Today, we’re diving into the world of SEO – specifically, a concept called domain authority (DA). Many photographers and small business owners hear this term thrown around, but what exactly is it, and why should you care?
What is Domain Authority?
Think of domain authority like your website’s reputation in the eyes of search engines. It’s a score (typically ranging from 1 to 100) developed by Moz that predicts how likely your website is to rank high in search results. The higher your DA, the more trustworthy and authoritative your website appears to search engines, potentially leading to:
- Increased Organic Traffic: Higher ranking means more people finding your website through search queries.
- Enhanced Brand Visibility: Your website becomes more prominent in search results, leading to greater brand awareness.
- More Credibility & Trust: High DA signals to potential clients that your website is a reliable source of information.
Why Should Photographers Care About Domain Authority?
As a photographer, potential clients are likely searching for your services online. A strong domain authority puts your website at the forefront of those searches, attracting valuable new leads.
How Can You Increase Your Domain Authority?
There’s no magic bullet, but here are some key strategies:
- High-Quality Content is King: Create valuable, informative content relevant to your photography niche. This can be blog posts, portfolio showcases, tutorials, or even local photography guides. Search engines reward websites with consistently fresh, well-written content.
- Backlinks are Like Gold: A backlink is essentially a link from another website to yours. Having reputable websites linking back to your content shows search engines your website is trustworthy and valuable. Focus on creating link-worthy content and building relationships with other photography blogs or local businesses.
- Optimize Your Website for Search: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and uses relevant keywords throughout your content. This signals to search engines that your website provides a good user experience.
- Claim & Optimize Your Google My Business Listing: This is crucial for local SEO and increasing your visibility in local search results.
10 Ways Photographers Can Build Backlinks
Building backlinks, which are essentially links from other websites to yours, is a crucial element of improving your website’s domain authority and SEO ranking. Here are 10 ways photographers can attract valuable backlinks:
- Guest Blogging: Reach out to photography blogs or relevant websites in your niche and offer to write guest posts. This allows you to showcase your expertise and include a link back to your website.
- Submit Photos to Online Publications: Many online publications and local news outlets are looking for high-quality images. Submit your work with a credit linking back to your photography website.
- Participate in Online Communities: Engage in photography forums or social media groups. Share your knowledge, offer helpful tips, and include your website link in your profile or signature.
- Collaborate with Local Businesses: Partner with local businesses that complement your services (e.g., wedding venues, florists, event planners). Offer to exchange links on your websites or create co-branded content.
- Get Listed in Online Directories: Submit your photography business to relevant online directories, industry listings, and local business directories. Most directories allow you to include your website link.
Trust your instincts on which website is legitimate and which one looks like a spammy website.
You can also google for example, wedding directories, photography directories, photography business directories, etc
Local business directories like Google, Facebook, Yelp, YellowPages, FourSquare, Yahoo, HotFrog and others.
- Participate in Photo Challenges or Awards: Many online platforms host photography challenges or competitions. Winning or being featured can increase your visibility and attract backlinks from the competition website.
- Offer Free Resources: Create downloadable guides, editing cheat sheets, or photography tips and tricks ebooks. Give these away for free in exchange for an email address and include a link back to your website within the resource.
- Broken Link Building: Find websites in your niche with broken links to similar content. Create a valuable piece of content on your site that addresses the same topic and reach out to the website owner, suggesting your content as a replacement.
- Testimonials & Reviews: Encourage satisfied clients to leave testimonials or reviews on your website and on platforms like Google My Business. Some platforms allow reviewers to include their website link, creating a backlink to your site.
- Check out Competitors using Moz – find example high ranking backlinks of your competitors or other photographers/business owners in your niche and seek out those similar links.
- Head over to moz.com – select Free SEO Tools – Domain Analysis and type in a domain you want to look up. You can do three free each day.
Bonus Tip: Focus on building high-quality backlinks. Getting a link from a reputable website with high domain authority is more valuable than several links from low-quality sites.
Remember:
Domain authority takes time and effort to build. However, by implementing these strategies and focusing on creating valuable content, you can gradually increase your website’s authority and attract a wider audience for your photography business.
Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay consistent with your efforts, and you’ll see your website ranking higher and attracting more clients in no time!
Photo Goals with Lori Pickens
Thank you for tuning in to Photo Goals with Lori Pickens to learn about common branding mistakes photographers often make. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be thrilled if you could take a moment to leave a review on the podcast. Your feedback helps me continue to deliver content that you love and helps others discover the podcast too. For more behind-the-scenes and daily inspiration, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest. But that’s not all – if you want to be the first to get updates on upcoming podcasts, tutorials, and all things photography, make sure to join our mailing list. It’s the best way to stay connected and catch all the latest from Photo Goals. I’m excited to have you as part of our community and can’t wait to bring you more engaging and educational content. Thanks again for listening and supporting Photo Goals with Lori Pickens.
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MEET LORI PICKENS, PARKERSBURG, WV PHOTOGRAPHER
Lori Pickens is a Mother, Wife, Tech Geek from Parkersburg, WV, and the podcast host of Photo Goals. She is a true lifelong local and has been photographing in the area for over a decade. She serves families from Parkersburg, WV to Marietta, OH. Lori is also a Click Pro Elite and Click Community Mentor. When she’s not capturing pictures or spending time with her kids, she enjoys organizing her lists and spending time on her family farm.
