So today we are going to talk about linkbacks – getting other websites (preferably with good search rankings) to link back to your site in order to help your own page ranking.

The first step is to have content on your site that other sites will WANT to link to.  Yes, the goal is to sell your service…but provide some useful information.  Maybe you could write some quick tips on photography composition once a week.  Maybe you could talk about different locations where you like to shoot in your area.  Maybe you could do a how-to on posing or props.  What about related services in your area?

I’m going to go back to my friend Heather in Louisville.  Heather is primarily interested in shooting children and families.  What services would her potential clients be looking for (other than photography)?  I did a quick search for “louisville ky childrens clothing” and the second listing was Animal Crackers.  Its a nice site, but the photography could be better.  Perhaps Heather could go down to the shop and talk to the owner or manager about trading some product photography services and talking about their shop on her blog (with a link to their shop) for a link on their website.

A quick note on search results – When you do your test searches, pay close attention.  The first three results are usually “sponsored” results.  That means the owner of the website bought their spot at the top of the first page.  These sponsored links are typically in a shaded box or have some kind of frame around them.  They also have to pay every time someone clicks on their link.  For our purposes, these don’t count.  We are concerned with the sites that come up organically – that is, their site has earned its ranking based on its content, keywords, linkbacks, etc.

Another way to get some linkbacks is to comment on other blogs.  The key here is to find blogs that are somehow relevant to your business and to make comments that are useful and meaningful.  Then provide a link to your site in your signature.

I know we would all rather be out shooting, but if you spend a little bit of time each week posting relevant content to your blog and partnering up with related services, your site will get increased traffic and bring you more clients.  More clients = more shooting!  The key is consistency – most experts recommend committing to 2-3 blog posts each week.  They don’t have to be long!  Just useful and properly keyworded.

Added bonus – if you use a WordPress blog, there are plugins which will “push” your blog post to your Facebook page or Twitter.  That way, every time you publish a blog post, you will also be publishing content on your Facebook and Twitter.  More noise on the internet makes your business more visible.

Need help designing or implementing your new website, blogsite or blog/website combo?  Let me help!

What is it that you want?

The first question I ask when a potential Pink Lemonade client approaches me is “What do you want your website or blog to do for you?”  What I mean is – do you want a place for existing customers to proof their photos?  A place where people who already know your name can find you?  Or do you want your site to bring you new customers?  For most photographers the answer is “Both.”  If you just want a place for existing customers/people who already know your name, then this post is not for you.  If your answer is “both,” then keep reading…

Google is, by far, the most popular search engine.  It has even become a verb – you don’t “search” for someone, you “Google” them (even if you are using Bing!).  So if you want your site to bring you new clients, Google needs to be able to find you!

Google has never (and probably will never) publicize the ever-changing search result formula.  That being said, it is widely believed that the most important factors are linkbacks (when other well-respected and related sites link to your site), relevant and appropriate key words as close to the top of the page as possible and a page that provides sound, useful information.

So how do you get found?

First, you need to know what people are searching for and how much competition there is for those key words.  For photographers who want to be found, most of your clients will be looking for your geographic location and the word “photographer” or “photography.”  In my experience, it doesn’t make much of a difference to specify “wedding photographer” or “portrait photographer,”  since people tend to do fairly general searches.  Tools like the Google AdWords Keyword tool can show you how many people are looking for your service and how much competition there is for those key words.  I am going to use my friend Heather’s business as an example.  Heather is a photographer who serves Southern Indiana, Lexington Kentucky and Louisville Kentucky.  So relevant key words for her would include:

• Indiana photographer (14,800 monthly searches)
• Indiana photography (22,200 monthly searches)
• Louisville, KY photographer (4400 monthly searches)
• photographer Louisville (8100 monthly searches)
• Lexington, KY photographer (3600 monthly searches)
• Kentucky photographer (18,100 monthly searches)
• Kentucky photography (22,200 monthly searches)
• photographers in Kentucky (12,100 monthly searches)

That means that 105,500 times EACH MONTH someone, somewhere searches for a photographer in the area Heather services.  And even better news – the competition for each of those key words is listed as “Medium.”  So with proper optimization, Heather has a pretty good chance of bringing in some new clients with her website!

Where does this leave Heather?

Currently, Heather has a template website that she purchased through Bludomain and a WordPress blog.  Bludomain sites are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.  Her site is really pretty and it could be useful for her existing clients.  Unfortunately, none of those 105,500 potential new clients looking for a photographer in Indiana and Kentucky will ever see it because Google can’t see it.  Additionally, no one using an Apple mobile device (and soon, any mobile device) can see it.  The website template she is using is made with Adobe Flash.  Each page of her site is essentially a snapshot – there is no useful information for Google to find.  Any text on the page is actually a picture of text.  Flash websites can’t be viewed at all on iDevices due to incompatibility and Adobe announced earlier this year that they are killing Flash for all mobile devices.

The WordPress blog is a little better…it can be viewed on any mobile device and Google can, theoretically, find it (assuming the relevant key words are there).  But Heather hasn’t posted anything since October 2011 and its really more of a personal blog.  If she wants her blog to bring her photography customers, she should post at least 2-3 times per week and should title her posts something like “Louisville Photographer: Sally Q’s newborn session”

So where does this leave Photography by Heather?  Essentially, it doesn’t exist.  At least not to the 105,500 people looking for a photographer in Indiana and Kentucky who don’t know Heather’s name.

What can Heather do?

Most photographers I know want their website to act as a portfolio of their best work, a viewing gallery for their existing clients, and (possibly) a place for clients to place orders and the photographer to receive payments.  There are a variety of ways to accomplish this and you will probably get as many different answers as people you ask.  Most importantly, you want to avoid anything that is Flash based – its a dying medium and it doesn’t do anything to help you get found.  As a Photographer Geek, I will share with you what I feel is the best package (and what I personally use).

• Custom domain name (purchased through BlueHost)
• Domain hosting, custom domain email, unlimited space (purchased through BlueHost)
• WordPress blog (hosted on my custom domain at BlueHost)
• SmugMug Pro for online gallery, purchasing and fulfillment
• WordPress Template (optional)

Using this method, everything is completely customizable.  Some things are easy to customize on your own, others are a little more complicated and would be better to outsource.  With my current template I can choose fonts, colors, layout…really personalize my site.  I have a WordPress blog and, thanks to the SmugMug Pro portion of my site customers can see their photos in a password-protected gallery and they can easily order a variety of sizes and types of prints (including metal prints and canvas gallery wraps) and fun items like coffee mugs and calendars. SmugMug accepts the payment and handles the fulfillment – they even allow me to specify branding on the payment page and packaging so the customer doesn’t know I wasn’t the one who printed and shipped everything (or I can opt to have purchases delivered to me for in-person delivery).  I can link my Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or other social accounts to the site.  And best of all…everything can be viewed on any mobile device, on any computer, in any browser.  And it can be found by Google and other search engines.

I really want to help my fellow photographers – I know I just bombarded you with A LOT of information and I hope I didn’t confuse you.  I am happy to answer any questions and/or provide a custom quote to help you grow your business.  I can help with logo and web design, WordPress and SmugMug customization, Social Media integration, SEO and internet marketing.  Let me know how I can help you!

I was honored to design the new logo for her company, Carolina Gear Medix.  Took a couple tries, but we are both thrilled with the end result.  What do you think?  Next I will be designing her website!