A Common Website Mistake
Speaking of Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The content of a website’s <title> tag is what is displayed in the top-most bar of a browser window when someone is looking at your site. The tag is given significant weight by search engines in their effort to figure out exactly what a site is about. As I speak to photographers around the country about search engine optimization, or SEO, I notice quite a lot of studio names (such as “XYZ Studio”) or the photographer’s own name (such as “John Smith”) in the tag.
Unless your name is nationally recognized by photo buyers, you’d be better off thinking about what keyword phrase potential clients would use to find a photographer that produces work such as you create. So for example, your <title> tag might better consist of “Seattle Editorial Photographer John Smith.” Place the most important keywords toward the left of the sentence. About eight to ten words is good.
It is important to make certain your <title> matches your page content, the <description> META tag, and is unique for your website. Every page’s title and content should be unique, otherwise it will be ranked supplemental.
7 Responses to 'A Common Website Mistake'
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Quick question:
If my title tag is, say, “New York Editorial Photographer”, will that help or hurt my SEO? Will those words be specific to my name and my site, since “New York Editorial Photographer” is a very common search term?
Or should I include my name at the end? Such as: “New York Editorial Photograph John Smith”?
Hi Evan. That title tag, “New York Editorial Photographer” will indeed help you for that specific search phrase. Your name is not necessary unless you believe that potential clients will search for you using your name. Of course, the phrase “New York Editorial Photographer” needs to be place throughout your body copy. I’m working on another blog post for ASMP that will specifically talk about page content. Stay tuned.
Hello Blake,
Great topic. I currently only use “Doug Walker Photography – Welcome!” Not good apparently. And business is way down of late.
So I live an hour from Seattle. Would it be disingenuous to place “Seattle Commercial and Architectural Photographer” as Seattle is the most searched city nearby? I will have an hour and half communte each way to compete on small jobs for those local. I live in Olympia, Washington. Most work comes through Seattle and the 60 mile surround. What about the ol’ Washington vs Washington D.C. snafu. How do I separate myself? If I list Washinton, won’t all the D.C. inquiries get muddled?
Thanks so much for the fine discussion.
Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting.
Well written and and got some very good points regarding SEO
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