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.

Erin Derby discovered photography in high school, and the second she walked out of the darkroom with her first GOOD photo, she was hooked. Derby knew it’s what she would do with her life. In college, she was the photo editor of the daily university paper, and after college she moved to NY where she pursued both art and commercial photography.

Erin Derby feels lucky to be able to shoot various subjects that really interest her, rather than being forced to only pick one genre.

Q&A with Erin Derby

Q1: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

ED: Modern, bright, dynamic.

Q2: How often do you typically update your website?

ED: I do a major update every year, which involves a total overhaul. And then throughout the year I do mini-updates…Approximately every month or so. Depends on what new work I want to share.

Q3: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

ED: I pick something that is new and that I’m personally really excited about, and can’t wait to share. It also needs to be big and bold and striking. It needs to really set the tone for the site. And it needs to be NEW!

Q4: What is your favorite feature of liveBooks?

ED: My TWO favorite things are that the site looks so professional and polished without any effort, and updating it is extremely easy and immediate.

Q5. What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

ED: Don’t overthink it. Don’t spend months debating and delaying it. Just get it up there. You can always make changes.

Erin Derby has been with liveBooks since 2007! See more of her work here: www.erinderby.com

Instagram Monthly Sweepstakes

Do you want the chance to win a FREE year towards your next subscription? On the second Monday of EVERY month we’re giving you the chance to win! Here’s how to win:

1. Follow @liveBookswebsites on Instagram.
2. “Like” our post announcing the monthly contest. May’s post here.
3. Answer our question of the month in the comments. Comment here.

Don’t forget to tag a friend because they are eligible to win a free year, too!

Official Rules: http://blog.livebooks.com/2018/04/livebooks-instagram-rules/

liveBooks Instagram Monthly Sweepstakes

OFFICIAL RULES

No purchase required to enter or win.  A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

The liveBooks Instagram Monthly Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) is sponsored and administered by WWLB Management LLC, 2 Wisconsin Circle, 3rd Floor, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 (“Sponsor” or “Administrator”).

1. ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the continental United States who are 18 years of age or older as of the Entry Period (defined below) (“Participant”).  Employees of Sponsor, Administrator, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible.  This Sweepstakes is void where prohibited or restricted by law. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
2. AGREEMENT TO OFFICIAL RULES: Participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes the Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and Administrator, which are final and binding.  Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
   
3. ENTRY PERIOD: The Sweepstakes is a monthly drawing on the second Monday of every month, continuing until terminated by Sponsor, in Sponsor’s sole discretion (the “Entry Period”).  Entries that are submitted before or after the Entry Period will be disqualified. Administrator’s computer will be the official timekeeping device for this Sweepstakes.  Administrator reserves the right to end Sweepstakes at any time, including prior to the expiration of the Entry Period.
4. HOW TO ENTER: Follow @liveBookswebsites on Instagram, and like and comment on the Instagram post for the Sweepstakes (“Entry”).There will be no credit for bot, automated, or spam entries, each as determined by Sponsor or Administrator in its sole discretion.  Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible, or misdirected Entries, which will be disqualified, or for any error, whether human, technical, or otherwise.  Sponsor and Administrator each reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any Participant found to be tampering with the operation of the Sweepstakes or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules.  In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a Participant, the authorized account holder of the Instagram account used to submit the Entry will be deemed to be the Participant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.By entering the Sweepstakes, you represent and warrant that you are the owner or licensee of any and all materials and information, including photos, videos, and personal information, submitted by you to the Sweepstakes and you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to Sponsor and Administrator an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully-paid-up, royalty-free, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense at multiple levels) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part), transfer, distribute any such materials for any purpose and in any format on or in connection with the www.livebooks.com website or its affiliated or partner sites, the Administrator’s or Sponsor’s respective businesses, or the promotion thereof, prepare derivative works, incorporate into other works, and/or grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.  Submissions must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor and/or Administrator, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content, and Submissions must not infringe any intellectual property rights of third parties. You furthermore represent and warrant that all persons and entities connected with the materials and information submitted in connection with the Contest, and all other persons and entities whose names, voices, photographs, likenesses, works, services and materials have been used in such materials/information or its/their exploitation, have authorized the use of their names, voices, photographs, likenesses, performances, and biographical data in connection with the advertising, promotion, trade and other exploitation of the materials and information and the rights granted herein.
5. JUDGING: Two (2) “Winners” will be selected by Administrator on the second Thursday of each month, or as soon as practicable, (“Drawing Date”) among all Entries received and processed during the previous Entry Period.
6. PRIZE EXPLANATION: Each of the Winners shall receive one (1) free year towards a liveBooks subscription worth up to $720.00 (“Prize”).  The total value of this Prize will not exceed approximately $720.00.  No transfer, cash equivalent, or Prize substitution allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. The Prize is nontransferable.  Any and all Prize-related expenses, including without limitation any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the Winner.
7. PRIZE NOTIFICATION AND FULFILLMENT:Each potential Winner may be contacted by Sponsor or Administrator on or about the Drawing Date via Instagram direct message and may be asked for further explanation based on their initial answers submitted online.  Each potential Winner will be required to respond to such direct message and execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release (where required and/or permitted) within seventy-two (72) hours of notification attempt.  In the event a potential Winner is determined to be ineligible in accordance with these Official Rules (including by failure to respond to any notification attempt within the specified time), such Prize may be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate Winner in a drawing from among all remaining Entries received.  Each Winner may be required to supply Administrator with his/her social security number for tax purposes. Subject to the foregoing requirements, the Prize will be sent to Winner [directly by Sponsor] and Sponsor may contact Winner if more information is needed.
8. CONSENT AGREEMENT: By entering this Sweepstakes, Participant: (1) agrees to be bound by these Official Rules; (2) consents to the use of his/her name, voice, picture, and likeness for advertising and promotional purposes in any medium throughout the world in perpetuity without additional compensation unless prohibited by law, and (3) agrees that Sponsor and Administrator may send Participant information, promotions, or special offers that Sponsor and/or Administrator determines may be of interest to Participant. Should a Participant wish to opt out of these communications unrelated to the Sweepstakes, please email social@livebooks.com.
9. INDEMNIFICATION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: By entering, each Participant agrees to defend, indemnify and otherwise hold Sponsor, Administrator, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, the agents, officers, directors, and/or employees (collectively, the “Released Parties”) harmless from and against any and all liability of any nature whatsoever arising out of or relating to (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Sweepstakes by or directed by Participant; (b) breaches of or inaccuracies in any representations or warranties of, or license grants by, Participant or any other terms and conditions contained herein; and/or (c) injury, death, or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Participant’s participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use of any prize, including any such claim by the Released Parties’ employees or agents or any third parties.By entering this Sweepstakes, each Participant (1) agrees to release Sponsor, Administrator, and each of the Released Parties from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, costs, and/or expenses, including without limitation property damages, personal injury and/or death, arising out of participating in this Sweepstakes or the acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize, (2) waives any and all claims against Sponsor, Administrator, and each of the Released Parties based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, or any other intellectual property or privacy right, and (3) acknowledges that neither the Sponsor nor Administrator have made or are responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize, including but not limited to its quality, mechanical condition, or fitness for a particular purpose.Neither Sponsor nor Administrator shall be liable for any damages whatsoever related to or arising from (a) any technical errors that may prevent any Participant from participating in any way; (b) unauthorized human intervention in the Sweepstakes; and/or (c) errors in the administration of the Sweepstakes.Participant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.  Participant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties’ aggregate liability for all claims will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Sweepstakes, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorneys’ fees.
10. DISPUTES: Except where prohibited by law, each Participant agrees that any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Sweepstakes or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in the State of Maryland.  All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, Participant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor and Administrator in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Maryland without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of Maryland or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Maryland.
11. GENERAL CONDITIONS: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Sweepstakes is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, the Sponsor or Administrator may, in its sole discretion and at any time, (a) suspend the Sweepstakes to address the impairment and then, at Sponsor’s or Administrator’s sole discretion, resume the Sweepstakes in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules (b) award the prize from among the eligible Entries received up to the time of the impairment and/or c) terminate the Sweepstakes.  Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, each of the Sponsor and Administrator reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure or delay by the Sponsor or Administrator to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram  or similar social media sites.

Questions or comments regarding the Sweepstakes can be submitted by email to social@livebooks.com