We Spoke at Our Local Pictage Meeting (PUG) – Yay! | Online Optimization

Hi Everyone!So, this past Thursday we had the great opportunity to be at Countertops Victoria and speak at our Local Pictage Meeting, also called a PUG. The Pictage group consists of photographers all around Atlanta coming in - we meet once a month and typically we have a guest speaker, a few topics to discuss, and then go out for dinner afterwards (those that can, of course). So, this past Thursday ... we were the guest speakers! Wahoo!!The topic that we spoke about was Website Optimization - ok, basically, increasing your web presence through good SEO, Search Engine Optimization, and through the use of various online sites and even online ads (read google adwords).So, I wanted to post a summary of what was discussed. For those, specifically photographers, that want to increase their online presence, please read on. I'll be going point by point of what was discussed and going into slight detail where I can.What We'll Cover:-    SEO-    Google Adwords-    Other Online Ventures-    Pictage.com Directory---------------------SEOBackground of SEO-    What is SEO? (Search Engine Optimization)

• Search Engine Optimization. Basically, optimizing your site so that search engines, such as google and yahoo, can easily see and understand what your website is about. Basically, it is what determines your ranking on search engines.

-    How does it work?

• Well, it is really debated and changes at least once every three months. But, to suffice, we'll break it down to the basics in a minute.

-    Pitfalls – What to avoid doing (Keyword Stuffing)

• Keyword stuffing is when you repeat the same keywords over and over out of context. Do not ever ever ever repeat the same keywords in a row ... ever. Ok, it'd be like us writing "Atlanta Wedding Photographers" over and over ... it just wouldn't be a good thing to do. And, in the worst case, your site could become blacklisted due to this. Blacklisted is where google refuses to show your site in a search result.

-    Posting Daily++

• The more frequently you update your site, the better google likes it ... basically. So, post daily if you can

----------------------    SEOBasics on What to Do-    Pick 3 terms, 1-3 main phrases

• For example, our main phrases are "Anna and Spencer", "Atlanta Wedding Photographers", "Destination Photographer"

-    Meta Tags - these are parts of your site google uses to determine what you are showing. So, be sure to have the appropriate items in each of these.

• Title - what is read at the top of the browser. Have it correct and less than 20 words (less than 15 is better, 10 is better, and so on)<title>text</title>

• Description - the description that shows up in the result ... sometimes. Basically, describe your site.<meta name=“description” content=”….” />

• Keywords - don't have more than 30ish. "Anna and Spencer" is one keyword. "Anna, and, Spencer" would be three.<meta name=“keywords” content=”….” />

• Sitemap.xml - this lets google and other search engines know where all of your pages are on your site. You can be 100% sure that google sees all of your pages if you have a sitemap - just google "sitemap.xml example" to learn more

• Tag EVERYTHING - there is an alt tag you can use ... use it. Google can't read a jpg, but it can read the description. Do note though, it treats the text there exactly as if it was text. So, if you have the same description in 5 photographs in a row ... it could be seen as repeating the same phrase over and over ... keyword stuffing ... avoid doing this. Have the description be relevant to the photograph for the best results ... or at least vary it slightly.

---------------------SEOBlog It!-    Wordpress on YOUR server space - annaandspencer.com/blog is better than annaandspencer.blogspot.com - it will see it as two sites if it is on a different server (usually). Something to keep in mind.-    Tag EVERYTHING without repeating-    Repeat specific keywords in context - ok, so, basically, lets say you are talking about your wonderful shoot in the Bahamas. You could say "Wow, we had a great shoot in the Bahamas!" ... but, you are a wedding photographer, and it was a wedding. So, instead, say "Wow, we had a great wedding shoot in the Bahamas!" or, even better "Wow, I love being a wedding photographer - we had a great wedding shot in the Bahamas!" ... don't go overboard though. But, hopefully, you get the point (ok, ok, one last one "Wow, Anna and I, Spencer, love being wedding photographers ..."). Google can't read what isn't there. And remember, IN CONTEXT.-    Post DAILY - the more you post, the more search engines will like your site ... as long as you aren't keyword stuffing or only writing one sentence. If you want to maximize your digital exposure and get online presence, Local Brand Advisor is at your disposal.---------------------Google AdwordsPay Per Click-    Pay Per Click - you pay every time someone clicks on your ad. Small note: Photographers, if you see another photographer's ad, do NOT click on it. Instead, copy the link below the ad and paste it into the search. Doesn't cost them any investment that way.-    Determining Your Cutoff

• How much per day, month, year - be sure to look at the big picture. $20/day can add up fast. (~$1-$3 per click is normal for Atlanta, just an fyi)

-    Do you really want to be #1?

• #5-7 might be just as good - really, do you ever look at #1 & #2? They are at the top of the page for results. My guess is that #4-#7 are the most viewed. Just my opinion. But, test out your bidding until you are right where you want to be in the results.

-    Micromanaging - micromanage the ads. Really. It will save you a TON.-    LOTS of Campaigns - a different campaign for each different target audience. Aka, we would never have a campaign that included these terms -  "Atlanta Wedding Photographer" and one for "Destination Photographer". Instead, have two campaigns - each with different budgets and ads targetting the different audiences.---------------------Google AdwordsYour Keywords-    Exclude Words/Phrases - you can exclude terms that you may not want to come up in. Ok, for us, say we have the keyword "Atlanta Wedding Photographer" ... which we do ... we might want to put "cheap" on the exclusion list. So, if someone typed in "cheap Atlanta Wedding Photographer" ... we wouldn't come up as an ad. Just a quick example.-    EXACT Phrases - use EXACT phrases. I mean, EXACT. Ok, example - we have "Atlanta Wedding Photographer" as one phrase. We would NEVER have "Atlanta" "Wedding" and "Photographer" as three different phrases. Never ever ever. If we did that, then anytime anyone entered "Atlanta" we would come up, "Wedding" we would come up, "Photographer" we would come up. That would be awful. We'd have people clicking on the ad (costing us investment dollars) that might have just been curious and aren't really searching for Wedding Photographers. Aka, costs us money with no chance of a return (ok, ok, very little chance). So, use only exact phrases.-    NO Broad Terms - As said above there - no broad terms, like "Photography"---------------------Google AdwordsYour Return-    Key Terms = Better Quality Clicks - the better the keyterms you have, the better quality of clicks you'll be receiving-    Include information so the viewer knows what he/she is getting - in the ad itself, include what you determine to be the important information. If they are looking for an Atlanta Wedding Photographer, you might just want to put "Atlanta Wedding Photographer" somewhere in the ad ... that way they searched for it, there is the result, they click on it, they go to your site and are happy.-    Consider specific landing sites (aka, pricing, portfolio, etc) - ok, so, lets say you decided to go with the search term "Atlanta Wedding Photographer Pricing" - you might want to have your ad take them specifically to your pricing page. If they are searching for pricing, chances are they'd rather see that first - from there they can go on to see the rest of your site. Doing this will result in happier viewers.---------------------Google AdwordsDrawbacks-    Risk – Click may or may not be quality (type of bride, budget of bride, etc)-    Silly advertisers click on your ad!!! - oooo, this one erks me. Seriously - why would I want their services after they clicked on my ad and cost me money ... only to advertise to me! On some days, I am certain 1/2 of our clicks are from advertisers ... a lot of them telling us how they can optimize our google adwords (don't go with them, manage it yourself).-    May end up with more vendors/ad people clicking than brides---------------------Other Online VendorsThe Knot-    Six Month Contract (usually) - I'm relatively sure this can be negotiated.-    ~$xxx-$xxx per month depending. No pay-per-click. - Contact your local theknot rep to find the price. It depends on your area, how many other advertisers, etc, etc. Though, you pay for position here rather than per click.

• Pay for Position/Ranking - Personally, I wouldn't want to spend my advertising budget in order to be on the last page of the photographers listed. Just an fyi.

-     Knotties - AWESOME brides. I mean, AWESOME. A "Knottie" is a bride that participates on TheKnot.com's forum - they are typically very involved in their planning. These are the brides, most likely, to be the ones to care about giving looks (think model-esque) or about doing Trash The Dress Sessions. However, the draw back, if you give one a discount - they will all know. They are in a community together, which is great. And, like any community, they will share what they are excited about - as in getting a discount from an awesome photographer. Personally, we don't do discounts. But, if it is your cup of tea, just be well informed about this first.---------------------Other Online VendorsFacebook-    Can Target Specifics - so, for example, we can target men & women that are engaged, in atlanta, age 18-whatever, ... this is GREAT!!! Other side note - we've had friends find us through the ads ... super cool.-    Pay Per Click - similar to google adwords.-    Never Know What You’ll Get - like any other form of advertising, you can't be sure if someone is seriously looking for a photographer ... or, if they are just curious (which is fine).-    Don’t forget tagging (if it’s your cup of tea) … including tagging yourself-    Set up a free page for others to become fans - just google "Facebook Advertising" and follow the link > Pages > set up a page. Go from there.---------------------Other Online VendorsOthers.com-    Craigslist

• Free - absolutely free, but don't spam. Please, be respectful.
• Who goes there? - so, we were wondering about this. When we first started, we posted some. Then, we stopped, thinking only people on a budget go there (wow, were we ever wrong). We started putting more posts there later, and got more inquries. Too cool! Ok, for reference, when we looked to buy our Honda Element, we looked everywhere else for months. Then, we went to craigslist and found a great one within a few days. Really, people use it of all brackets.
• What NOT to do - ok, first off, if you put your company name in the ad, the ad will trump you over your own keyword. For example, lets say I made an ad for "Anna and Spencer" ... well, if I put "Anna and Spencer" in there, if someone googled "Anna and Spencer", the craigslist ad may be listed before our own site! Eeeek! So, just keep it basic ... or include jpgs! It takes some HTML know-how, but you can make a pretty successful post with relative ease. Also, just another thing we do - we say in the subject line - "... Investment Starting at $4000". Yeah, there are a lot of photographers on craigslist saying they start at $500, well, we're not them, and the people looking to hire us most likely won't be using said photographer. (I'm not knocking low-pricing in any way, just clarifying that there are couples with different budgets looking for different things)

-    WeddingWire - check it out - it is a kind of community type of thing.-    PartyPop - another, it is alright, but, it is one to mention.-    Forums - participate in forums! While this won't help with your presence to other brides, at least it will let other photographers know that you exist. Really, don't stay editing all day - get out, make some posts, and share in part of a community.-    AVOID – Flickr, Kodak, etc.

• They take copyright in a bad way - they can sell your photograph to another company which can then use it as they see fit. Not good. Ever. UPDATE (2/10/09): David Wittig pointed out that Flikr isn't really so bad and can be great for SEO advantages. So, do your research and find out - my information could definitely be out of date here.

---------------------Pictage.com Directory-    They do all the advertising/campaigns for you-    You can customize it – your photographs shown, etc.-    Check out Pictage.com > Directory Listing for more information__________________________Update (2/10/09) - I forgot to note one thing. Links. When linking to someone, the very best thing you can do is to link to their site with specific keywords that they prefer. For example, we would love a link that says "Anna and Spencer Photography" and has the alt tag text (sites will ask for description text normally - wordpress asks every time) ... anyway, has the alt tag text "Atlanta Wedding Photographer" - so, it'd look like this (hover over it) - Anna and Spencer Photography. For a local planner, like F & G Weddings, we might link to them as "F & G Weddings" but have an alt text of "Atlanta Wedding Event Planners" - like, F & G Weddings. This will help out tremendously for the receiving site. If you can get other sites to link to you like this as well - it'll definitely help you. Now, having the same alt tag text as the link text wouldn't be bad either - but, having both tag text and the real text will make a great impact rather than just a link. Other note - NEVER use "click here" or "link" if you can avoid it. Always have a description for the link. This will help the one you link to every time. Ex. (hover over it) "See all of the wedding photographs at Pictage!"