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SEO for Photographers Who Hate SEO (But Hate Being Invisible More)

May 7, 2025 No Comments

You’ve got the camera. You’ve got the talent. You even have a slick little website that screams “I take this seriously.” So why does it feel like you’re shouting into the void? Spoiler: it’s not your work, it’s your SEO (or, more accurately, the lack of it).

Most photographer websites look great but function like a sealed vault when it comes to Google. If the world’s biggest search engine can’t figure out what you do, who you do it for, or where you are, you’re basically a very talented ghost.

In this article, we’re going to fix that. We’ll cover why Google doesn’t care about your pretty pictures, what SEO actually means in plain English, and how to make your site go from “meh” to magnetic. No tech-speak. No marketing guru nonsense. Just straight-up strategy, wrapped in sarcasm and served with a side of clarity.

Why Google Doesn’t Care How Pretty Your Site Is

This part stings a little, but it’s important to hear: Google doesn’t care how gorgeous your site is. It doesn’t care about your cinematic reels, that custom typeface you bought, or the way you cleverly laid out your galleries. Google isn’t a person, it’s a machine. It doesn’t see your work. It reads your site. And if all it finds is a bunch of beautiful images with no context, no structure, and zero information about what those images mean… it bails.

Google is trying to answer questions. If someone searches for “natural light family photographer in Southern Arizona,” but your homepage just says “Welcome to my site” and your images are all titled IMG_9273.jpg, guess what? You’re not getting that traffic.

Imagine Google as an overworked librarian trying to organize an infinite number of books. Your site is a photo book with no title, no chapters, no captions, just vibes. And unfortunately, vibes don’t rank.

How to Tell If You’re Invisible (Without Needing a Degree in Data Science)

You don’t need fancy tools or spreadsheets to know if your site’s underperforming. You just need to look at it the way your potential clients do. Open your site in a new tab, pretend you’ve never met you, and ask yourself:

Do I instantly know what kind of photographer you are and where you’re located?
Is it obvious what I’m supposed to click on next?
Do your images have filenames and alt text that describe what’s in them?
Is your “About” page helping me trust you, or is it just a list of facts about your camera gear and coffee preferences?
Can I contact you in two clicks or less, or is it buried under a dropdown like a game of hide-and-seek?

If you can’t answer these questions with a confident “yes,” don’t panic. Most photographers are in the same boat: amazing work, buried under a confusing, text-light, SEO-optional website that might look great but doesn’t function for search.

Let’s fix that, yeah?

What SEO Actually Is (and Why It’s Not Black Magic)

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, but if that phrase makes your eyes glaze over, let’s simplify it. SEO is about helping Google (and other search engines) understand your site well enough to confidently send traffic your way.

When someone types “portrait photographer near me” into Google, the search engine scans all the content it’s indexed and tries to serve the best match. If your site doesn’t clearly say what you do, where you do it, or who you serve, Google’s not putting you on that list, no matter how good your work is.

SEO isn’t trickery. It’s structure. It’s clarity. It’s thinking like your client and the algorithm at the same time. It means:

Writing in a way that mirrors how your ideal client searches.
Structuring your pages so Google can understand your hierarchy.
Using the right words in the right places, headlines, page titles, alt text, and blog posts.
Keeping your site fast, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.

You don’t need to learn to code. You just need to start thinking about your site as a place people land, not just something you launch.

What Google Loves (And What It Couldn’t Care Less About)

Google’s love language is clarity. It adores:

Homepages that say what kind of photographer you are and where you’re based.
Page titles that aren’t just “About” or “Gallery,” but “About | Utah Brand Photographer.”
Fast load speeds. (Massive uncompressed photo files? Yeah, Google hates those.)
Internal linking. (A blog post that links to your services page? Yes, please.)
Actual text. Not just pretty pictures floating in white space.

What Google doesn’t like:

Generic sites that feel empty or hard to crawl.
Pages without headings or structure.
Sites with no updated content or context.
Portfolio-only websites with zero keywords.
File names like IMG_8632.jpg and alt text fields left completely blank.

Google isn’t trying to punish you, it’s just trying to give its users the best answer to their question. If your site doesn’t provide that answer, you’re not in the conversation.

Easy SEO Fixes You Can Make This Week

Let’s get you on the map. Literally. You don’t need a complete overhaul, just a few strategic changes to get Google’s attention and give it something worth indexing.

Add a clear value statement on your homepage. A single sentence that includes your specialty and location is all you need to start. “I’m a New York portrait photographer specializing in candid, natural-light sessions for families and creatives.”
Rename your top 20 images. If you’re still uploading files as DSC_0487.jpg, stop. Rename them to something like miami-florida-family-photo-session-2024.jpg.
Use alt text like a storyteller, not a robot. Alt text is a quick sentence that describes what’s in the image, this helps Google “see” what your image is showing. Keep it short and descriptive: “Mother and daughter walking along a white sandy beach in San Diego.”
Update your page titles and meta descriptions. These are what show up in search results. Your homepage title should include your location and specialty. Your meta description should give a reason to click. Title: “Southern Utah Elopement Photographer | Wild & True Photography” Meta: “Natural, adventurous elopements in Southern Utah’s wildest places. See galleries, get planning tips, and book your session today.”
Audit your contact page. Can people reach you in two clicks? Does your form work on mobile? Is your location listed somewhere on the page? These all impact local SEO and conversion.

None of this is hard. It just requires intention. You don’t need more effort. You need more alignment.

SEO Isn’t a Trick, It’s a Service

Let’s be honest, SEO can feel dry. But it’s really just the art of making your website useful. To Google, yes, but more importantly, to your clients. It’s not about chasing an algorithm. It’s about understanding that your work deserves to be seen, and search engines need a little help connecting the dots.

You don’t need to game the system. I mean, seriously, do you think any of us can outsmart a trillion-dollar company? You just need to describe yourself clearly. Keep your site structured. Use words people are already typing into Google. And show up consistently with content that reflects who you are and what you offer.

That’s not “strategy.” That’s just being findable.

What’s Coming Next

Now that you’ve got a solid handle on why your site might be invisible and how to start changing that, we’re going to dive into the engine behind visibility: keywords. Not the spammy kind. The real ones. The phrases your clients are already searching for, the ones that will help you write better content, create better service pages, and actually show up when it matters.

You don’t need to write more (not necessarily, though more content does tend to be advantageous over time), you just need to write smarter. That’s what we’ll tackle in Part 2.

But for now? Take five minutes and go look at your homepage. Ask yourself:

If someone landed here for the first time, would they know what I do and how to book me?

If the answer is “probably not,” that’s okay, you just found your starting point.

By Rex Jones

Rex is a commercial photographer and branding strategist based in Saint George, Utah. He helps businesses look less boring, market like grown-ups, and actually get noticed instead of merely blending into the background. He also shoots portraits, products, and whatever else catches his eye before the caffeine wears off. rexjones.photo

Sourced from Fstoppers

In News

3 Photography Marketing Tricks and Hacks That Actually Work!

November 24, 2022 No Comments

By Pye Jirsa

Photographers understand that marketing is essential to attracting new clients and growing their business. However, marketing strategies are constantly evolving, so what worked in the past isn’t always going to work in the present or future. In this article, we will share three photography marketing tricks and hacks that actually work based on our 12-plus years of experience operating a successful multi-shooter studio!

The list of marketing strategies for photographers is extensive and includes topics like social media (Instagram, short-form video for TikTok and IG Reels, Pinterest, etc.), paid advertising (Google ads, Facebook ads, etc.), SEO (search engine optimization), conventions and bridal shows, online directories, and more. In this article, we’ll focus primarily on referral marketing and save the other topics for subsequent articles.

Note: This education is directly from our free one-hour masterclass called “3 Steps to $100K More.” If you’re interested in learning more about amplifying your business with more leads, more revenue per client, and higher sales conversions, we encourage you to register here.

1. Make Viral Sharing Effortless

With any shoot, deliver teaser images the same day to the clients and the other vendors involved in the shoot, along with clear permissions, instructions, and even tips to make sharing more likely and more impactful.

Most photographers share images with the vendors and clients after they’ve culled and processed all of their images, which can be weeks or even months after the shoot. But by then, much of the hype and interest has cooled off. Sharing the same day or within a few days multiplies the distribution of the images and turns each person involved in the shoot into a marketing engine for your brand. This works for almost every type of shoot, from wedding, to family, to event photography.

Action Steps for Image Sharing

To implement this strategy, follow these steps:

Rate your best images throughout the shoot.
Using Lightroom Mobile and Lightroom Presets, edit a set of teaser images from your “starred” images during a break or shortly after the shoot.
Send the images over to the clients and the other vendors from the shoot, such as the stylist, florist, designer, event planner, the venue/location manager, and more.
Along with the images, include clear permissions for them to use the images on their own social media, asking them to tag you when they share or link to you if they use it on their website. (More on SEO in the masterclass).
You might even go a step further and provide full shoot/vendor credits, sample captions, or event tips for the best ways to post. These can streamline the process and help you maximize your visibility.

2. Create Same-Day Slideshows

If you’re photographing an event, such as a wedding, Bar Mitzvah or other party, then a same day slideshow is one of the best marketing hacks to help you get more referral business.

At the event, show 20-30 of your favourite images from earlier moments of the same event with an iPad, laptop, or even projected onto a display (if the DJ can do this). Next to the presentation, place some of your business cards. Of course, get approval from the client and event coordinator prior to doing this. With a great set of images, this simple strategy can supercharge your referral business.

Think about this. Every event you photograph is filled with guests in the same life stage, age range, and target audience as the actual client. The problem is that most photographers never end up getting their work in front of these people because by the time the images are delivered and shared, often weeks later, very few people see them. To solve this problem, we started showing same day slideshows.

Every same day slideshow we create generates at least two to three additional clients that are sold and ready to book! It’s literally one of the best marketing tools, and it’s also a rock star move that makes the clients ecstatic when they see the images. Create buzz at every event you photograph!

Action Steps for Same Day Slideshows

The process is similar to the teasers mentioned above.

During the event, star your favourite images on your camera.
Once you have a moment of downtime, transfer those favourites to your phone via your camera’s Bluetooth/wireless app.
From there, load them into Lightroom Mobile, and add a quick pre-set. For all of our work, we use Visual Flow Presets.
Then, with the images in Lightroom, just click the slideshow icon.
If possible, send the images to a DJ to display on the projector.
When streamlined, the process can take as little as 15-30 minutes from start to finish. On a busy day, if available, have an assistant work through the process.

3. Use Styled Shoots and Giveaways

Next, let’s talk about collaborative styled shoots. In between your paid jobs, put together a list of your favourite vendors for a styled shoot concept. These vendors are other businesses that match your ideal target audience in terms of location, demographics, age, etc. They need imagery, and you need a network, so it’s a win-win situation!

The styled shoot concept can be a chance to play and create images for you and your vendor team rather than doing what clients want. Nothing new so far, right? But here’s the hack. Instead of models, find real-life “models” with a social media giveaway. How you run the giveaway is entirely up to you, but just check with the social media platform’s terms and conditions. Use this as an opportunity to grow your social media presence and engagement. And by using actual real-life models, you have a great chance of converting the entrants or even the selected models into real-life clients.

Action Steps for Collaborative Styled Shoots

Come up with an interesting concept to pitch to a group of vendors (makeup artists, florists, venues, designers, planners, etc.).
Pitch the concept and gather your team! Be very clear on the expectations and timing.
Determine the entry rules and methods. You can use a third-party giveaway plugin like Gleam.io or just stick to something simple, like using the native tagging and commenting systems of each platform.
Create a marketing image for each vendor to share. This is super easy using consumer design software like Canva.
Require all of the collaborative vendors to announce the contest on their social media accounts at the same date and time.
Select the winner and execute the shoot!

Benefits and Results

Do this right, and let’s talk about all the things you’ll get:

Tighten up vendor relationships.
Provide 50+ awesome final images that could be used for websites, portfolios, etc.
Create content for the blog and for multiple SEO-based articles, which we’ll discuss in other articles.
Provide 50+ images for social media that can be published over time as you see fit.
Practice new techniques and create new conceptual work.
Grow your social media accounts.
Get more referrals from the vendors involved in the styled shoot.
Convert the entrants and winners into clients.

As you can see, collaborative styled shoots are one of the best ways to check every box through a single shoot!

Conclusion

Even though marketing and technology changes constantly, referral marketing will always be one of the best (and easiest) ways to convert and grow your business! We hope these three articles and the action steps listed above will help you do just that!

In future articles, we’ll review more marketing hacks, tips and secrets such as SEO, short-form viral marketing, directories, and more. If you’re interested in more information, please see our full one-hour free masterclass on ways to add $100K more to your photography business.

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