SEO is often overlooked or thought to be a waste of time, but Photocrati has made it a point to tell you why it is well worth the time.

Photocrati has recently launched two interactive courses on the Udemy education platform. Here are some details:

For $97, Supercharge Your Photography Website teaches you the fundamentals of getting your photography website going and how to optimize it for your customers and business success.

You will learn about: Hosting, WordPress, Website basics, Plugins, Themes, Layouts, Galleries, Pages, Blogging, Social Media and more.

For $49, SEO for Photographers dives into the SEO of your photography website and how you can implement the basic, most crucial SEO techniques into your website.

You will learn about: What and Why, On and Off Site, Meta Tags, Link Building, Local SEO and more.

In the graphic below, you can see how blogging plays a roll in your site’s rankings.

With Google’s  new Author Rank algorithms, blogging and social media is more important than ever.  To learn more about this, check out the courses and get started today.

• Supercharge Your Photography Website
• SEO for Photographers

Thanks and good luck.

What makes SlideDeck even more useful for photographers is the ability to aggregate content from social sources, like Instagram.

As you can in the screenshot, there are quite a few social sources.

One of my favorites is the Instagram source so iPhoneographers can easily share their iPhonegraphy with website visitors in a beautiful slider.  You can see the feature in action at my Self Portrait Friday article.

There is a free “lite” version of SlideDeck available so I recommend downloading and taking it out for spin.  If you like what you see, pick up a paid copy for additional lenses (slide styles) and options.

Thanks for reading,

Scott

Photography SEO & Local Marketing

Building relationships is also marketing, however there are additional local marketing techniques that can be used.

Incentive

Provide your relationships with an incentive to send more business your way. For instance, a 5% referral bonus for every new customer you get. Make the bonus exclusive to partners you have exchanged links with.

Local Listing

Utilize local marketing sites and get your business listed on the most important websites, the ones your potential clients would be browsing.

Associations

Display your associations and memberships on your website, and make sure you are listed on theirs. For instance, if you are a wedding photographer it could be important to be listed on Best of Wedding Photography in your local area.

Host & Education

If you have a studio, host a meet and greet there. If you do not, partner with one of your relationships to use their venue. Offer a couple of presentations where you can further educate your partners so they can be an indirect and unofficial sales person for your business.

Local Metrics

Use Google Webmaster Tools and Bing Webmaster Tools and identify what local keywords are working for you and where you need improvement.

Answer Questions

Use social sites like Quora, searching for local questions worth answering.

Where Your Customers Are

Your customers hang out on Facebook and Pinterest. You may not realize it, but Pinterest is important for photographers and more so for local marketing.

Plus Local

Google Places is now called Google Plus Local. Even if your customers are not on Google Plus, it is important to have your business set up and merged with your Google Plus Local listing.

Like with anything else, this list can go on for a while. So I want to hear from you. Comment below and share your advice for photographers to utilize local marketing for photography SEO.

Thanks for reading,

Scott

Photography SEO & Local Relationship Building

There are three steps to local relationship building. Below I will discuss each one.

Identify

Identifying your local relationships is step one. If you know that a local bakery is preparing food for many local events, then they are a the perfect place to start.

Outreach

Once you have identified that the bakery is your first relationship to build, it is time to reach out Stop in to the bakery and talk with the employees, meet the owner and bakers. Become friendly and spend some money buying some food if you can afford it or have it in the budget. Visit the bakery’s website and comment on their blog articles. Visit their social media channels and interact with more comments, Likes, Tweets, +1s, etc.

Build

After the engagement becomes a two-way street, it is time to send your letter. Here is a template to get you started:

Hi Tom,

I have really enjoyed the food that your bakery has prepared and the kindness from your employees. I honestly feel your bakery is the best around.

I was thinking that I could start a partner section on my photography website where I refer clients vendors I believe it, like you.

Would you consider having a similar page and exchanging links? I think it can benefits both of us and it would be fun to work together at events.

Let me know your thoughts.

See you Monday morning,

Scott

You might even offer for them to guest post on your blog.

There you have it. A simple three-step approach to photography seo relationship building.

Feel free to comment with questions,

Scott

For instance, a link from DSLRBlog to your photography website, would be link building.

The best way to go about link building is by guest posting on photography websites. However, I want to talk about local link building.

Now being in such a niche category, link building for photography SEO is tricky. Commenting for links doesn’t work anymore, so what is there to do?

Photography SEO & Local Link Building

If your photography business is local based, and not a full-time traveler, then there is a really good method to try. Create a section on your website where you discuss partners, venues, etc. Reach out to venues that often host events where you are photographing. Write a very personal email explaining that you would like to partner by recommending each other to potential customers. The partnership requires an exchange in links. No money is to change hands, as it is an agreement between companies to increase business.

You can also exchange links with other photographers. If you are a New York City wedding photographer and never photograph an event in Las Vegas, then partner with a Nevada wedding photographer in the Las Vegas area and recommend him/her for potential clients.

Other local businesses you can partner with:

• Bands
• DJs
• Florists
• Bakers
• Caterers

Local link building is not only great for photography SEO, but also for relationship building, business and it is also a lot of fun.

Do you have additional local partners you would like to see added to the list? Comment below and we will add them.

Thanks for reading,

Scott

WordPress Photography Themes For Your Business

We recommend for you to click on each image and view the live demos of the themes before making a decision on which to purchase.

iFolios

WordPress Photography Themes by Photocrati

Baltimore

Mater

Gleam

Klassio

FlipIt

360

Moot

MediaBook

Pallas

Deep Focus

Vitrux

Which of themes 13 friendly WordPress photography themes is your favorite and why?  Which do you think is best for your photography business and why?

Picking A WordPress Photo Gallery Plugin

Below are a list of WordPress photo gallery plugins available to use on your website.  If you had to pick one of these 12 plugins, which you choose and why?

NextGEN Gallery

NextGEN Gallery is a fully integrated WordPress photo gallery plugin with dozens of options and features.

Lightbox Evolution

Lightbox Evolution is a tool for displaying images, html content, maps, and videos in a “lightbox” style that floats overtop of web page.

Justified Image Grid

Present your galleries in an eye-catching unique new way. Load images from Facebook and Flickr or use NextGEN gallery or make a responsive banner/slider of Recent posts using their featured images!

MediaBlender

PixWall

Pixwall is used to create animated slideshows with particular effects, and you can use it also for fullscreen background slideshows.

RoyalSlider

RoyalSlider for WordPress is a cross-device jQuery content slider with touch-based navigation and responsive layout.

Slider Pro

“Slider PRO is one of the most powerful slider plugins for WordPress on the market.”

LayerSlider

A user-friendly slider where you can add global settings or local (per slide) settings to each layer or sublayer. You can change delay times, easing types, durations and much more with the WYSIWYG editor.

Video Gallery Slider

Responsive and full of motion

Ajax Grid

WP Ajax Grid is a WordPress Plugin which allows you to create dynamic grids of wordpress posts loaded with AJAX technology using a simple shortcode controlled by several parameters.

Portfolio Post Type

The Portfolio Post Type plugin gives you a shortcode called [ portfolio ], which pulls content from the Portfolio post type.

Sequencer

This article is going to contain a the five top websites and articles where you can learn to improve each of your photography business.

Photography SEO

1. Photography SEO
2. WordPress SEO Plugins
3. SEO for Photographers Resource List
4. Photographers SEO & Social Marketing
5. 3 Essential Steps for Photography SEO

Photography Marketing

1. Photography Web Marketing
2. 6 Direct Marketing Tips For Wedding Photographers
3. Tofurious
4. ProBlogger
5. The Marketing Formula of Successful Photographers

Photography Sales

1. 5 Common Mistakes That Lose You Business
2. WordPress Plugins for Photographers
3. Copyright of Photographs
4. Photopreneur
5. Sales Sales Sales

Photography Business

1. WordPress photography themes
2. PhotoMint
3. Web Hosting for Photographers
4. Business Books for Photographers
5. WordPress themes for photographers

Have additional articles or websites you would recommend?  Comment below with the link and which category you recommend it for.

Thanks for reading

In the past couple years, Responsive photography themes are becoming more popular than before. In this guest article, not only will you see examples of the best responsive photography themes available, but you will learn why they are useful.

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is an approach to web design in which a site is crafted to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones). – Wikipedia

A picture can tell 1000 words, so they say, and when it comes to showing off your photography work, a simple website can really assist in illustrating what you can offer to potential customers.

With this in mind, an online portfolio is an essential part of any photographer’s role, in order to gage new business, and it’s worth remembering that this may be the first impression someone has of you, so you need to make it accessible and memorable.

Before picking your photos for the portfolio though, it’s worth remembering that not everyone views a website on their computer anymore. They may be searching for you on the go on their smartphone, or sat on the couch on a tablet. This is where responsive design can help.

Responsive Photography Themes

Becoming increasingly popular as responsive themes become more widely available, these themes react to whatever platform your site is being viewed on, meaning it looks like a great website, no matter what the screen.

If you’re stumped on where to start, here are a few great examples of WordPress portfolio themes that are responsive, which could be ideal for your photography website.

1. Artboard

This full screen portfolio theme really puts the emphasis back onto imagery. Images overtake the screen to really make your work shine. With drop-down menus and a fully functional blog, this can create a visually stunning basic site if you’re after something heavily image-focused.

2. Expression

This WordPress theme allows for flexible galleries, with quirky animations and effects. The full screen image slider is a particularly great feature for photographer’s portfolios and is a great theme for use on various devices.

3. Photolux

This premium WordPress theme is ideal for both photographers who have no coding knowledge whatsoever, and those who may be a bit more into the development of their site. Using sliders to flip through the portfolio, the site provides ease of use with a simple navigation. A full-height full screen slideshow allows for your work to really do the talking.

4. Evolution

For those who want to more than just a showcase of work, Evolution provides a simple yet effective theme. It allows for a slideshow preview of work upon the homepage, whilst allowing room for background information and the latest blog post too. A great way to give a taster of your collection.

5. Gleam

Gleam is an incredibly sleek and modern theme – an ideal WordPress photography theme for photographers. The theme allows for full background photos, as well as the ability to display your work full screen. Remember, with responsive design this will look great on any device. For a more traditional layout, the standard gallery page uses small thumbnails with popups to view full images. The flexibility is here with all the glamour and simplicity you could want.

6. Reponsy

With a name like Reponsy, it’s no wonder it caught my attention for a responsive photography themes article. A fantastic HTML5 theme which will have all the tools you could possibly want for your site – whether it’s your social buttons, a blog post, or embedding your Flickr images. The clear layout of the theme pages allows for multiple portfolios if you want to section your work off. Clear, yet quirky, Responsy offers the full package.

7. Loook

A minimalistic theme which makes it ideal for responsive design, the highly customisable options alongside the white space of the theme allows for your work to really stand out. Because it is minimalistic, the theme is timeless and will require little monitoring to remain current.

8. JPhotolio

A premium WordPress theme, JPhotolio has an unlimited size of portfolio housed in an elegant and feminine template – ideal for wedding photography. With a great interactive portfolio that can be narrowed down by category, this site has personality already, whilst being customisable enough to add your own. The navigation bar at the top remains no matter where on the site you visit, allowing for excellent simple navigation.

9. Pegasus

A responsive and uncluttered WordPress portfolio theme, this is an incredibly effective theme if you want to show off your work without any distractions. The theme provides a more than adequate portfolio for photography, whilst offering flexible colours and social widget, creating focus on getting in touch.

10. Mixfolio

Mixfolio offer a ‘welcome area’ on your page, so you can automatically tell visitors who you are and how to get in touch, before delving into the imagery. The standard black, grey and white structures make for a simple, yet classic design, allowing for selected photographs on the landing page to relly stand out in contrast.

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Brett Harkness is a successful wedding photographer based in Manchester, UK.

Photographers are looking for the same things: beautiful design, home or landing page, blogging, gallery control, and the ability to sell works.

Features of photography website templates include:

• Gallery management
• NextGEN Gallery integration
• Gallery styles
• Social integration
• Photography SEO features
• Private galleries
• Responsive capabilities
• Fullscreen style
• Contact forms
• eCommerce integration
• Widget areas

Photocrati

Poise

Noblesse

PhotoPics

Gleam

Sideways

Pacifico

Project 10

Amplify

Leviathan

Shutter

Limitless

 Touchfolio

 Grid

Panoramica

Architekt

Pegasus

The Wedding

Marriage

Announcement

Wedding Album

Batik

Adam & Eve

Mr. & Mrs.

MJ

Retro

Landscape

Pixel Happy

Deep Focus

Statua

Photoland

PhotoNexus

Invictus

Village

Anan

Core Minimalist

Photorific

MediaReel

Chocolate

PhotoPurePress

Kin

Specere

Zoom

Galleria

Viewfinder

As you see, there are endless possibilities of WordPress themes for photographers.  So the question is – which will you pick?