Keywords for Wedding Photographers
It can be extremely hard as a new photography business owner to figure out how on earth you get new clients through the door. People may automatically tell you through social media, advertising or word of mouth. However, those methods can take a long time t gain traction and are expensive. When I started learning about SEO for wedding photographers and created a plan of action everything changed for me. I now get the vast majority of my clients just by them organically searching on Google. Best of all, it cost me nothing but time and the content I made is evergreen. If you’re not sure, that means that unlike an Instagram post which has a short lifespan your website content will live on as long as people are searching for the content and your page is relevant. Let’s dive into my method for choosing the right keywords for wedding photographers!
Who Do You Want to Attract?
This may seem obvious, you’re looking for wedding photography clients. However, there are more shoots that an engaged couple may be looking for. For example, proposal photos, engagement photos, and bridal shower photos. Don’t forget about that whole process that a client goes through by the time they get to their wedding day. The first step to figuring out your SEO plan is knowing whose eyes you want to get in front of. Are they planning a big event or an intimate affair? Are they formal or more laid back? The more you understand the clients you want the better you can get into their head and figure out what they’re googling.
What Are They Researching?
So you have an idea of what your ideal client is searching and researching for. One of the best pieces of information I ever got about SEO for wedding photographers was about wedding venues. Couples hire a photographer early in their wedding planning process but it’s not the very first. That means there’s an opportunity to enter their mind before they’re even looking for a photographer. Picking a wedding venue is a huge deal and couples do a lot of research online to find the perfect one for them.
Do Your Research
I like to use Moz.com to do my keyword research. This gives you information on how many searches the term gets per month, click-through rate and ranking difficulty. You want to pick a term with high searches and click-through but low difficulty. You begin with an idea you have for a keyword and it will tell you if it’s a good option or not. It also shows your relevant keywords that may even be a better fit for what you’re going for. Unfortunately, you have to create an account and have a limit of 10 queries per month. Due to this, I recommend you export CSV so you can refer to the information again later without using up your searches.
Be Specific
When a keyword is longer than 2-3 words they are called long tail keywords. It is best for you to use long tails because with every additional word, the search query becomes more targeted. So instead of trying to rank high for “Toronto photographer” try something like “documentary wedding photographer Toronto” While the first term receives a massive amount of searches per month it is hard to rank for and you’re not qualifying your visitors. You want wedding clients not people looking for pet portraits, family photos, headshot photography, etc. You want to spend your effort getting in front of the eyes of potential clients that are looking to hire a wedding photographer.
Photo Content
As you know when someone clicks through to your website they will have a first impression. It should keep their attention, answer their questions and offer them value. Last but not least it’s important to include your best photography so that they wonder “Whose the photographer?” You want your business name prominent throughout every page on your site so that they’re never unsure where exactly they are. You want them to travel through your site and remember you when they’re looking for a photographer down the line.
Example Keywords
- (Location) Wedding Venue Photos
- (Location) Wedding Photography
- (Location) Wedding Photographer
- (Location) (Type) Wedding Venues
- (Location) Wedding Photography Locations
Blog Post Formula
- Title with Keyword
- Keyword mentioned as early as possible in the first paragraph.
- A minimum of 2 paragraphs for 300 total words.
- Two paragraphs are divided by a Heading 2 or 3 title and link anchor text featuring a relevant keyword.
- Use one outbound link in your text content
- Photos with alt text that are 50% relevant keywords and 50% describing the image.
- Sign off line where I use the keyword. Example: Trillium Park wedding photography by Toronto wedding photographer, Chelsey Cunningham
- Meta description including the keyword and at least 120 characters
If you are using WordPress to create your website I highly recommend you check out Yoast SEO to help you keep track of all the parameters you have to meet.
See more: Photography business tips!
This keywords for wedding photographers article was created by Toronto wedding photographer, Chelsey Cunningham Photography