SEO For Wedding Photographers To Book More Clients
SEO for wedding photographer is MUST!
SEO is the ultimate way to generate web traffic and clients for your wedding photography business.
You have the opportunity to get top paying clients if you can apply search engine optimization strategy properly.
Even if you don't want to do everything by yourself, you must have some idea on how seo works in photography niche before hiring someone.
Though my guide focuses on wedding photographer, most of the theories and strategies are same for other photographers as well.
5 Basic SEO Requirements for Wedding Photographers:
Keyword Research For Wedding Photographers: How To Build Keyword Funnel?
Keyword research is the most significant part of search engine optimization. It is the base point of SEO.
If you do any mistake in keyword research, your whole SEO campaign may go in vain.
Generic keyword that comes on your mind first without any research, such as "Best Wedding Photographer in NYC", should be avoided .
Because most of your competitors are targeting the same generic keywords.
Keywords without proper analysis increases the competition and decreases chance to rank on google.
To go beyond your competition and to get maximum traffic in your website, you must build a Keyword Funnel.
What is Keyword Funnel?
Keyword funnel is the process of categorization of search phrases according to their relative importance to your website.
Keyword funnels track the relationships between keywords used by search engine users. Essentially, these funnels help to categorize keywords as part of a keyword research technique.
by hubshout
Courtesy: WordStream
How to build keywords funnel for wedding photographers?
I believe you have got a clear idea of keyword funneling. But the question is, how can you build one for you?
Stay with me.
I'm breaking down the full funnel for you.
As you can see, a funnel has 3 parts: Top, Middle and Bottom.
To make the concept easy, I have converted the terms top, middle and bottom-funnel to attention, discover and money keywords respectively.
- Money Keywords = Bottom Funnel
- Discover Keywords = Middle Funnel
- Attention Keywords = Top Funnel
Best Keywords Funnel for Wedding Photographers
Let me explain the illustration briefly.
Money Keyword or Bottom Funnel Keywords for Wedding Photographers
Money keywords are the search terms that people use when they are ready to buy your photography service. If you can rank for these keywords, you’ll be able to generate a significant amount of revenue.
Pro Tip: your prime goal should be to rank for the most of the money keywords.
A good example of money keywords is “Keyword + City”. If you are a photographer from New York City, definitely you want to rank for these keywords:
“wedding photographer nyc”
“wedding photographer in new york city”
“wedding photographer in nyc”
“wedding photographer new york city”
or "seo expert in bangladesh"- in my case 
But the reality is everyone knows this in search engine optimization industry.
So the competition for these keywords is very high and thus it forces us to look for the Discover and Attention keywords.
Discover Keywords or Middle Funnel Keywords for Wedding Photographers
Discover keywords are the search terms by which users seek for the services which are extremely related to your business.
Creating content targeting these keywords will bring value to the visitors and generate traffic for your website.
The main feature of discover keywords is, they are easier to rank than money keywords.
For the wedding photography niche, we count search terms with wedding venues and wedding vendors as discover keywords.
The reason is a person who searches for wedding venues or wedding vendors most probably will be interested in wedding photographers as well.
For example, Plaza Hotel Wedding in New York City is a perfect discover keywords.
Because the searchers who search for "Plaza Hotel Wedding in New York City" on Google or any other search engine, may not actively intend to hire a wedding photographer.
But when the visitors land to your website, their intentions might be affected seeing the beautiful photos of the bride and groom at the Plaza Hotel.
If the pictures really amazed the particular visitor, he/she may be moved to hire you.
Isn't it an amazing strategy?
Just found an amazing post for wedding photographers SEO !!
Attention Keywords or Top Funnel Keywords for Wedding Photographers
Attention keywords are the typical keywords related to your niche. When people search for the this keyword they may not looking to buy any service.
Examples:
- Christian Wedding Traditions
- Sacrament of Marriage Catholic
These keywords are used to search to gain information on Christian wedding not to hire a photographer or buy wedding related services.
You must be wondering, why should I target this keywords?
When you launch a new website or just start SEO, you won’t be able to rank for Money or Discover keywords.
You need very low competitive attention keywords to rank easily and get traffic from that.
As soon as you start getting traffic, your website authority will be increased and you'll be able to compete other big player in your niche.
It will support you to rank for the Money and Discover keywords.
On Page SEO Techniques for Wedding Photographers
On-Page SEO means optimizing each web page in way so that Google and other search engine can crawl your website and understand your content in order to show your website in search results.
On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals.
Proper On Page SEO technique require working on both Content and html Codes.
I know it may sound hard. I'll try to explain everything as simple as possible.
There are more than 100 different On Page SEO techniques. But I'll cover top 8 most important seo techniques for wedding photographers:
Check out my on page optimization guide using Yoast.
1. URL, SEO Title and Meta Description
When you search anything on Google, it shows a list of websites on its search result page.
For the each website, Google shows:
- URL
- SEO Title
- Meta Description
This is why this factors are very important. You have to insert your targeted keyword in URL, SEO Title and Meta Description to get higher ranking.
You can use Yoast SEO or Rank Math plugin to optimize your url, SEO title and meta description.
2. Image Optimization
As photographer, you have to deal with thousands of photos.
Every photos need to be in high resolution and eye catchy.
But the problem is HD photo increases the file size and the more photo you upload on your page, the slower it will load.
You have to decreases file size without hurting the image quality. You can do this in Photoshop.
If you want to save some time you can use Smush wordpress plugin which does the same.
When you upload any photo, wordpress gives you opportunity to write Alt Text, Title, Caption and Description.
Make sure that you fill all field properly.
3. Heading
Heading such as H1, H2, H3 etc must contain your keywords. Ahrefs Research found that it has great influence in ranking.
But DON'T over use it.
4. Internal Links
Internal linking means linking your related page or posts.
If you write a post on "top 10 wedding venues in NYC", you should link your service page somewhere on your posts.
You should also link your other related posts.
It keeps reader engage in your website.
It also helps to pass link juice.
5. External Links
You might have noticed, I have given reference to the authority website where you can read more about the topic.
By linking to the authority website, you increase trustworthiness of your content to your readers and google.
You may want to give link to Style Me Pretty or Once Wed as these websites are trusted covered lots of wedding related topics.
6. Schema Markup
Can you see the search result is little different in the above picture?
The SERP is showing Review, Time and Image.
This is done through Schema markup.
Schema Markup is an advance topic. It is related to coding.
I don't want to overwhelm you with the details.
Just install Rank Math plugin. It will help you to create schema mark for your website.
7. Mobile Friendliness
Do you know 82.4% users use mobile during searching for photographers.
You must ensure that your website loads in mobile properly.
Double check how your website images look in mobile phone. Sometimes the pictures doesn't load properly on small device and it may create bad impression on your photography brand.
8. Speed
Last but not the least, your website needs to be load faster. It is one of the google ranking factors.
As you have to show a lot of high quality pictures in your website, definitely it will load slowly.
You may hire professional developers to increase your website speed even with the large image files.
Google My Business Optimization for Wedding Photographers
Local seo tips for wedding photographer
Local SEO for wedding photographers is compulsory.
Local 3 Pack ranking is the most efficient way to generate clients for any local businesses. You must take full advantage of it.
The best thing about GMB is here only "Money Keywords" matters.
If you are reading this post carefully from the beginning, you must know what I meant.
Here your goal is to rank on top 3 map listing.
Some common profitable local search terms are:
"Keyword + City"
"Keyword + Near Me"
So your goal should be rank for these terms.
Let me show how you can achieve 3 pack ranking.
GMB optimization techniques for wedding photographers:
- Always use the same NAP
- Create A Good Profile
- Take Care Of Your Business Reviews
- Choose The Categories Correctly for Ranking
- Keep Your Information Updated
- Complete Your Business Hours
- Add Images related to your photographer team
- Make The Most Of Statistics
- Insert The Map In Your Website
- Study Your Competition
1. Always use the same NAP
NAP stands for the name, address, and phone number.
A local photography business must have:
- A name
- A physical address (not a postal address or a shared address
- A telephone number including the local area code.
100% consistency in NAP is MUST.
If your business's contact information appears on different pages within your website, try to always be the same.
Also, if you register in directories, use the same NAP.
2. Create A Good Profile
Choose a good title that defines your business and choose the profile picture that represents your brand. If possible insert your logo and choose a good cover photo.
NOTE: The cover image should be attractive and in line with your business, with a size of approximately 1000 × 1000 pixels as well as a profile image of 250 x 250 pixels.
3. Take Care Of Your Business Reviews
Business reviews are vital for Local Search Engine Optimization.
If you want to occupy those first business positions in Google and receive more clicks than others, you need to have a rating of between 4 and 5 stars.
A large number of natural reviews can raise you to a higher position in Google Maps results, even if there are other companies that are located closer to the user at the time of search.
Promoting reviews have vital importance not only for SEO ranking but also to improve conversion as they influence the purchase decision. It is proven that many of the purchases of new consumers are based on the opinions of previous customers.
Of course, since clients have taken the trouble to express their opinions, take the trouble to thank them for their comments, either positive or negative.
4. Choose The Categories Correctly for Ranking
Google My Business has a large number of categories and subcategories.
Google automatically establishes the main category of your business (you can modify it if you think it is not the most appropriate).
It is important that you put at least 3 different categories related to photography niche. The additional categories that you add offer potential customers more specific information about your business.
Being a wedding photographer you must choose "Wedding Photographer" as your primary category so that google can understand your business niche and rank you accordingly.
But if it is not the only service you provide, you may select other categories. In that case, put Wedding Photographer into the alternative category.
5. Keep Your Information Updated
The changes of schedules for vacations, addresses, telephone numbers or any other, must be reflected in your Google My Business profile.
Having information that is outdated can give a bad image of your business and lose potential customers and also may lose rankings.
6. Complete Your Business Hours
As we have been saying, Google loves to have this information, not only for itself but to offer the best possible service to its users.
Its configuration allows you to set a different schedule for each day of the week and add specific hours for vacations and special events.
If your schedule changes between summer and winter, be sure to update your profile.
7. Add Images related to your photographer team
Google loves images.
The image is an essential element and a great ally that will help you gain visibility in front of the competition.
Consumers often select (or reject) business depending on their photos. They not only look at the content of the photos but also at their quality and professionalism.
The objective of these photographs is to show yourself and your business.
Of course, you must add bride and grooms photo as your portfolio but you also need to add your team photo as well as your workspace.
Google My Business has its own image format requirements. Take your time to review them and make sure the format is correct.
Remember that the images and videos that you upload from your business should be attractive to the user.
8. Make The Most Of Statistics
GMB gives you great insight into your customer search behavior. If your business is verified, just log into it.
You'll be able to see this type of dashboard.
Thanks to these data. You can know:
- How customers find you: direct, indirect or brand search.
- The search queries: that have used customers to find your business.
- Where the clients find you: in search or in maps.
- Customers action: visit website, request directions or calls.
- Number of photo views
9. Insert The Map In Your Website
It is obvious but not least important.
The information you uploaded to Google My Business, insert the same information into your website along with map coordination.
10. Study Your Competition
- What are your competitors doing?
- What business appears first?
- How to differentiate yourselves from them?
- What do your customers say?
- What things can you do better than them?
Link Building Techniques for Wedding Photographers
Backlinks are links arranged in a text that direct the reader to another site that has content related to what they are reading.
Backlinks allow the reader to expand their knowledge and, at the same time, generate quality traffic for a blog or website .
The more people refer to a blog or site on a certain topic, the more authority this site or blog gets.
So backlinks are important. They show search engines that a particular site is relevant to users searching for a specific topic, in such a way that other sites are targeting it.
Therefore, backlinks are part of Google's ranking factors, since they influence both PageRank and the authority of the site.
Techniques to get quality backlinks for photographers:
1. Write Quality Articles
Write quality articles regarding photography or your local area. Include photos in your post.
If someone like your article, surely they will link you back.
2. Provide Royalty Free Image
You can use your images to get backlinks.
You can giveaway the rights to use your photos in exchange of backlinks.
3. Reach Out to Authority Websites
If you have a really good piece of article and you think it helps readers, you can reach out industry influencer to link your article on their website.
4. Write Guest Post
There are many websites that offers guest post on photography. Such as:
- https://www.darsphoto.com/guest-post/
- https://www.ten2tenphotography.com/accepting-guest-bloggers-wedding-professionals/
You can reach out to them and submit your post in order to get a backlink
5. Social Media, Forum and Question Answer Site
If you want to get instant backlinks, make use of social media, forum and question answer site.
You can upload your photos on facebook and instargram or videos in YouTube and provide your website url in the caption.
Forum related to photography is also a great source of free backlinks.
Question answer site like Quora is also a good site to get backlinks from.
6. Hire SEO Agency
If you don't want to do this tiresome work, you can buy links. You can hire us or any of the SEO agency whom you trust to build backlinks for your website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can a wedding photographer get more reviews?
How to deal with negative comments?
Remember that it is important to always answer politely and correctly, even if the comment is not to your liking. If you have bothered to write to make a criticism, do not be afraid and answer with humility.
If you believe that the comment comes from a false account with the sole intention of damaging our brand image, do not hesitate to report it to Google.
How to load image faster without hiring developer?
Now it's your turn:
Audit your website.
Make a list for improvements Take actions.