
How to determine keywords for your photography studio
The first thing we need to do is come up with a list of keywords. The keywords will determine the title of your website, the title of your individual blog posts, the names of your images, and the specific words you use in your text. They will also determine how you structure your website and how you link to your own website. Keyword research is the basis of SEO and the first thing to master. To establish a good keyword strategy, you need to have a full understanding of your own business and clients. To help, use the “SALE” acronym:
- S – Service: What services do you offer?
- A – Areas: What cities and areas do you service?
- L – Locations: What specific locations or venues do you target?
- E – Emphasis: What specific emphasis do you have in terms fo style or genre?
- S – Synonyms: What are some synonyms for photography that your clients might search?
You will waste time and effort if you rank for keywords that have nothing to do with your services. To continue with our previous example, there would be little value in being ranked for “San Francisco Wedding Photographer” if Jennifer either didn’t live near San Francisco or didn’t specialize in Wedding Photography. Maybe San Francisco is only a flight away and maybe she technically has the skills to do Wedding Photography. Unfortunately, if her entire portfolio consists of Fashion or Architectural photography, Jennifer’s not likely to see any increase in bookings or benefit from ranking well for that particular keyword.
On the other hand, if she lived in the heart of San Francisco and her entire website was full of great wedding photography images and information, then ranking for this keyword would drive targeted clients to her site. Remember, SEO for photography is not about ranking well. It’s about benefiting your business by getting you actual clients.
So your first exercise is to answer the following questions. For the examples, let’s continue working with Jennifer Reynolds in San Francisco.
- S – Service: List the services you provide:
Examples: Wedding Photography, Engagement Photography - A – Areas: List areas where your ideal clients might be located:
Examples: San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Bay Area, Fremont - L – Locations: List the specific locations and venues at which you would like to book more shoots:
Examples: Fairmont San Francisco, Golden Gate Park, City Hall - E – Emphasis: List your areas of emphasis in terms of style and genre of photography:
Examples: Artistic, Creative, Vineyard, Sunset, Rustic - S – Synonyms: List synonyms and closely related works to photography:
Examples: photographer, photojournalism, images, pictures
Do not try to make a complete list yet, as we’re still just brainstorming. For now, start to combine these words into potential search terms, putting yourself in the minds of your clients. What are they searching? What exact phrases are they using to search? Make a list of 5 to 10 potential keywords.
Here are some possible combinations based on our hypothetical SF-based business:
- San Francisco Wedding Photography
- Oakland Family Photographer
- Golden Gate Park Photography
- Fremont wedding venues
- City Hall Wedding Photography
- Napa Valley Vineyard Photography
- Pictures of Rustic Weddings in Bay Area
- Bay Area Sunset Photography
- Creative Wedding Photographer in San Francisco
- San Francisco portrait photographer
- San Francisco engagement photography
Note that these are just possible ideas. We are still brainstorming so it’s possible that many of these ideas won’t pan out. Some keywords will require modification, and others might be exactly what we are looking for.
CHAPTER 1.01 – INTRODUCTION
- 1.1 Photography SEO and Web Marketing Intro
- 1.2 Why You Need SEO
- 1.3 Why You Should NOT Hire Out For SEO
- 1.4 Overview of Chapters
CHAPTER 2: 1.02 – SEO BASICS & KEYWORD STRATEGY
- 2.1 How Do Search Engines Work
- 2.2 Understanding Search Results
- 2.3 Search Results Quiz
- 2.4 What is a Keyword
- 2.5 How To Determine Keywords For Your Photography Studio
- 2.6 Using the Keyword Planner
CHAPTER 3 1.03 – CREATING CONTENT
- 3.1 How to Create Great Content
- 3.2 Web Page Ideas
- 3.3 How to Create Great SEO Content
- 3.4 Grow Your Business with Google Image Search
- 3.5 Balancing SEO with Workflow
CHAPTER 4: 1.04 – SITE STRUCTURE
Chapter 5: 1.05 – ACCESSIBILITY, SPEED, AND DUPLICATE CONTENT
- 5.1 Importance of Correct Internal Linking
- 5.2 Broken Links
- 5.3 Under the Hood Accessibility
- 5.4. How to Speed Up Your Site
- 5.5. Avoiding Duplicate Content
- 5.6 Conclusion
Chapter 6: 2.01 – LINK BASICS
Chapter 7: 2.02 – LINK VALUE FACTORS
Chapter 8: 2.03 – NOFOLLOW, RELATED LINKS, & ANCHOR TEXT
Chapter 9: 2.04 – LINK BUILDING STRATEGIES
Chapter 10: 3.01 – THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
- 10.1 Why Social Media is Important?
- 10.2 How to Get Started with Social Media
- 10.3 How to Create Quality Content
- 10.4 How to Post Your Content – Rules and Guidelines
Chapter 11: 3.02 – MAXIMIZING SPECIFIC SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS
- 11.1 Use Wedding Slideshows To Showcase Your Work On Social Media
- 11.2 2 Apps To #MaximizeEngagement
- 11.3 Using Facebook to Grow Your Business
- 11.4 Using Twitter to Grow Your Business
- 11.5 Using Google Plus to Grow Your Business
- 11.6 Using Pinterest to Grow Your Business
- 11.7 Using Instagram to Grow Your Business
- 11.8 How to Post Videos and Photos to Instagram From Your PC
Chapter 12: 3.03 – MASTER LOCAL SEARCH
- 12.1 Local Listing Accounts & On-Page SEO and Local Links
- 12.2 Decide On Your Name, Address, and Phone
- 12.3 Set Up My Google Business Page
Chapter 13: 4.01 – Initial Decisions
- 13.1 Create a Photography Website
- 13.2 Photography Business Names | How to Choose
- 13.3 Photography Domain Names | How to Choose
- 13.4 Best Website Builder for Photographers (Updated for 2019)
- 13.5 One Website vs. Separating Your Blog
- 13.6 How to Create Multiple Websites to Improve Your SEO
Chapter 14: 4.02 – WORDPRESS AND Squarespace
- 14.1 WordPress for Photographers
- 14.2 Recommended WordPress Plugins for Photographers
- 14.3 Squarespace For Photographers | Pros And Cons
Chapter 15: 4.03 – GOOGLE ANALYTICS
- 15.1 Using Google Analytics to Measure Performance
- 15.2 Google Webmaster Basics for Photographers
- 14.3 Squarespace For Photographers | Pros And Cons
Chapter 16: PAID DIRECTORIES
ACCESS TO INDUSTRY-LEADING EDUCATION
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