Websites & Search Engine Optimization (SEO)-Updated
by William Lulow
Note: This could be an interesting article for photographers who don’t seem to be able to get their websites up to Google’s first page. Try a few of these suggestions.
I had a certain amount of fear going into my relocation to a different city two years ago. How long would it take for Google to recognize my new location? And, how long would it take to restore my SEO ranking on that platform? I had lost a fair amount of business when I closed my New York City studio back in 1998 and relocated to Westchester County, NY. I was hoping not to have to repeat that disaster. But back then, since websites were still relatively new, I didn’t understand how websites and search engines worked, much less about how they appear to the general public out there. I finally got my first website in 2001 or so, but nothing like what I have now. As a matter of fact, I finally constructed a new one back in 2018 and have been very happy with what I have now. The days of lugging a portfolio around to art directors ended over 30 years ago! Today, everything is done online and because of the pandemic, even regular work is done via Zoom sessions as well.
A few years ago, I began to do some research on SEO and what “keywords” were and a bit about how to use them. Coupled with my knowledge of advertising and how it works, I have been able to change the copy on my website to include several mentions of my new location in the body of the text, which is actually what they call a “widget” on my home page in WordPress. If you go back and look at it, I mention the word “Livingston” probably four or five times in the first paragraph. That was sufficient to elevate my ranking on a normal Google search for “photographers in Livingston, NJ” to the number ONE listing. This is great. But it took several weeks to get there. One of the secrets I have found is that sometimes the search engines elevate the ranking of a website based on how many times it is requested over a certain period. Another little “trick” I picked up was that if I “Googled” my own site several times a day and from several different devices, it seemed as though that helped the ranking quite a bit. So I have made it part of my routine each day, to type in the words “photographers in Livingston, NJ” at least a couple of times per day. It has seemed to help. It took me about three weeks to rise to the top of page one on Google for my new area of Livingston, NJ.
At one point I invested some money with a company that said they would study my website and insert a number of keywords in strategic places to help the SEO, but the money was wasted, as so much of it is with websites for photographers. I have said it before, but having a great website and converting those who view it to actual clients are two, very different matters. The reason to be listed first on any search engine is to have more people be able to see your name and visit your website. Just from my own experience in searching for something I might want to buy, first I have to know what I want, then I have to find a website that has exactly what that is. I sometimes have been looking for other photographers to see what their websites look like and I often get listings of businesses that are located nowhere near where I’m looking. So, that’s the fault perhaps, of the search company itself. Or maybe it’s their zeal to list as many sites as possible that resemble what the person is looking for. So, if someone is looking for the EXACT kind of product you have to sell, AND they are ready and able to buy, they might call you. Sometimes they are just looking for information and want to compare what you have with what others are offering as well. In that case, if they like your product, they will call you eventually. Maybe they are not quite ready to buy. Maybe they are looking to buy your product, but not immediately. There are all sorts of reasons for not converting clicks to customers right away, and you never really know what they are. Then, of course, there are many different types of “searchers” out there. If they are truly interested in what you have to sell, they will try to look at your whole site, but usually not. I have talked to people who have looked at my site’s HOME page, but never knew that I did “art work” as well as my commercial stuff! They never looked at any other page.
But having a first-place listing will eventually pay off if only for the fact that every time someone is looking for a product like yours, they will see your name. The more they see your name, the more they begin to think of you as somewhat of a “force” in your industry. To me, that’s the way it has seemed to work. Advertising is a cumulative exploit. It almost never works for a service business, the first time around. It may even take years of advertising for it to take affect. Unless, you are advertising something most people need or want. I’ve often said that the key to becoming a billionaire is to make or offer something everyone in the world wants. But, if your product isn’t something like that, then it may take you much longer to get noticed.
Photography and commercial photographic products are such things. First, you need to find customers who need your services. Next, you need to find those customers in that category who need your services on a regular basis, or many people who need your services once. That’s how you can build a business.
I attended a conference several years ago, hosted by Google to bring its users up to date about how internet searches are actually conducted by the public. They came up with a term back then called “nano searches,” which meant that these were searches that customers mounted while in the process of doing something else, like waiting on line at the grocery store or the doctor’s office. I have also been paying a bit more attention to my Google Analytics. According to those statistics, the average length of time that many folks spend on my website is around thirty seconds! Sometimes it’s more, but the AVERAGE is about that! This means that whatever images I have on my home page must attract enough attention to make people want to look at more! Then they might look at one or two other pages. Whenever I look at a person’s website (different from a store or other company), I want to find out what that person is all about, so I often look at all the pages on that website. But I am not a typical browser. If you are in business to try to promote your images or your ability to make them, you need to have your strongest and most typical images that you shoot on your very first page. So, that should be your first goal in setting up an effective website. In my case, portraits are what I do most, so I have mostly portraits and some famous people on my home page. Since I am also a teacher of photography, an explanation of how I like to work and teach is in a side bar on the home page because I want people to know who I am from the outset. That is my personal take on what I wanted to present on my site. You have to figure out all of that for yourself and what kinds of images you like to make.
I’ve told other photographers as well as a few clients to try some of these ideas before spending any big bucks on having any “professional” SEO work done. You may actually need a knowledgeable person to examine your site to see if SEO is set up correctly and for maximum effect, but the more you know about how these things work, the better armed you will be to set up your own.
