Your photography website isn’t just a digital portfolio—it’s your online storefront, the first impression potential clients have of your business.

Its visibility in search engine results can be the make-or-break factor between a struggling photography business and a thriving photography business. That’s why honing your website’s SEO strategy is crucial.

Your SEO strategy for your photography website

When it comes to web marketing, you should ideally be:

1. Providing compelling and informative content that helps potential clients envision working with you, and that compels them to get in touch to enquire or book.

2. Optimising your website to rank higher in search engine results—a process known as SEO (search engine optimisation).  

Why does this matter? Because higher organic website traffic means less reliance on paid ads, referrals, or resorting to spammy marketing tactics.

By focusing on these two priorities, you will not only attract more potential clients but also the chances of your photography website being discovered in relevant search results pages is boosted significantly too. This means greater online visibility and more free website traffic.

Google algorithm updates impact you!

If you’re already working on your photography website SEO, and are actively trying to boost your visibility online, then you may well have heard that Google recently rolled out some significant changes to its algorithm, shaking up the way websites are ranked in search results (in March 2024).

In case you haven’t already realised, this is important. Why? Well, simply because it means that Google’s criteria for deciding which websites to list in top search results positions have changed.

Now, I know, the benchmarks of what Google deems to be the ‘best’ content online for a particular search query are constantly evolving. If you already check your ‘rankings’ – where your website content appears in search engine results pages, you’ll know that they fluctuate constantly.

But this recent update was a biggie! It was a change to the core algorithm. Following on from the ‘Helpful Content Update’ of August 2022, it has put even more emphasis on promoting websites that offer high-quality, helpful, and original content.

A chance to get your photography website more visible

You may not realise it now, but Google’s algorithm changes are an opportunity for you! If you are committed to creating the type of content that Google wants, then you stand to potentially gain ground – in terms of improved online rankings – and, ultimately, greater visibility!

Don’t forget, that online visibility is so important. Where you rank in Google’s search engine results pages matters. The extent to which your photography website is search-optimised, and therefore visible online, can have a huge impact in terms of how many potential clients find you and discover your services.

A more visible photography website – one with pages and blog posts that rank highly for relevant keywords and phrases – will attract more click-throughs and visits, and hopefully – if you’ve done a great job with your website content – help to drive enquiries and sales.

Why has Google changed the algorithm?

Gone are the days when simply having a photography website was enough to attract attention from potential clients. Now, Google wants to ensure that the websites it promotes are genuinely valuable to users. That means no more cutting corners or relying on outdated SEO tactics. It’s all about providing real value to your audience. As a photographer, that means that you need to up your SEO game.

Even if SEO isn’t something you know a lot about, now’s the time to start paying attention. These algorithm changes could have a real impact on your website traffic, client inquiries, and ultimately, your bottom line.

But don’t worry! While it might sound daunting, there are plenty of steps you can take to improve your website’s visibility and adapt to these changes.

If you’re keen to learn more about content and SEO strategy and like the idea of having guidance and support, then check out my programme, The Photographer’s Visibility Blueprint which is designed to help photographers get more visible online.

Even if you’re not ready to invest in SEO support though, I can still help. Here are some things you can do…

How you can improve your website’s visibility

  1. Assess how well (or not) your photography website is performing

First things first, you need to assess where you’re at. Thankfully, Google offers several free tools that you can use including Google Analytics (G4) and Google Search Console. You may already have this setup and linked to your photography website but, if not, do that ASAP.

Once you have access to your website performance data through these tools, take a good look.

  • Are you seeing a drop in traffic?
  • Are you getting fewer clicks?
  • Are you seeing a decline in rankings?

If you’re spotting some drops in traffic, click-throughs and rankings, particularly since March 2024, this could be a sign that your website has been impacted by the algorithm changes. Essentially, Google is demoting your website pages and blog posts in its search results – you are appearing less than you were previously.

<<Don’t miss my free video training on how to determine if your photography website has been impacted by recent Google algorithm updates. Access it here.>>

2. Review your website content

Next, let’s talk content. Google loves websites that offer fresh, engaging, and original content. So, take some time to review your website with a critical eye and make sure your content is up to scratch.

  • Are your blog posts informative and engaging?
  • Do your portfolio pages showcase your best work? Remember, quality always trumps quantity.
  • And don’t forget about the technical stuff too. Site speed, mobile-friendliness, and image optimisation all play a part in how Google ranks your website. So, it’s worth spending some time making sure your website is running smoothly and efficiently.

3. Create better, more valuable and original content

Whether you have noticed a drop in traffic, click-throughs and rankings or not, a great SEO strategy going forward would be to endeavour to create better-quality, more thorough, original and truly valuable content.

Tweak and improve the content you already have and create new content, and all the better if you can optimise your website content for search engines, based on keyword research insights. (Need help with that? You can either outsource this to me or learn how to do it yourself in The Photographer’s Visibility Blueprint.)

Not sure how to improve your content? A great start would be to simply look at the content that is ranking highly on Google for the keyword phrases that you are proactively targeting.

  • How does it compare to yours?
  • What must Google like about that content?
  • What elements of that could you apply to yours to improve your changes of ranking more highly?

Related reading: How to boost organic traffic to your photography website

Your photography website visibility

Marketing and SEO work is never ‘done’. It’s not a set-and-forget type of task, but rather something to always be thinking about as you aspire to grow your photography business and reach more people online.  

Recent and future changes to Google’s algorithm create an opportunity for you to rank higher in search engine results pages.

Will you shy away from learning more about Google and what it wants from photography websites like yours? Or, will you embrace this opportunity to improve your website content and thereby rank higher and get more visible online?

Ready to invest in photography marketing and SEO support?

If you’d like any help from me – whether that be ‘done-for-you’ support with keyword research as a one-off project or on-going PR and marketing consultancy – get in touch.

There’s also the option to join my group programme which is more of a ‘done-with-you’ style of support. You can learn more of what you need to know about SEO and keyword research, blogging and PR – three strategies I highly recommend for getting your more visible – and get 20 weeks of live, personalised support from me.

I’m on a mission to help photographers like you get seen and discovered by more of your ideal photography clients. Let me know if you’d like my help with your content and SEO strategy!

<<Don’t forget to enrol for my free training on how to determine if your photography website has been impacted by recent Google algorithm updates. In it, I demonstrate how you can diagnose any loss of traffic and rankings, which is an essential first step in better optimising your website for the future. >>

Zoe

P.S. Got any questions or thoughts on the latest Google algorithm changes? Drop them in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!