Some SEO Tips for Your Blog

Social media tends to eat up a lot of the words on this blog. It’s the thing I get asked about most so it’s the topic I address most frequently. But, today I’ve decided to take a second to give you my Top 5 SEO Blog Tips (for Photographers). You can thank the fabulous Heather Kincaid for bringing this topic up today and making me remember how important it is. And, since I’m working on some exciting new things targeted at photographers, this post is dedicated to you. (But, if you’re not a photographer, you can still get some great tips and tricks!)

Top 5 SEO Blog Tips (for Photographers)

1. Pictures are pretty, but content is king. When you add a new post to your blog, make sure to add some content to help the search engines know what it’s all about. This is a good way to include some keywords (things like location, other vendors, models…) as well as links and a little bit of personality.
2. Name/tag/describe your images. It’s a little more time-consuming to name every image, but it’s worth the effort. Since the search engines can’t look at your pretty pictures and tell that they’re “a springtime wedding at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort and Spa” they have no way of indexing them unless you add alt tags and descriptions. The more keyword-rich details, the better.
3. Build relationships with other bloggers. Photographers yield a lot of power. You’re the ones with the beautiful detail shots from events – the makeup, the flowers, the venue. Make sure to share the wealth and ask that when your photos are blogged, people provide a link back to your site. Inbound links are critical for optimizing your website.
4. Remove the guesswork. Take a look at your analytics every now and then. How are people finding you? What keywords are they using? Where does most of your traffic come from? Capitalize on this information and learn from your analytics. Only one person can be the first on the Google search for “Los Angeles wedding photographer,” so look for more specific keywords with less competition that you can rank for.
5.  Be friendly – mobile friendly. We all know that more and more people are using their phones to search for information. Your blog needs to be optimized for these devices (especially if your website is built in Flash). Make sure your image resolution is set so that your pictures load quickly and display properly on a smart phone.

Every blog platform is a little different, so you might need to tweak these tips to make sense for you. Do you have a specific issue with your blog’s SEO? Leave your question in the comments section and I’d be happy to answer!