As a photographer, you’ve put countless hours into building a website to showcase your work. But once you hit “publish,” how do you ensure that potential clients can actually find your website?
That’s where SEO comes in, or search engine optimization. And a crucial aspect of SEO is keyword research.
Don’t worry if the term “keyword research” makes you feel like you’re back in school. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explain what keyword research SEO is, why it’s so important, and provide examples of what it looks like in practice. By the end of this blog post, you’ll be armed with the knowledge to boost your website’s visibility and understand how clients can find you on Google.
What is Keyword Research?
First things first, let’s define what we’re talking about when we say “keyword research.” Simply put, keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases that people use when they search for something online. As a photographer, you’ll want to identify the keywords that potential clients might use when searching for a photographer in your area. For example, “wedding photographer in New York City” or “family photographer near me.”
Where Can You Find Keywords?
So how do you actually conduct keyword research? There are a number of tools available that can help you identify popular keywords for your industry and location. Google’s Keyword Planner is one of the most popular and user-friendly options. You can enter a keyword or phrase and see how many searches it gets per month, as well as related keywords. Other popular tools include SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Ubersuggest.
Where Do Those Keywords Go?
Once you’ve identified the keywords that are relevant to your business, it’s time to start incorporating them into your website’s content. We won’t go into too much detail here (that’s a topic for another blog post!), but there are a few key places to include your keywords. These include your page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and body copy. Just be sure not to overdo it – “keyword stuffing” can actually hurt your search rankings, so it’s important to use your keywords naturally and strategically in your website content.
Keyword research is a crucial aspect of SEO that can help you improve your website’s visibility and ultimately grow your photography business. By identifying the keywords that are most relevant to your business and target audience, you can strategically incorporate them into your website’s content and metadata. While it might feel overwhelming at first, there are plenty of user-friendly tools available to help you conduct keyword research. And the more you practice, the easier it will become.
Need help with Keyword Research? We’ve got you! It’s something we take a look at in our Google Website Audit + Optimization for Photographers service offering. Get more details here and reach out to us here!
