every day to do nothing but educate yourself using Google and YouTube on the topics of Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Link Building, Keyword Research, etc. Then, they should devote another hour every day to applying tactical substance to your online marketing efforts. You will be very surprised…and so will your competitors. Most companies I know don’t have that three full hours a day to spare, so they instead hire an outside agency that specializes in organic search optimization.
3. Does it matter whether the website is hand-built or based on a template like FolioLink?
Custom websites are great for photographers who really want full control of the look and feel of their online image. Since custom sites are typically designed by a professional web designer, you have the ability to control all of the important on-page optimization factors like: H1 tags, Meta Tags, Interlinks, Alt Tags, etc
If you’re going to go with a custom site, just be sure to consult with an SEO professional BEFORE you begin to build the wireframe. It breaks my heart to see thousands of dollars spent on development, only to find out later that the site is not Search Engine Friendly.
If you are on a budget or don’t care to deal with designers at $50.00 an hour for each and every small revision , I would suggest a template solution such as FolioLink. This is a great alternative since it allows you to update your site in real time using a user-friendly content management system, where as you upload a gallery, hit publish, and your portfolio is instantly available for the world to see. Just make sure to pick the template that best matches your photographic style and avoid the true FLASH templates. Because most Flash designs are not readable by most search engines crawlers.
** Just a side note – If I were just starting out, I myself would get a custom site designed and migrated to a word press blog. This is a FREE open source content management system with every SEO plug in known to man.
4. How exactly does a Squidoo lens help with search engine rankings and what should a wedding photographer put on it?
Squidoo was founded by Seth Godin, one of the greatest markers alive. Godin describes a lens as “{filtering} light and {showing} us what we need to see.” As a wedding photographer, you need to do just that…show the shopping bride who you are and what makes you unique.
Create a lens detailing the ten questions to ask while interviewing your wedding photographer or something that brides will find compelling. Be sure to include your best images, and most importantly add hyper-links pointing back to your website using your keyword anchor text of choice: i.e. Dallas Wedding Photographer. (This would be the blue underlined link linking back to your homepage). These links are extremely powerful, because Google looks at Squidoo as a trusted site, and so Squidoo gets trusted link love. Remember, because Squidoo is a traffic generating powerhouse, your lens will usually get listed very high in the SERPS (Search Engine Result Page) and visited time and time again by qualified prospects searching for your subject.
5. Does a blog help with SEO? How often should photographers update their blogs?
A blog is a MUST for Photographers who want to rank high in the search engines. As you may or may not have noticed, Google just released “Caffeine”. And I’m not talking about a new Goggle coffee shop (although that would be cool. I’d sure hang out there.) Caffeine is Google’s newest update to their algorithm and search results pages. Basically they are looking to pay closer attention to Speed, Accuracy, Relevance, and Index Site.
A WordPress blog (on your domain) provides you the ability to satisfy speed, accuracy and relevance by adding fresh content to your site . Remember Google LOVES content. Because without it, well, there would be no Google. So the more love you show them with unique content, the more love they will show you with rankings and traffic. So I would try to get in the habit of adding 2-3 new posts per week.
6. What can a photographer do to get links to their site?
You can always manipulate the search engines by listing your website on free directories, engaging in conversations on forums, and adding comments on blogs. But the MOST important strategy to get **quality** links to your site is to add **quality** content.
I use the word content, and some might take me literally and think content = copy. But I’m not just referring to text. Content can be words, images, videos, animation, etc..
If I were a photographer, I would pick up a $99.00 flip video camera and go to a local bridal show and interview 25 engaged couples. Ask them what is the single biggest fear while selecting a photographer for the most important day of their life, their wedding. Then take the time to create a video response for each and every question and address how your company, has a solution for that fear.
Then – I’d syndicate these videos on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, etc…The next thing you know, these videos are getting thousands of views and backlinks are being built while your sleep. Another strategy for getting quality back links is by writing and submitting a press release every few months.
7. What are the most common mistakes that you see wedding professionals make when it comes to promoting their websites?
The single biggest mistake that I see over and over again is NOT writing unique optimized page titles using keywords! The page title is EXTREMELY important , as it is the headline that Google displays in the search result pages.
In other words, if your homepage says **home** in the top left corner of the browser, you need to go back to the drawing board. An optimized page title looks something like this: Dallas Wedding Photography – Dallas Wedding Photographers | XYZ Company
8. What sort of keywords should wedding photographers target and where should they put them?
There is a rule that I like to use when optimizing a web page. Focus the page on the one keyword that gets the most monthly visits related to your niche. You can use the free Google Keyword tool to collect this data. For instance, the keyword Dallas Wedding Photographer receives 1,600 unique searches per month, and the #1 position of Google for this term get 56% of all clicks. That means your competitor is stealing 896 qualified visits every month just by applying basic SEO to his website. When you focus on one keyword, the long tail keywords will follow. And be sure to add the keyword in your content a few times, while making it bold at least twice.
9. And what sort of effect does contributing free articles to sites like Ezinearticles have on SEO?
Ezinearticles.com is considered one of the top FREE article directory submission site’s based on their Alexa Rating 131, Google Page Rank of 6, and over 1 million web pages linking back to them. Google sees this as a credible and trustworthy site, therefore indexes their articles high in the SERPS. What does that mean for YOU?
Well the keyword here is FREE. With a minimal amount of effort you can construct a 500 word **unique** article related to your niche, include no more than 2 keyword anchor text links, and then push submit. Not only will your article get read by ezine followers , it will also get indexed in the Google SERPS, and picked up by syndicates, all linking back to your webpage. So in essence 1 500 word article, could possibly get you 200-300 **quality** backlinks. And remember the one with the most **quality** backlinks wins.
10. Finally, if you were to recommend a set of steps that a wedding professional must follow to market their site, what would those steps be?
a. Add a WordPress blog to your site, i.e www.yourdomain.com/blog
b. Educate yourself on blogging, search engine optimization, link building, and social media. (Or hire someone to spend those hours doing it for you.)
c. Perform your extensive keyword research.
d. Focus on only ONE major keyword per page.
e. Write a unique page title and description that’s tailored to that keyword.
f. Blog 2-3 times per week.
g. Build a Squidoo lens.
h. Start to create quality content like videos and add them to your site as well as other video syndicate sites.
i. Spend 1-2 hours every day, building anchor text links back to site by engaging in conversations on forums, commenting on blogs, or adding your site to free directories.
j. Write and submit 1 – 500 word unique article to ezinearticles.com every week with your anchor text link within the content 2X .
k. Write a submit a press release to PRWeb.com once per month your anchor text link within the content 2X.
l. Set up a Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter account for your business and link out to them from your homepage. Be sure to stay active with your social media campaigns.
m. Get your customers to add positive reviews on Yelp.com
If you would like to speak to Jason about your search engine marketing campaigns he can be reached by:
email: jason@eversparinteractive.com
blog: http://www.weddingseoblog.com
web: http://www.eversparkinteractive.com
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jasonhennessey
