Having a web site is a must in today’s day and age. While some people may still go to the Yellow pages to find a photographer, most rely on referrals from friends, the impression they’ve gotten from your storefront, marketing materials and advertising. Here a quick, inexpensive way to make sure when someone searches your specialty (weddings, kids, family) + photography + your city name, you appear in the search results.
Use Keywords in all of your blog posts and within web site content
Keywords are the words your customers and potential customers would type into a search engine to find you. For example, for Sarah Petty Photography a sample keyword could be Springfield, IL children’s photographer. Brainstorm a list of keywords that describe your business. Once you have a good sized list, check out Google’s AdWords’ free keyword tool for basic keyword analysis. It’s geared toward potential advertisers using Google’s sponsored links program, but can tell you useful information, like how frequently a keyword was searched in the prior month or year, how competitive each keyword is, a list of related keywords you might not have considered, and more.
Make sure you ask your customers, employees, and vendors how they would describe your studio / photography. If they were searching the web for a photographer like you, what words would they use when searching? Often our customers use different words than we do to describe our businesses. And after all, people like your current customers will be searching for you on the web, so make sure you understand how they view you.
Now, narrow the list of keywords to those which you feel describe you best. Then, cite these words often in your blog posts and on each page of your site. Incorporate these words into everything you write on the web and you’ll see your web site traffic increase!