The photographer SEO interview series gives insight to individual photographer experiences with implementing search engine optimization. I find it insightful and helpful to learn from their growth and mistakes.
Originally born and educated in Los Angeles, Sacramento photographer Jill Carmel moved there to start a photography business specializing in maternity, babies and children. She continues to fall more in love with her job with each photo shoot, thrives on challenges, and is inspired by her wonderful clients. Jill has been extremely successful in ranking well, so I asked her about some of her thoughts on SEO.
First off… tell us about your web setup.
Jill: Although my site is primarily a flash site, I rank #1 for the vast majority of my local keywords such as:
Sacramento child photographer
Sacramento newborn photographer
Sacramento family photographer
Sacramento maternity photographer
My website setup is currently a Blu Domain site with a Typepad blog. I will soon be switching over to a custom flash site with a WordPress powered blog. I feel confident going into this change since I have the support of the knowledge I have gained through Zach’s book.
Zach: And I’ll point out that you chose an HTML template in BluDomain – that didn’t help your efforts – but the splash page was a must for your success. You’re a great example of even a site at number 1 for everything still improving on SEO techniques. I think you’ll gain tremendously for your subpages and niche phrases by making that switch. I have a post about the SEO features of BluDomain as well as some WordPress tips.
What does SEO mean to your business?
Jill: My SEO brings in about 50% of my business. When I was a new business, it accounted for even more than 50% and that’s very valuable when you’re new to a market.
Did something happen that got you started with SEO?
Jill: I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to get the word out about myself fast enough when I was new to Sacramento and didn’t know anyone to network with.
“Without implementing SEO strategies at the very beginning, my business wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful as it is now because many of my now long-term, repeat clients originally found me on the internet.”
Zach: WOW. That’s the main benefit of SEO right there. You totally get it.
How do paid listings compare to non-paid SEO?
Jill: Let’s just say I don’t invest a dime in paid listings anymore. It’s all about SEO. The ROI is many times greater going the SEO route.
Do you have a favorite SEO Tool?
Jill: I really like the Firefox RankChecker tool because it allows me to see exactly where I rank in Google and Yahoo. If you just search for yourself in Google, your preferences will skew the search and give you a false sense of where your site ranks.
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Great advice for photographers, TFS