livebooks blog

If online visibility for your website is what you want, proper SEO is what you need

Your website is relevant, your portfolios are updated, your photography is flawless; so how come so few come to visit? It all comes down to that super popular fellow who only listens to bits of your story, but is excited to share all info it has on you to whomever will ask – the search engine.

Yes, it’s definitely your friend, as long as it gets to know you. Introducing SEO, the one thing every photography website owner knows they need, but not too many actually accommodate it. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the information laid out for the algorithms that skim through each published page, indexing them. They go from link to link and figure out what each website is about, how reliable it is and thus, how relevant it is for the online seeker.

According to what keywords you’ve used in the SEO fields, it will determine a ranking for your website. You already have a great photography website, but does the SEO formula agree? There are a few things you can do to put your foot in google search’s door and say “Alright, I’m here!”

It’s SEO Everything™ time!

The liveBooks websites are all about ease of access to your content, and SEO fits right in the whole scenario. It’s a platform used mainly by photography professionals, a career that stresses on the visual advantage over linguistics, which usually makes indexing a little harder, but we have many ways to go around that. It’s called SEO Everything and it truly is everything you need to get your photography website running at the speed of SEO. (There’s no such measurement unit, but we figure it’s fast. Superfast.)

First things first: check that your website will be indexed by search engines. This feature is automatically turned on, but we’ll go ahead and double-check just in case.

1. Go to settings, then click on the SEO tab.
2. While we’re here, let’s make sure that your website title and description are filled in. We’re determined to make the title visible for search engines, so our advice is to make it easy to read: business name + the keyword that describes your field of work (“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” is a great example, even though we’re positive it wasn’t intentional). What you write in the description is up to you. This is the place where keywords are not important and it’s the only place where you don’t need to worry about google’s piercing scanners. The description appears under your website name in search results. (http://goo.gl/3HBg5R)
3. We can now proceed to the reason why we’re here: the first field in the search settings field. You want your website to be found, so the first option should be turned on. (http://goo.gl/cENHbu)
4. Finally, scroll down to the last field, Schema.org, and choose the appropriate organization type to be featured by this tool in indexing your website. (http://goo.gl/HkQJAU)

SEO for your pages

Now we’re ready to take on the great adventure of page and image SEO. This is an important journey to make, since we’re dealing with a photography website where written content is usually scarce. To give an overall perspective, the SEO algorithms behave best in a page containing around 600 words, so we’ll have to make up for it if you choose to let your photography do the talking without inserting text blocks to your galleries. Still, a few words are in order here, a few well written and descriptive words which will serve as your copy-paste material for the keywords field and will never again be seen on your website.

Before you move any further, get writing! Remember, capitalization is unimportant here, but spacing and spelling is. The recipe for a proper keyword sequence is keyword comma space keyword comma space and so on. (ex. wedding photography, engagement photography, ceremony photography in AZ, etc.)

In your content area click on a page and you’ll see a SEO & Settings dropdown field on the right side. This is where you stunning copy-paste skills will come in handy. Fill in these blocks with the keywords and description you’ve set. Do this for all pages. It’s tedious, we know, but you only do it once. Okay, you do it every time you create a new page or item, but trust us, it matters.

SEO for your photos

Now, we’ve said SEO Everything and we mean it! Don’t think we forgot the most important actors in your show: the photographs. In your image library click on the eye icon that appears when you hover over with your mouse and you’ll see a pop-up with the image info. We’ll focus on the first two fields: the title and the description. liveBooks allows google to index this info even if you choose not to show it on your website with the image info on hover option. This is a great feature that not all photography platforms can take pride in having, so we’re boosting over here.

1. Fill in the title first; it should be descriptive (sunset wedding on Cape cod, floral arrangement at reception, newly weds take wows, etc.).
   Notice how the examples we’ve given contain more words connected to your business, not just photography. That’s because as much as you want people to find you for their specific need, you also wouldn’t mind to have a prospective client bump into your work while googling for a flower arrangement and finding a great photographer to capture the spirit of their big event. and coming back to our buddy google and its power to validate your website, this is a great way to convince it that you are a proper professional who understands the entire ensemble of your work field.
2. The description, on the other hand, can differ from image to image and it is up to you to make it as detailed as you want to give an even bigger picture.

Extra tips

• You should have one website for your business so that google doesn’t get mislead
• If you’re doing a blog, use your website as the platform for it instead of an external page. Feel free to use outside links to projects.
• Keeping track of your ranking and optimal keywords is a must when reaching for a greater audience. The liveBooks professional plan includes real-time analytics, so you won’t have to bother with 3rd party tools.
• Changes won’t happen straight away, it takes time for the algorithms to find your updates and index them.

With the number of users on social media websites and platforms consistently growing every year, it’s no surprise that businesses have jumped on the train as well — and for good reason! It’s a fun way to engage with potential customers and increase your reach.

However, far too many entrepreneurs have started to rely almost entirely on social media to grow their business, instead of reaping the benefits from building an effective and informative website.

If you’ve ever heard the saying, “Don’t build your property on someone else’s land,” then you may understand what we’re getting at here.

Here’s the truth: every business needs an impactful website to reach potential customers. And for wedding professionals, this isn’t just a guessing game . . it’s fact.

The Latest in Wedding Industry Data

According to WeddingWire’s 2018 Newlywed Report, which utilizes information from almost 18,000 newlyweds who said their vows in 2017, 83% of wedding planning is now done online.

Additionally, the top sources for finding wedding vendors were wedding-related websites and online searches.

What does this mean for wedding professionals? In short, this data suggests that those who offer the most assistance and access to potential couples on the web are more likely to win the competition against those who don’t.

And if that isn’t enough to convince you, here’s a list of other fantastic reasons why your wedding company needs a website that sells.

1. You own it.

That’s right: not Facebook, not Youtube, not any other fancy social media platform that rises to the top in upcoming years. Your website is yours to keep.

The best part? You can customize your website the way you’d like, and show off your craft in a way that isn’t limited by the algorithms and boring profile settings of any social platform.

2. Websites are the perfect way to spotlight your portfolio.

Wedding couples love seeing specific examples of previous work. Whether you’re a wedding designer who’s got a knack for everything vintage or you’re an up-and-coming videographer with a unique editing style, your website is the best chance you have of showcasing what you love so much about being in the industry.

3. You can use your website as the foundation to all of your other marketing and sales efforts.

Think of your website like a “city center”: you may have interstates and roads extending out in other directions, but they all can help drive traffic back to the core.

Instead of seeing your social media handles, your networking events, and any wedding shows you attend as being solitary, start to look at them like a connected web, with your site at the center.

This means that the focus becomes less about convincing potential clients to buy solely through that one channel, but instead about cycling them through the buyer’s journey.

For example, if you have someone who sees a post on Instagram and loves your work, they can view your profile, begin to explore your website, and follow other areas where you’re engaged (such as your blog, your Youtube channel, your Pinterest boards, etc.).

Looking for an easy-to-use platform to build the perfect website for your wedding company?

liveBooks offers stunning, customizable website templates for wedding industry professionals and creatives.

Not only will you feel empowered and excited to show off your website, but you can be confident that they’ll look great on any device. Fully mobile-ready and responsive in all the best ways.

We’ve also got a top-notch support team who’s here to help you every step of the way. Start for free today! 

Over a year ago, Google announced it was rolling out a new mobile-first index where the algorithms will primarily use the mobile version of a website’s content to rank its pages. Now, according to Search Engine Land, Google plans to move more sites to mobile-first index in the coming months.

What Does This Mean for Your Website?

Google wants its index and results to represent the majority of their users — who are mobile searchers. So, Google will now place value on mobile pages when indexing a site and determining its position on search results.

Once Google sets the change in motion, websites that do not have mobile-friendly designs will likely see significantly reduced search engine traffic.

liveBooks is Ready for Google’s Mobile-Index

Google developers haven’t set a specific date, but they expect to begin rolling out their mobile-first index this year. We are proud to say that all liveBooks websites are fully-responsive. Regardless of screen size, your website will adjust its width and features such as text and images to optimize its mobile visibility.

If you haven’t started using liveBooks yet, start your free trial and begin creating your beautiful, fully-responsive website today!

Additional Resources:

Search Engine Land FAQ: All about the Google mobile-first index

TechCrunch Google’s mobile-first search index has rolled out to a handful of sites

The short answer: yes. According to Forrester Research’s Dr. James McQuivey, “a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.” Here are 3 reasons why you should add video content to your website.

1. Engages your audience. Video consumption is only growing in 2018, and by sharing videos to your website, you are capturing consumers’ attention and, in turn, driving higher engagement on your site.
2. Improves Google Rankings. You understand how to implement SEO best practices, but did you know that the amount of time consumers spend on your site also plays into Google Rankings? When you are capturing attention through an engaging video, you’re enticing users to stay on your website longer. Therefore, improving your Google Rankings.
3. Gives Your Brand Personality. Of course you can showcase your personality through your copy and images. Add another layer with video. When you feature a video of yourself you are humanizing your brand and creating a deeper connection with your visitors. This gives them a reason to come back to your website.

Wondering where to begin with uploading videos to your website? With liveBooks’ Video Galleries you have the option to add multiple videos on one page, in a pleasing manner. Adding a Video Gallery block to your page is simple, just follow these easy steps.