SEO for Photographers – 2024 Guide and Tips | BKA Content

Professional photographers come in many “shades,” from specialists in weddings and events to photography wizards with a private studio. What all photography careers have in common is the need for a regular influx of new clients. Now that most people shop for services online, search engine optimization for photographers is more important than ever.

How Have Trends Changed SEO for Photographers in 2024?

Search engines are constantly changing, and 2024 is no exception. Google’s March and June 2024 core updates made tweaks to penalize low-quality spam, so now is a great time to improve your rankings with high-quality SEO. Our easy guide explains everything you need to give your website a major traffic boost.

E-E-A-T for the Win

For a while, search engines seemed to prioritize user-generated content — such as Reddit posts — more than authoritative, established websites. Not anymore. The tried-and-true formula of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness is back where it belongs.

Quality content is like owning a 35mm Leica R5, Olympus OM-1, or Nikon F4. No matter how much time passes, the classics hold their value.

Social Media SEO for Photographers

An increasing number of people go to social media sites to search for businesses and products. To keep up with this trend, you need to go where your customers are. As a photographer, this means maintaining a strong presence on Instagram or Pinterest (or Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.).

Does SEO work on social media? Yes, but the methods depend on the platform:

• YouTube’s search option looks at keywords in your video descriptions and titles, and these contribute to Google search results, too.
• Instagram cares more about follower engagement, which means creating engaging content and interacting with readers.
• Facebook tries to match users with content they care about, so make sure you have a descriptive profile for your business, including a short bio and contact info.

Use social media to highlight your brand, and spend time encouraging followers to check out your website for guides, tips, instructional videos, and blog articles.

Website Blogs

If you’re not crazy about social media platforms changing their terms of service to train AI, we get it. How can you enjoy the traffic benefits of social media without competing against AI?

Limit the size of social media posts and direct traffic to your site instead. Every time you launch a new article, inspirational image, video, or project portfolio on your blog, post a two- or three-sentence social media post that points your followers to your main site.

AI-Proof Content

The good news is that you can win the AI website war with SEO for photographers. Instead of joining the wave of spammy, mass-produced fluff, stand out with bold and beautiful content:

• Include concrete details
• Show off your expertise with professional tips
• Give your content a human touch with excitement and emotions
• Add some storytelling or humor when it’s appropriate
• Help your audience find answers and solutions

For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, your website should help newlyweds-to-be feel relaxed. Answer questions with a friendly tone. Get couples excited about the big day and describe romantic venues with colorful word pictures.

How Can SEO Help Your Business?

Search-optimized content supports your digital marketing in several ways:

• For social media photographers: Smart search optimization helps you attract the influencers who need your services, not random people on the internet.
• For wedding photographers: Following SEO best practices can show local couples snippets of your services or photography, helping you stand out from step zero.
• For portrait and family photography studios: Learning how to use SEO effectively gives you a major edge over less tech-savvy competitors, even if they have more time in business.
• For freelance photographers: SEO helps you build a portfolio website that actively attracts potential clients, not just a reference repository for your resume.
• For corporate photographers: Business-oriented photographers need phenomenal digital content to establish a reputation as full-service industry professionals.

Almost 80% of users search online before choosing a local business, so it’s worth investing in SEO for photographers.

What Are Good Content Topics and SEO Keywords for Photographers?

Your goal isn’t to rank on page one for every photography keyword in existence. Focus on search terms that attract the right customers.

Service-Oriented Keywords

First and foremost, make sure your website has keywords that highlight your services:

• Wedding photography
• Best places for a fashion shoot in Miami
• Beach photographers for weddings
• Photographers for businesses
• Real estate drone photography

All of these keywords help you find leads that are likely to take the next step.

Local SEO Keywords

Many people looking for a photographer use geo-targeted keywords:

• Photographers in Saint Louis
• Wedding venues with a photographer in New York
• Newborn photography in Houston
• Best photographers near me
• New York photography studio

Local SEO can promote your brand much faster than word of mouth.

Informational Keywords

Look for keywords related to topics that your target audience cares about:

• Mom and baby photography rates
• Love stories photography
• Tips for professional pictures
• Professional photos for LinkedIn
• Should the about page have employee photos

Craft blog articles around keywords you want to rank for, such as “Guide to love stories photography for couples” or “Should you include employee photos on your about page?”  

How Do You Use SEO as a Photographer?

Try a few of our favorite SEO tips for photographers.

Make Your Website Visitor-Friendly

Technical SEO is a big deal for photography websites because of the large number of images. Help your web pages load faster by compressing files (ideally less than 500KB each). Compression utilities maintain the quality of your photos but make them more mobile-friendly.

Embrace Local SEO With Google Maps

Every photography professional should be on Google Maps. Whether your studio is a large warehouse or a home office, you can register a Google My Business account for free.

Use the tools available to include detailed information about your services and what makes them special. Link to your website and provide a phone number or email address for contacts.

Understand the Motivation Behind Each Search

User intent — the reason why someone is searching in the first place — should influence how you approach each keyword. Is the search informational or transactional?

How-to guides solve problems for your readers, such as “How to dress for engagement photos.” Blog posts educate them, e.g., “How much do professional baby pictures cost?”

SEO-powered product pages and landing pages are perfect for transactional searches, connecting visitors quickly with the photography services they want.

Can Images Help With SEO for Photography Websites?

If you’re like many professionals, your average blog post probably includes several pictures. The right images are a major part of your site’s identity and portfolio. If you follow good SEO habits, those images can help your website’s search rankings, deliver traffic via the “Images” tab on Google Search, and make it more likely for people to click on your posts.

Use Detailed File Names

When uploading images for your website, blog posts, or portfolio, don’t use the auto-generated file name from your digital camera. Search engines crawl image files, and a name such as “IMG02-4693821.jpg” doesn’t do you any SEO favors.

On the other hand, if you name the picture “little-girl-eating-watermelon-slice-summer.jpg”, it’s easier to rank for image searches related to “watermelon,” “summer pictures,” “girl eating watermelon,” or similar ideas.

Use hyphens in the file name, not underscores or spaces. Be descriptive, but try to use fewer than 100 characters.

Add Alt Text

Conventional search engines aren’t able to “see” photos. They crawl text to discover what your web pages are about. To make an image searchable — and contribute to the site’s search rankings — you need to describe it in words. That’s where alt text comes in.

When working with alt text, keep a few pointers in mind:

• Be descriptive, specific, and concise
• Keep alt text under 150 characters, including spaces
• Emphasize main subjects or unique aspects of the image
• Describe colors, textures, emotions, backgrounds, and other elements
• Include a few keywords you want to target

For example, the alt text for your “little-girl-eating-watermelon-slice-summer.jpg” might look something like this:

“Humorous portrait of blond-haired little girl eating watermelon slice, cute toddler with freckles, smiling in a green field on a bright summer day.”

Modern website management platforms make it pretty easy to add alt text descriptions when uploading images.

Put images directly underneath the title

A final tip for increasing your web traffic is to always place your first image directly underneath the H1 page title. This makes it more likely for Google to feature the image with your meta title in search results. Imagine how persuasive your blog post called “10 Amazing Poses for Kid Photography” would be with that image of a little girl eating watermelon above it.

Experts in SEO for Photographers

Can’t find the time to juggle your website’s SEO, blog writing, and social media posts? Don’t worry. That’s why we offer SEO for photographers. Our team takes care of the complex stuff and brings your creative vision to life online. Discover our full range of SEO services for small businesses and professional firms right away.