Why it’s important for your SEO to blog as a photographer

If you want to start to rank on Google, you need to start publishing blog posts — end of story.
One of the things that Google loves is new content, and publishing new blog posts is adding new content to your website.

And if you are using the right headlines for your blog post, you will also repeatedly inform Google what your whole website is all about, which will help you rank when someone searches for a photographer in the area you serve.

Updating your photography blog is very important

I repeatedly get the question about how to improve the SEO when I work with websites for my photographer clients.

I then ask if they do blog? The most common responses I get are, No, I’m terrible at blogging, or I know I should, but it never happens, or that blogging isn’t for them.

Yes, SEO is a very complex thing to manage, and it’s nothing that happens overnight. SEO is nothing you just set up, and then you start to rank. You can optimize your website and work with keywords etc. But it’s nothing that is just done once, and then you are fine. SEO is something you continuously need to work on.

By blogging, you are doing just that. 

Blog posts is a very powerful SEO tool, and before panicking or being stressed over your SEO, give it a try.

Start blogging for a few months and see where it will take you. Compare your ranking before and after to see if it will make a difference.

Change the mindset around your blog as a photographer

Blogging as a photographer is actually very simple.

My first advice is to start to think you are blogging for Google instead of potential clients. Because when you shift your mindset, it will make the whole process easier.

And when I say “Blog for Google,” I don’t mean you should write stiff, robotic blog posts. What I mean is that you don’t have to see your blog as how blogging was back in the days when blogs were more like diaries. 

I want you to think of your blog as a huge source of information about your photography business and as an extended version of your portfolio (more about that later). 

Applying this mindset that your blog posts are here to make Google happy will take off the pressure of writing more in-depth texts. 

So what should you blog about, you might ask?

You should blog about every photo session you have

As a photographer, it’s pretty easy to blog, as you can work with what you already have – your sessions. And let your gallery do the talk. That is what people are most interested in seeing in these types of posts. 

Of course, it needs to be some text too, and I would say it’s enough to mention a little about the session, how amazing your clients were, the location, and the weather. Just casually describe it, don’t put any pressure on yourself. 

People will be most interested in having a look at the pictures of the session.

They might also read the text, I’m not saying that they don’t, but it is not essential here.

It all starts with the headline of the blog post

Something very important when it comes to your blog post is the headlines, as these are the ones that Google reads and prioritizes first.

And to give a good headline, you write the type of photo session, the location where it took place, and the name of the one you had the session with. The last thing is added only to give some variety if you have several sessions of the same type at the exact location.

For example:

• Jack and Anna’s Southern Wedding in New Orleans, Louisiana
• The Walker’s Winter Family Photo Session in Aspen, Colorado
• Maternity Photo Session with Jessica in Portland, Oregon
  
  
  

It can feel a bit strange writing headlines like this. It doesn’t feel pretty, but you mostly do this to provide Google with relevant information.

When someone wants to book a photography session, they will google the type of session plus the location where they want the photos taken. 

For example, if someone wants their family pictures taken in a snowy Aspen, the blog post with the headline “The Walker’s Snowy Winter Family Photo Session in Aspen, Colorado” will rank for this person. 

If you instead had to give the same blog post the more general headline like “A fun family photo session with the Walker family”, it would possibly not rank at all in this person’s search.

And the more specific you can be, the better. If you are a wedding photographer, you should mention the venue name, as when other brides to be will google that venue, your pictures will show up. Same thing if you have your sessions in a park or a specific part of the city, name drop it in the headline.

Just make sure not to write too long headlines and not only keyword stuff them.

End your blog posts with a Call to Action

Don’t forget to end every blog post with some type of Call to Action (CTA). It can be anything from asking them to book a session with you and giving them a link to your Service page to asking them to look at other similar sessions and link to your portfolio page. 

Don’t leave them hanging after finishing the blog post. Firmly tell them what they can do next. And only give them one option. “Learn how we can work together here” is much better than “Learn how we can work together here or view my Portfolio here”.

You should keep this in mind for your whole website, not just for your blog post. Always guide your visitors to their next step. You can read more about it here

Don’t forget to add the Alt-text

Alt text is the text snippet you can give a picture to tell Google what’s on the picture. This is very powerful when you are a photographer, as many of your potential clients might do an image search when looking for someone to hire. It also helps your overall SEO as you allow Google to determine what your website is all about.

Adding the Alt text can differ a bit depending on which platform you have on your website. But usually, you can click on the image via your website editor, and you will get to the settings.
In Showit, it will appear in the menu to the right. Please also note that when using Showit, the Alt text is the same as the Description.

The SEO TITLE is the same as the file name. I recommend naming your file correctly before saving it. Otherwise, you will have a scenario as below where you manually need to change the SEO title, as the file name of the file doesn’t make much sense.

The ALT TEXT describes what’s on the picture, the text Google reads. You should use keywords here but not just “keyword stuff”. Describe the picture for someone that can’t see it. Don’t forget to add the type of photography and its location.

Want to learn more about this and to see examples, read my blog post about Image Titles and Alt-Text.

See your blog as your extended portfolio

The blog can also be an extended version of your portfolio or gallery page. 

I always suggest only having your absolutely best work presented on your portfolio/gallery page.

For other great sessions, you have had, it’s perfect to showcase them in blog posts. Then they get the publicity they deserve but not having an eminent place on your website.

See it like the galleries you add to your portfolio page are like your dearest belongings you put on the shelf where everyone can see them. But that doesn’t mean you have no other belongings around your house. They are there, but not in any specific spotlight as the ones you put on the shelf.

It can also come in handy when a potential client asks what a photo session can look like in a particular condition (like winter, rain, etc.) or how it can look at a specific location. Then you can send links to blog posts with sessions, including precisely what your potential clients are asking about. 

Want more tips for your SEO? Download my free guide, “Easy SEO Updated for Photographers”

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• Learn how to add a Notification bar to your website here.
• Read about why you as a photographer, should use Showit for your website here.   
• And here you can read about the 6 things your contact page needs