In my last post “How I Booked 30 Weddings In My First Year (Back) In Business”, I mentioned some of my 2014 goals. One of those goals is to blog way more.
For any photographer that doesn’t think having a blog is a big deal, and that blogging doesn’t really matter….we should definitely sit down, and I’ll help you overcome this hideous lie that you’re telling yourself.
Blogging is HUGE! Its a way to help clients connect with you. And as I’ve said before, connecting is key. When people inquire with you and consider booking, they want to know who they’re investing in. They’re considering giving you, a stranger, a LOT of money, so to help them build that trust in you, blogging is a great tool.
Its also a great way to stay relevant and deliver great content on a regular basis. When Google and other search engines see that you’re churning out great content that people like, and read, and come back to read, and link to, that tells search engines that your site has something to offer. This is one of the ways earch engines choose to sort and rank websites; through the value websites offer to the world.
Lastly, blogging allows you to easily fit in keywords and phrases that help people find you with search engines. Since I’m one of many Las Vegas wedding photographers, I might try finding ways to fit terms like, “Weddings in Las Vegas” or “Nevada Wedding Photographers” in my posts. (See what I did there? 😉 )
So lets talk about how to optimize a great blog post so that it is engaging, and will help you get seen on the internets.
8 Ways To Optimize A Blog Post For Photographers
Content is King.
You’ve heard it before, and now I’m just going to drill it home. Content will always rule. People will only read what they find interesting and relevant to them. Search engines will only rank websites with great content highly. So if you want to be seen, focus on your content. For photographers this would include great posts about recent photo sessions, industry related posts (like this one), etc.
In order to create a great content post about a recent photo session, your planning should start even before you photograph your session. If you’re photographing people, you should learn all about them, their story. Focus on the little moments that happened as you were shooting with them in between photos. This can all be turned into compelling content later.
Include Vendor Names & Links
If you were photographing and event that had other wedding professionals involved (like a wedding), be sure to include the vendor names and links. Not only will this show other wedding professionals that you’re willing to show them some love and network with them, it creates relevant outbound links from your site which can reflect well on you with search engines. An added bonus would be, say, if someone ended up searching for a venue name that you happened to link to in a past blog post, they may end up stumbling upon your website, and if they’re looking to book another wedding pro in your industry they may also be looking to book someone in your specific area of expertise.
Include At Least 7 Keywords in Context
Speaking of search engines, you should really be giving search engines hints as to how you’d like to be found. As a wedding photographer, I certainly wouldn’t want to come up in Google’s search results for, “Cute puppies dressed as Harry Potter characters”, although now that I think of it, I’d really like to see one. Instead I want to rank for relevant terms. How do I do that? By including them in the text of my blog posts.
When you write your blog post, pay careful attention to opportunities to fit in the terms you’d like people to find you when they’re using search engines.
Use Headers
Using headers in your blog posts is also a great SEO practice. Headers should also feature relevant terms like what you do, where you live, or anything you’d want search engines to notice.
Link to Relevant Content Both Within Your Own Site, and to External Sites
Linking is the backbone to good search engine optimization. Try to include 5-7 links per blog post, both to relevant past content you’ve posted, and any external content that may be relevant. Sites like Google take notice, and your linking will continue to help you build your web presence.
Link Using Relevant Terms, Not Terms Like “Click Here”
Speaking of linking, make sure you link relevant terms instead of using call-to-action terms like “Click here!” or “Find Out How!”.
For example, if I were linking to past content of my own I wouldn’t say, “CLICK HERE for more info on how to book a wedding”. However, I might make a link this way, “Check out “How to book a wedding photographer” for more information.”
Include Detail Shots
Lastly, if you’re showcasing photo sessions, which you should be if you’re not, make sure to include lots of detail shots. People come to blogs for IDEAS. Sure, your beautiful posing or landscapes and compositions will give them great ideas, but details will win them over. If you have enough detail photos, people will come back time and time again for more inspiration.
I don’t want to delve too far into SEO with blog posts yet, but I did want to give a good outline of best practices for creating an engaging blog post.
Do you have other best practices that you follow every time you blog? Leave them in the comments below!
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