Social media is an important component of SEO. We will show you how to properly and effectively use social media to make your website user and search-engine friendly.
1. Create an account and post your photos on image bookmarking sites.
Image bookmarking sites such as Instagram, Fotki, Flickr, and Pinterest are very effective in showcasing your work. Don’t forget to put a link to your website from your image bookmarking page.
2. Submit your website link in directories.
Directories such as Reddit, DMOZ, and Hotfrog allow your website to be easily searchable. They do this by organizing links into different categories and subcategories. Thus, users who are looking for websites about photography in web directories may stumble upon your link.
Setting up an account in these directories is easy; just sign up then input your name, email address, and other information needed by the directory. The directories will do the rest. You can also customize directories to auto-update whenever you add new content to your website.
Sites like Houzz, Behance, and Freelancer are great directories for real estate photographers.
Just for reference, here are brief descriptions of the examples of directories as stated above.
* Reddit – allows registered community members to submit text posts and direct links. Registered users can then rank and organize posts by voting submissions.
* DMOZ – a multi-content directory of links. Open content refers to content that others can copy or modify.
* Hotfrog – an Australian web directory that categorizes websites regionally and topically.
* Houzz – an online community of architects, interior designers, decorators, landscapers, handymen, contractors, and of course, real estate photographers
* Behance – a great directory for self-promotion. You can create and display your portfolio here.
* Freelancer – an ideal directory for freelancers to advertise their skills and services. Businesses looking for freelancers look for providers here.
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3. Use social media to promote your website.
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are currently some of the biggest social media sites. Take advantage of them by creating accounts for your photography business. Social media not only expands your reach but it also allows you to interact with your market one-on-one. You can also make accounts on other photo-heavy social media sites such as Digg and Tumblr. They are very popular among photographers.
Post images links to articles, announcements, and more on these accounts. Don’t forget to link to these accounts on your website and share them with your target audience to keep them up to date on your latest projects.
Daily posting is highly recommended, but 1 to 2 posts a week will do just fine. Some platforms such as Facebook have features that allow you to automatically schedule the publication of posts.
You can also use tools such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to aggregate your social media accounts and posts from one place.
Remember that the number of quality links that you have from trusted sources and social media accounts will definitely help your SEO. They build credibility for your website, your social media accounts, and ultimately, you as a professional.
4. Invite others to submit guest posts.
Inviting photobloggers, manufacturers, and writers to publish a guest post on your website is beneficial. Once you publish their article, they will share the link to their networks. Clicking the link will bring their network to your blog, which drives traffic, increases the number of natural links, and improves your rank in a search engine results page, or SERP.
If you want your photography business to reach new heights, then optimizing your website should be on your must-do list. Check out Part 1 for using keywords correctly and Part 2 for tips in link building. These strategic and effective SEO techniques can get your site in the front line and help establish your business a strong foothold in the competitive realm of online marketing.
