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Lesson 4: On-Page SEO for Image-Centric Photography Websites

Lesson 4: On-Page SEO for Image-Centric Photography Websites

Summary

Many photographers rely on beautiful visuals—but search engines need words and structure to understand and rank your website. This guide shows how you, a photographer, can improve your on-page SEO on WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace sites: optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and images. You’ll get clear steps and tool links you can follow today.

Why On-Page SEO Matters

Your stunning galleries may impress visitors, but Google’s crawlers read text and code, not images. Without simple SEO tweaks, you could miss out on the organi traffic of people searching for photographers like you. Clear page structure and relevant keywords are among the top ways to boost rankings1.

Step-by-Step SEO Fixes for Your Website

1. Update Your Page Titles

Why it matters: The page title (what appears in browser tabs and search results) tells Google and potential clients what each page is about.

  • Keep it simple: Aim for 50–60 characters. Example: “Portland Wedding Photographer | Jane Doe.”
  • Use your main phrase: Include your city or specialty (e.g., “Newborn Photographer Seattle”).

How to do it:

  • WordPress: Install and activate the free Yoast SEO or Rank Math plugin. In the page editor, scroll to the SEO section and enter your title.
  • Wix: Open SEO (Google) > Page SEO and edit the Title field.
  • Squarespace: Go to Pages > click the page > SEO tab > edit the Browser Title.

2. Craft Better Meta Descriptions

Why it matters: This short summary shows under your title in search results. A clear description encourages clicks.

  • Length: 120–155 characters.
  • Content: Mention your service and location, and include a “call-to-action” (e.g., “Book your session today!”).

How to do it:

  • WordPress: In Yoast/Rank Math, fill in the Meta Description field under the SEO section.
  • Wix: Under Page SEO, edit the Description field.
  • Squarespace: In the SEO tab of a page, add your description under SEO Description.

3. Add Text Around Galleries

Why it matters: A few sentences around your images tell search engines what’s in your photos.

  • Captions: Write 1–2 line captions describing each key image (e.g., “Bride and groom walking on beach at sunset”).
  • Intro paragraph: Add 50–100 words at the top explaining what the gallery shows (e.g., “Here are selections from my 2025 coastal wedding shoots…”).

How to do it:

  • Use your website builder’s gallery settings to enable captions.
  • In the page editor, type your intro paragraph above the gallery block.

4. Rename Files & Write Alt Text

Why it matters: File names and alt text help Google index images and improve accessibility.

  • File names: Before uploading, rename files from generic (IMG_001.jpg) to descriptive (e.g., “nyc-engagement-couple.jpg”).
  • Alt text: In your gallery or image block settings, write a short description that naturally includes a keyword when relevant.

How to do it:

  • On your computer, right-click photos and choose “Rename” before uploading.
  • In WordPress, click the image and fill in the “Alt Text” field. In Wix/Squarespace, look for the Alt Text or Image Title option in the image settings.

Quick SEO Checklist for Photographers

  1. Update page titles in your site builder.
  2. Write unique meta descriptions (120–155 chars).
  3. Add a brief intro paragraph to each gallery page.
  4. Enable captions and write descriptive captions.
  5. Rename image files with keywords before uploading.
  6. Fill in Alt Text for every image.

References

  1. Dean, B. “We Analyzed 11.8 Million Google Search Results – Here’s What We Learned About Organic CTR.” Backlinko, Jan 2021. ↩︎

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