Intuitive SEO Tips for Photographers : GUEST POST WITH SOPHIE CALDECOTT
Tell your story with clarity and heart to help your ideal audience discover your work when they’re actively searching for something just like it.
Hello! As this is a guest post I feel like I should introduce myself properly: my name is Sophie Caldecott and I’m a writer with a decade of experience working for websites and online magazines as a journalist and a digital content strategist.
Back in February Suzie invited me to do an Instagram Live with her to talk about how content creators and small business owners can embrace what I call “Intuitive SEO”. It was a lot of fun, and I’m excited to share some of our takeaways with you all here, too.
Note: SEO stands for “search engine optimisation”, and in brief it’s the art of making your website more discoverable to people using search engines like Google.
Why I encourage online creatives to focus on their websites
I love talking to Suzie about all things creativity and small business, because we share such a similar perspective; both of us are mothers, trying our best to prioritise the things in life that really matter (our health, loved ones, and happiness) rather than the things that look good from the outside but don’t feel good on the inside.
Neither of us subscribe to the “hustle harder” mentality that a lot of content creators and digital entrepreneurs push (though, side note, thankfully these days this way of thinking and working seems to be falling more and more out of fashion as people realise it’s not sustainable or conducive to our overall well being). In short, we both believe in doing less, better.
For me, this means prioritising content that has longevity, and will contribute to welcoming in new visitors to the one platform online that I own and can fully control: my website. Don’t get me wrong, I love Instagram for many reasons; the community, the instant connection, the way it makes creating and sharing content so easy and fun. But it can be a bit of a time suck, to put it mildly.
I don’t like the way you have to be on Instagram pretty constantly, posting consistently (preferably daily), to stay on the right side of the algorithm. We put so much effort into each post, only for that post to quickly get buried in a constant barrage of new content, never-ending updates on the newsfeed—the emphasis is always on the new, on Instagram, so content has a really short lifecycle. And, I also don’t like how it keeps me in a little bubble, adjusting what I share (consciously or subconsciously) to appeal to my audience as I get that immediate feedback.
When it comes to my blog, I feel more free, more playful, more spacious—I know my content can be discovered any time of the day or night by anyone who’s looking for something on the topics I share about there. I can share something whenever it suits me, and it will keep drawing in visitors for months, even years. I feel like I can work on my own terms, and can be a more fully-rounded human, not constricted by a word count or what looks good on my grid.
Ideally, I think it would be brilliant if we focused more on our websites and newsletters, and then spend whatever “extra” time and energy we have on Instagram, if and when we want. But, I realise that I’m biased, as a words person who has never known what it’s like to rely on Instagram for my work (it’s always been the cherry on top rather than the actual… thing that the cherry goes on – cake?!). Talking to Suzie about the things she often sees you lovely people (her community) struggling with when it comes to content creation for your websites made me realise that if words don’t come very naturally to you but visuals are more your thing, it makes a lot of sense that Instagram would be your go-to place to share your work with the world.
So, I’m not advocating for writing lots of blog posts if you’re not a writer, or forgetting Instagram if that’s a place that brings you joy, connection, fulfillment, and success. I’d just like to offer a few pointers for making the most of your website if you’ve let it fall by the wayside a little. And, if you’re curious to learn more after reading this blog post, you might want to check out my free guide to intuitive SEO basics, or the new mini mastermind that Suzie and I are collaborating on at the moment—I’ll share more information on that at the end of this post.
You don’t have to be a writer to create beautiful, SEO-friendly content that draws in your ideal audience—you just need to understand what your ideal audience is looking for, and serve them the way only you can.
SEO for photographers
The first step I always recommend people take, no matter what kind of work they do, is to work on clarifying their purpose, or “why”. Some people call this your unique selling point, or elevator pitch. What is that you do, why do you do it, who are you serving, and what is it about the way you’re doing it that makes it unique?
You don’t need to overthink this; it could be as simple as “I take beautiful, candid photographs of families in the South West Devon area,” or, “I’m a wedding photographer based in Brighton and my bubbly personality and quirky sense of humour always puts couples at ease.”
Why is it helpful to clarify this before you do anything else? Because your website should very quickly and clearly communicate this message as soon as someone lands on your homepage. Actually, even sooner than that—from the moment they see your website in the search results.
Questions to ask yourself when clarifying your website copy:
Is it clear what I do and what kind of products/services I offer?
Is it clear where I’m based/which area I serve? (Only relevant if you offer a service where you have to be physically present, like photography.)
Is my passion or “why” clear? (E.g. you’re all about that soft golden hour light, or you love bright and bold colours, or you orient your life and work by the seasons and the natural world, and have a strong preference for shooting outdoors...)
Is my personality shining through?
Remember, you want to attract the right people who are going to adore your style and approach, and repel the wrong people—people who wouldn’t enjoy what you have to offer.
Finding the right SEO keywords for photographers (including examples for wedding photographers)
A keyword is basically just a word or phrase that someone might type into Google that matches the words you’ve used on your website, and therefore tells Google that your website might be a good resource to show in the search results for that query. One of the magical things we can do as website owners and content creators is to research what keywords people are using to look for content like ours. But even if we never go down this SEO rabbit hole, any time you use any words on your website, you’re likely using keywords without even realising. For now, I’d like you to forget keywords and keyword research, and just focus on how you’re using language to communicate your message and serve your audience on your website.
Once you’ve clarified your purpose and core message, you want to put yourself in your ideal audience’s shoes and think about how you can best serve them with your website. Brainstorm a list of questions relating to your field of expertise that your ideal audience might have. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer based in Manchester, your ideal audience is planning a wedding in this geographical location, and so will be looking for other wedding suppliers, venues, and advice.
You want to think outside the box—yes, they’ll be searching for “wedding photographer in Manchester”, so that’s definitely an important phrase to include in all the important places, but what else might they be looking for? Maybe you prefer shooting more candid photos and love couples who favour a natural style; this kind of couple might also be searching for eco-friendly florists in the area, or catering that uses local and seasonal ingredients.
Use your experience and knowledge of your geographical region to write up helpful guides that go above and beyond the services you offer (but always relate to them). You can also brainstorm questions people might have about your services, for example a couple might be searching for information about what an engagement shoot actually is and how necessary it is, whether you always need to hire two photographers, tips for posing, advice for feeling more comfortable in front of the camera, lists of questions to ask a photographer before you hire them, and things like that.
After you’ve done this brainstorming, it’s worth opening up Google and taking a look at what Google’s auto suggest and “People also ask” functions bring up, relating to the phrases you’ve picked out. You can also check out what kind of content people are already providing to answer the questions and phrases you think your ideal audience might be searching for, and make a note of ways you could offer something a bit different or more in-depth.
After going through this process, you should end up with a lot of ideas for how you can serve your audience, either with blog content or information and resources for your key website pages (FAQs, About, Services, free guides or email opt-ins, etc.). Remember, if you do create some blog content, that doesn’t mean you have to become a blogger and start writing blog posts every week—you can create a few blog posts that add value to your website and provide a way in, a way for your “right people” to discover you via search, and then just leave those up on your website, only occasionally updating those posts to add more up-to-date links and resources, or adding the occasional new blog post whenever you feel inspired or have time.
Ask yourself where your passions and expertise cross over with your ideal audience’s interests and needs; that’s where the magic is.
One last tip I’d give a photographer or anyone who provides products or services that are in any way location dependent is to make sure that you have created a listing for your business on Google. It’s quick and simple to do, and can put you on the map for search (literally!). When you have happy clients or customers, encourage them to leave you reviews here, too—this should boost your visibility significantly.
Why I call it Intuitive SEO
Strip away all the fancy jargon, and essentially SEO is just about using clear language that clearly communicates what we do and who it’s for, and creating a website that’s really user-friendly, useful, and engaging. It’s about empathising with your ideal audience and serving them well. You can never do a jot of keyword research and still get plenty of search traffic because you anticipated someone’s need and provided answers and inspiration—and clearly labelled what you have on offer.
Once you learn the key principles of SEO, you’ll start to find that it comes more and more naturally to you, the more you practice it; you’ll start to discover that it feels intuitive rather than forced.
For me, content creation and writing SEO-friendly copy is always a dance between meeting other people’s needs and following my passions. I like to bear in mind my “tombstone work”, i.e. the work that I’d be proud to put on my tombstone when I die (if people did such things!), and let that be my guiding light. It’s important not to get distracted by numbers, and go for quality over quantity; I’d rather just a handful of my “right people” discover my blog post about postnatal depression and find consolation and support there, than thousands of not-right-people who don’t find that my words actually resonate with them.
Want to workshop your website together?
As you can tell, I just love to geek out about all of this. I’ve helped clients grow their search traffic in an intentional, intuitive way for over five years now, and I’ve also created a variety of courses and resources to help people learn how to grow their website traffic in an intentional way by telling their story with clarity and heart on their websites.
Most recently, I’ve been working on an exciting new offering that I’m running with Suzie this June, called Intuitive SEO: The Anti-Overwhelm Mini Mastermind. It’s designed for people who already have some basic SEO knowledge (you know what keywords are, and know what I’m talking about when I use terms like “domain authority”), but are struggling to actually implement their SEO knowledge. It’s light on the lessons to read/watch/listen to and very focused on taking action—by the end of our time together in this small group program, you’ll have your very own personalised SEO content strategy and some copy drafted. Suzie will be co-hosting the three live calls together, and it’s going to be a lot of fun! We’d love to see you inside the program, if it sounds like it would be helpful. And, if you’re unsure about whether it would be the right fit for your current SEO knowledge, take this quick quiz or reach out at: hello@sophiecaldecott.com—I’d love to help if you have any questions!
Thanks for reading, and wishing you all the best with your work. Never doubt that your story matters, and that there are people out there searching for exactly what you have to offer.