How to drive traffic to your site - the wonders of SEO
Topic: Website & SEO
Time Investment: 5 Minutes
Suggested Product: Website Terms, BizRevamp®
Today, let us continue the trend of discussing marketing! Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. It's active, not passive. You must hustle and put yourself in the path of the client. Many newer photographers starting out do not have the budgets to market, and even established photographers are taking advantage of free marketing through driving traffic to their websites or blogs.
One of the most important aspects of web traffic is SEO or Search Engine Optimization. In layman's terms, this is how your website catches the eye of the search engines and delivers it to the searcher. It's no fun blogging and blogging and blogging, only to get no traffic! Here are some tips for increasing your search engine optimization and your web presence which will result in PRESENTS!
Tips to optimizing your time online:
Name your site appropriately. You're probably thinking DUH! But seriously - put yourself in the shoes of a potential client. What would you search to find a certain type of photographer in your area? Try to incorporate this into your site title!
Site description. Same as site title! Write a real description to grab the attention of your audience, but also make sure to include the keywords needed. If your keywords now aren't working, try googling your area and find how your competitors pop up!
Update frequently. People want fresh content. Web searches want fresh content. Make sure you're updating frequently. Set a goal and blog.
Have relevant content. No sense in blogging if the content isn't relevant! Find an area that you are knowledgeable in and that you think your readership will like to read!
Categorize your blog posts. Be consistent in categorizing your blog posts. Make sure these categories are relevant!
Keywords. We discussed this above, but beware on writing TOO many keywords! Search engines are coded to label these sites as spam, thus, making your labors a waste!
Pair Flash Sites with Words. Without getting into technical computer mumbo jumbo, flash sites look pretty but don't drive SEO. Make sure to include a description or descriptive text title on your flash splash page. Without it, the computer spiders that are searching wash right over you!
Image Descriptions. As photographers, we probably get into a groove of labeling our pictures by our client name and date of session. Potential clients have no clue about this! Rename your images before you upload them. (i.e. Austin_Texas_Wedding_Photography_1.jpg)
Now what? I've done all the above!
Use an analytics tool such as Google Analytics. TRACK your audience. It is amazing how much traffic you may actually be getting but never comment! For more help understanding Google Analytics, read Using Google Analytics to track your marketing.
Link on social media. What good is having relevant and fresh content if you're not going to get the word out. Help out the search engines and post on your social media accounts!
Give it time! It doesn't happen overnight. Seriously! It's like rolling a snowball; it takes some time to get going, but once its big, people will notice!
These are just some tips on the FREE way to obtain web presence. Keep at it and watch for progress!
