How to Implement SEO for a Wedding Photographers Website

Outranking
by Outranking
Updated On: April 4, 2024
How to Implement SEO for a Wedding Photographers Website

The success of wedding photographers in the industry heavily relies on search engine optimization (SEO) due to the prevalence of digital technology. With more couples turning to search engines to find their perfect photographer, it is essential to optimize your online presence to increase visibility and attract potential clients. However, SEO is not a one-size-fits-all strategy, and it requires tailored techniques and tactics for wedding photographers. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the basics of SEO and provide a step-by-step guide to implementing effective SEO strategies for wedding photographers.

The significance of SEO for professionals in the wedding photography and videography industry:

  1. Increased Online Visibility
  2. Enhanced User Experience.
  3. Traffic that is specifically directed towards a particular website or business, usually through the use of advertising or marketing strategies.
  4. One budget-friendly marketing approach.
  5. Measurable Results.

SEO KPIs and Goals for Wedding Photographers:

To measure the success of their SEO efforts, wedding photographers should focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as client bookings, appointments, and their position in Google Business. By tracking these metrics, photographers can determine the effectiveness of their SEO strategies and make adjustments as needed.

Under the subheading of client bookings, wedding photographers should focus on optimizing their website with relevant keywords and creating high-quality content that showcases their work and expertise. For appointments, photographers can use SEO to improve their local search rankings and make it easier for potential clients to find and book their services. Finally, by optimizing their Google Business listing, photographers can improve their visibility and attract more clients in their local area.

How to implement SEO for a wedding photography/videography website

Step 1: Create a website architecture by breaking the website into core services

To enhance SEO for a wedding photography and videography enterprise, it is essential to comprehend the fundamental services provided. By identifying the core services, you can then conduct keyword research and develop a plan that connects with your offerings. To break down the website architecture into core offerings, you need to identify the main services or products that the business is offering. Wedding photography and wedding videography could be considered fundamental offerings within the domain of wedding media production.

A table has been compiled to present a comprehensive overview of the primary and secondary service domains for a wedding photography and videography enterprise.

Core Offering AreasExtended List of Sub Areas
Wedding Photography1. Candid photography
2. Traditional photography
3. Portrait photography
4. Engagement photography
5. Bridal Photography
6. Pre-wedding photography
7. Post-wedding photography
8. Destination wedding photography
9. Second shooter photography
Wedding Videography1. Cinematic videography
2. Documentary videography
3. Short film videography
4. Highlight reel videography
5. Same-day edits videography
6. Engagement videography
7. Pre-wedding videography
8. Post-wedding videography
9. Destination wedding videography
10. Aerial Videography

Step 2: Make a list of keywords

To perform keyword research for a wedding photography and videography website, you can use Semrush or Outranking by following these steps:

Method 1: Use Semrush

  1. Go to Semrush and enter “wedding photography and videography” as a keyword. Gather keywords related to ” wedding photography,” as this is the core area for which you want to rank. Some of the keywords related to “wedding photography” are “Candid Photography,” “Traditional Photography” and “Portrait Photography”.
Screenshot of Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool displaying keyword results for "wedding photography and videography".
Which keywords best represent your wedding photography or videography services?

2. Click on the “Keyword Magic Tool” and select “Phrase match” to get a list of related keywords.

3. Exclude irrelevant or outdated keywords by using the “Exclude Keywords” option.

Screenshot of possible keyword filters
By excluding unnecessary keywords, choosing becomes a lot easier.

4. Retrieve the CSV document containing the required information.

List of selected subarea keywords  for the core service area "wedding photography".
By identifying the best keywords, you can begin building a comprehensive SEO strategy for your photography website.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each sub-group within a core service area, such as Engagement photography, Bridal photography, Pre-wedding photography, Post-wedding photography, Destination wedding photography, and Second shooter photography.

6. For ease of management, consolidate all CSV files into a single file.

Approach 2: Employ the Outranking Technique.

  1. Navigate to Outranking and choose the “Keyword Generator” option.
  2. Enter “wedding photography and videography ” as a topic.
  3. By using Outranking, you can easily obtain a compilation of correlated keywords that will be grouped accordingly.
  4. To enhance your keyword list, pick out the most appropriate keywords and incorporate them into it.
  5. For every primary service sector like “photography for weddings,” “videography for weddings,” and “wedding bundles,” perform the procedure again.

Step 3: Cluster keywords in each business service area to determine what topics to create

Keyword clustering involves categorizing related keywords based on their significance and the purpose of the search. It is a crucial step in SEO strategy as it helps to identify the main themes and topics that a website should focus on. For a wedding photography and videography website, keyword clustering can help to target potential clients who are searching for specific services related to wedding photography and videography.

For example, a wedding photography and videography website can cluster keywords related to wedding photography into groups such as “bridal portraits,” “wedding ceremony,” “reception,” and “engagement shoots.” Grouping the keywords into categories like “wedding highlights,” “wedding trailers,” “wedding films,” and “cinematic wedding videos” is also applicable to videography.

Groups of clustered keywords relating to wedding photography and videography.
You can group words with similar meanings.

To pick the primary keyword for each group of clusters, it is essential to consider the search volume, competition, and relevance of the keyword to the website’s content. The primary keyword should be the one that has the highest search volume, low competition and is most relevant to the website’s content.

In the absence of an in-house SEO/marketing team, it is vital to enlist the services of a proficient individual. The intricacies involved in SEO necessitate proficiency and know-how for favorable outcomes. Using a tool like Outranking for keyword clustering can be beneficial as it can streamline the clustering process and provide insights into the search intent of the keywords.

Step 4: Create a content calendar and prioritize your SEO efforts

To give importance to keywords for developing and enhancing the content of a wedding photography and videography website, it is essential to begin by making an inventory of the main keywords and clusters that are related to your enterprise. After preparing this list, you can take advantage of Outranking’s “strategy topics and planner” webpage for keywords to create a schedule for producing content according to your plan.

There are three priorities that you can set – High, Medium, and Low.

PriorityKeywords ContainingWhy
HighWedding photography, Wedding videography, Professional photographer, Professional videographerAre you able to provide a definition for yourself as a knowledgeable authority and endorse your significant pages to facilitate the dissemination of information?
MediumEngagement photography, Engagement videography, Pre-wedding photography, Pre-wedding videographyYou can position your product or service amidst numerous rivals.
LowCandid photography, Candid videography, Destination wedding photography, Destination wedding videographyAre you able to provide a definition of yourself as a pioneer in the industry and facilitate the dissemination of valuable content through your prominent web pages?

Step 5: Establish a content production process, SOPs, and content briefs

For wedding photography and videography businesses, implementing SEO is crucial to attract potential clients and increase visibility on search engines. However, it’s not just about using keywords and creating content but having a well-defined process in place. To guarantee that your content creation and optimization process is comprehensive, follow these three professional recommendations:

Screenshot of Outranking's "local on-page SEO" page.
Establish yourself as the top wedding photographer in your area.

1. Creating solid content briefs

Before creating any content, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. Incorporating the target audience, content goal, tone, format, and relevant keywords into a guide for the material is essential to ensure its alignment with your SEO strategy and optimization for search engines.

2. Setting up a proper content calendar

Planning is essential to ensure that your content is consistent and relevant. To stay organized and achieve your SEO goals, it is important to have a well-planned content calendar that specifies the subjects, release dates, distribution platforms, and the individual accountable for each assignment.

3. Setting up an SEO workflow for the tasks

With multiple tasks involved in content creation and optimization, it’s important to have a workflow in place to ensure that everything is done efficiently and effectively. To create an effective workflow, it is important to outline the individual tasks involved, assign responsibility for each task, and establish a deadline.

Screenshot of a customizable SEO workflow from Outranking.
Staying organized is key!

The utilization of Outranking’s content planner can prove advantageous for a business that deals in wedding photography and videography since it furnishes pre-established workflow statuses, which can be personalized to suit your requirements. Outranking’s SEO content strategy tool is capable of assisting you in producing content outlines and refining your content to improve search engine optimization.

It is advisable to seek the assistance of a proficient agency like Outranking if you lack an internal SEO team and wish to achieve your plan’s objectives. When you are a wedding photographer or videographer with a tight schedule, it may not be feasible to handle everything on your own. However, it is crucial to participate actively in your area of expertise and guarantee that your content conforms to your brand and vision.

Step 6: Create SEO-optimized content for service pages and blogs

It is essential to generate SEO-optimized content for every service page and blog to guarantee that your wedding photography and videography enterprise invests in content that produces fruitful outcomes. Through the optimization of your content for search engines, you can enhance the number of natural visitors to your website, improve your online presence and ultimately create additional opportunities for lead generation and bookings.

Screenshot of Outranking's SEO benchmarks for the article "SEO for wedding photographers".
How does your content score?

Photographers or videographers who are short on time to write and optimize their pages for maximum organic exposure can avail of assistance from Outranking’s SEO content optimization guide and writing platform.

Furthermore, Outranking features an SEO content editor that verifies your content while suggesting internal and external links via connection with your sitemap URL. It also offers a benchmark indicating how many competitors are utilizing them.

Step 7: Optimize internal linking

Optimizing existing pages of your website with better internal linking can significantly improve the overall traffic of a website. By analyzing the pages that rank between 1 and 10, specifically those in the top 4-14 positions, website owners can identify pages with some authority that can be used to boost the ranking of other pages.

For a wedding photography/videography website, the pages to optimize would be those that contain keywords related to the services they offer, such as “wedding photography,” “wedding videography,” “engagement photos,” etc. The analysis of these pages is necessary to determine their position in rankings and potential for internal linking.

By connecting to Google Search Console, Outranking can recognize the pages that are currently ranked and exhibit chances for internal linking. Outranking can then suggest internal linking opportunities for these pages, making it easier for website owners to optimize their internal linking strategy and boost their website’s traffic.

Step 8: Acquire links (backlinks) and local references

For the local SEO of a wedding photography/videography website, obtaining backlinks and local citations is essential. Local citations refer to instances where the business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are mentioned on third-party websites. These references aid search engines in confirming both the existence and credibility of the enterprise. By Moz’s research study, citations rank fifth among crucial ranking signals for local inquiries; thus one must appear on trustworthy sources relevant to their field.

Screenshot of a wedding photographer's Yelp profile.
Use your favorite photos to showcase your skills and catch the attention of future clients!

There are two ways in which local SEO can benefit from obtaining local citations. The first is by improving the ranking for local search queries, while the other enables people to find businesses online easily. Often, business directories dominate the results for local searches; hence it’s advantageous to be listed on such sites. When searching for local wedding photographers/videographers, individuals frequently rely on online platforms such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and specialized directories like WeddingWire.

Structured and unstructured citations are two categories of citation types. Directory listings and social media profiles commonly display structured citations, which provide information about a business’s NAP. Contextual references to a business that are commonly discovered in blog posts, forum discussions, or due to media coverage are referred to as unstructured citations.

These four steps should be followed by businesses to construct citations.

  1. Get listed with the ‘big three’ data aggregators: Acxiom, Infogroup, and Localeze.
  2. Submit to other core sites: Google My Business, Bing Places for Business, and Yahoo! Local.
  3. Distribute the content to both mainstream industry and community-specific websites. Local wedding directories, as well as WeddingWire and The Knot.
  4. Make an effort to acquire unstructured citations by contacting nearby bloggers, wedding coordinators, and other enterprises operating in the wedding sector for references.

Here is a table with a list of data aggregators and websites they should get citations from:

Data AggregatorWebsites to Get Citations From
AcxiomYellow Pages, Superpages, Citysearch
InfogroupYelp, TripAdvisor, FourSquare
LocalezeThree examples of popular online platforms are Facebook, Apple Maps, and Bing Maps.
Screenshot of a wedding photographer's Yellow Pages profile.
This profile is missing some key ingredients.

Step 9: Optimize page speed and website experience

In 2024, enhancing the ranking of your wedding photography/videography website can be greatly improved by boosting its page speed and overall user experience. This is because improving user experience helps to minimize bounce rates and increase engagement, ultimately resulting in a higher search engine ranking and increased traffic for your site.

To quickly optimize page speed and website experience, you can use better and lighter themes such as the wedding services theme on Codecanyon and Nitropack-like WordPress plugins.

Step 10: Track rankings using Google Search Console

It is necessary for any wedding photographer or videographer to connect with Google Search Console and observe the ranking information of their website. Through this process, you can evaluate the pages that are functioning effectively and those that require enhancement thereby resulting in increased natural traffic and prospects.

The table provided can serve as a helpful guide for utilizing website ranking data and implementing corresponding measures.

GoalThe analysis and understanding of data that has been ranked.Actionable Steps
Maximize the effectiveness of internal linking.Webpages that have keywords placed within the top 4 to 14 positions.Enhance the Pagerank by optimizing the internal linking structure.
Build Topical AuthorityIf a user’s search intent is not aligned, web pages that do not feature any ranking keywords in the top 20 positions will be disregarded.Produce original material that is in line with the user’s search purpose and focuses on appropriate keywords.
Enhance the pages that are not meeting performance expectations.If the user’s search intent is not in alignment, pages lacking ranking keywords within the top 20 positions would be irrelevant.To enhance the overall performance of a website, redirect or improve pages that are not performing well.

Your wedding photography or videography business can attract more potential clients by taking targeted steps to improve your SEO content strategy and analyzing your website’s ranking data using Google Search Console.

Step 11: Optimize your photography/videography business’s local Google My Business account

By utilizing the free Google My Business service, companies can enhance their marketing endeavors and improve their visibility in top search engine results, including Google’s platform. This is achieved by offering supplementary details about themselves such as images, videos, operating hours, and links for reservations when they feature in search results.

Screenshot of the Google results for "wedding photographer braintree, MA"
Update your Google My Business account regularly to stay relevant.

In order to improve its ranking on Google’s local search results, a wedding photography company could take steps like optimizing its listing on Google My Business.

  1. Establish a Google My Business profile and authenticate the details of the organization.
  2. Incorporate superior images and videos showcasing the establishment, such as past projects demonstrations, and exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses.
  3. Write a detailed description of the business, including relevant keywords and services offered.
  4. Select the suitable classification for the enterprise, such as “Photographer specializing in Weddings” or “Photographer specializing in Portraits.”
  5. Ensure to provide precise operational hours and contact details, such as a telephone number and email address.
  6. Motivate clients to share their feedback on the company’s profile and promptly and courteously reply to all of them.
  7. Utilize Google Posts as a means to disseminate information regarding business updates, special offers, and other relevant news.

For a wedding photography business, personalized examples of these tips could include adding photos of previous weddings the business has photographed, including an SEO description of the types of photography services offered (such as engagement shoots, bridal portraits, and wedding day coverage), and encouraging happy couples to leave reviews of their experience working with the business.

It is important to note that optimizing a Google My Business listing can be a complex process, and it may be beneficial for a wedding photography business to hire a digital marketing agency to ensure that everything is done correctly and effectively. With the help of an agency, a business can focus on what they do best – capturing beautiful moments – while leaving the technical details to the experts.

Step 12: Invest in the right tools to set up the structure

For a wedding photography business that aims to excel in SEO, it is imperative to invest in suitable tools like Outranking. Outranking is an all-encompassing business SEO platform designed for businesses and provides services such as keyword research, content optimization, and performance tracking. Efficient page optimization can be achieved with the help of keyword suggestions, content enhancement advice, and performance metrics that are provided. The wedding photography enterprise can enhance its online presence and streamline its SEO content strategy, specifically on-page optimization, by utilizing top-notch tools for on-page SEO.

Step 13: Focus on the ultimate goal: leads/conversions

Organic traffic is the primary focus of most websites as it provides a long-term and economical solution to bring in potential customers. For instance, although a general keyword such as “photography” might generate numerous irrelevant visits, an explicit keyword like “wedding photography in [city name]” may lead to fewer visitors but with higher chances of being interested in wedding photography services offered by the business.

The main objective of a website is not only to drive traffic but also to convert them into paying customers or leads. Therefore, it’s crucial to prioritize leads and conversions since a website that attracts huge traffic but doesn’t convert them into clients fails in meeting its objectives.

How to evaluate an agency to help with SEO for your photography/videography business

Proficiency, evaluations, and outcomes

There are various aspects to contemplate when assessing a wedding photography or videography company for enhancing the SEO of your enterprise’s website.

  1. Reviews: To gauge the credibility of an agency and evaluate its work’s excellence, it is advisable to peruse online reviews and testimonials left by past clients. Positive feedback from customers not only inspires confidence in potential patrons but also boosts your search engine prominence.
  2. When seeking information about the agency’s impact on other wedding professionals’ online presence, request specific instances of improvement in SEO and visibility. This could include metrics such as boosted website traffic, elevated search engine rankings, or enhanced conversion rates.

Wedding Photographers SEO services offered

There are certain essential factors to take into account when assessing a wedding photography or videography company for assisting with your business website’s SEO.

  1. When searching for an agency to perform website audits and search engine optimization, it is recommended to choose one that follows established principles and techniques which can be customized according to the specific needs of each client.
  2. One important factor in choosing an SEO agency is its level of creativity and innovation. It’s a good idea to inquire about the unique strategies they have used to help clients differentiate themselves from others in the industry. A top-notch agency should be able to devise an innovative plan that sets you apart from your competitors.
  3. If you are looking for an SEO agency to cater to your requirements in the wedding photography or videography sector, it is recommended that you opt for a company with at least 5 to 10 years of hands-on expertise.

Contract Duration and Flexibility

If you’re looking to enhance your business website’s SEO with the assistance of a wedding photography or videography company, there are several essential elements that you must take into account.

  1. Experience Search: For a company that has practical knowledge of the wedding industry for a minimum of 5-10 years. They must possess in-depth comprehension of the market competition and can provide inventive and ingenious plans that can distinguish your business from others.
  2. Customized approach: A good agency should have a proven process for SEO, but also be able to tailor their approach to your specific business needs and goals. Inquire about their procedure and how they plan to personalize it according to your company.
  3. It is important to be cautious of agencies that demand inflexible long-term contracts. Instead, opt for an agency that provides shorter contract terms coupled with the liberty to renew or modify as per your requirements. This approach will enable you to assess their work outcomes and make necessary alterations if needed.

Are you in need of an SEO expert who can develop a strategy and address all your urgent queries?

A robust online presence is crucial for wedding photographers and videographers to appeal to potential clients, which can be achieved through cost-effective means like SEO. However, the process of optimizing your website’s visibility on search engines can also be intricate and time-intensive.

Outranking offers expert assistance in SEO strategy, planning, and implementation that will guarantee successful outcomes for your wedding photography or videography enterprise. Our team will collaborate with you to comprehend your requirements and aspirations, designing a personalized SEO scheme specific to your business needs.

You will receive an extensive evaluation of your website and digital footprint from our specialist. This will comprise an in-depth examination of keywords, on-page enhancement, and off-page tactics. Additionally, we can assist with improving your local SEO as well as mobile SEO, while monitoring progress through the use of analytical data and tools to make necessary modifications along the way.