Being a photographer in the digital age means you’re responsible for a lot more than capturing and editing images. You’re probably also a one-person marketing department, sales team, and web designer.

If you’re working hard to fill all of these roles but are still having trouble getting your art discovered, the problem may lie in your search engine optimization strategies.

If that sounds like some web development jargon that you don’t know what to do with, don’t worry. We’ve rounded up 4 tips about SEO for photographers that can help your site climb the Google ranks.

1. Optimize Your Photos for Web

This is a rookie mistake that can have huge consequences for photographers. Whenever you upload an image to your website, resist the urge to use the full-sized, high-resolution version.

Instead, opt for a compressed image. If you don’t, people will click away from your site because they’re tired of waiting for pictures to load. This increases your bounce rate, which is bad for SEO.

2. Use Alt Titles and Tags

Did you know that you can hide important keywords in your photos that help search engines identify them? These keywords are called Alt tags and Alt titles, and they’re the things that help your photos show up in an image search results page. The process for adding them in is different for every web platform but is usually very simple.

3. Produce the Right Kind of Content

It’s fairly common knowledge at this point that putting out regular content—via a blog, podcast, or social media network—helps people to find your business online. But did you know that you need to be careful about the type of content you create? As a photographer, you need to make sure that every piece of content is relevant and showcases your work.

Want to write a blog post about taking your kids strawberry picking? Awesome! But you need to make sure it includes beautiful images of the event and keywords that will help your post show up when people search for lifestyle or family photography.

As an added bonus, when people find and enjoy your content, they’ll share it on their websites and social media profiles. This helps you build natural backlinks, making quality content production a two-for-one SEO strategy.

4. SEO for Photographers: Is It Worth Outsourcing?

If you’ve gotten to the bottom of this list and aren’t sure you want to tackle the SEO challenge by yourself, that’s okay too! Tons of small businesses and independent entrepreneurs outsource their SEO to an idea agency.

To decide if this is the option for you, take a close look at your available budget and compare it with the time and frustration it would take you to do it yourself. If you can make more money taking photos in the time you would have spent on SEO than it costs to hire someone else, the choice is clear.

Boosting Your Search Rankings Helps People Find Your Art

SEO for photographers can be the difference between business growth and stagnation. So make sure to follow these tips to help future fans of your work discover you online!

Short on time but want to get started right away? Take a look at our 15 minute SEO checklist.

Each year more than $200 billion is spent on advertising within the United States alone. Yet, how effective is it if not every single one of your ads is being served to your target audience?

Advertising used to be simply plastering your message in busy places hoping the right eyeballs might stumble upon it. The Internet’s inclusion of digital advertising, however, has changed the game. For those looking to wisely spend their advertising budget, geofencing marketing is practical.

Are you looking to expand your company’s advertising efforts into the world of geofencing technology? Keep reading to learn more about how it can work to enhance your digital reach.

How It Works

Geofence marketing works by establishing areas to capture your audience. These are specific addresses that can be located on any GPS map. The best way to create a list is to brainstorm where your target consumers are.

For example, a business that heavily relies on tourists could geofence nearby hotels for out of town guests. On the contrary, a new restaurant could target rival eatery establishments to get a leg up on the competition.

In order for a person to be served your advertisement through geofencing, they must have a smartphone with its location services turned on. Furthermore, they must use their smartphone in some capacity that triggers a data connection. Fortunately this is no issue since the average American looks at their phone 52 times per day.

Once a target consumer’s phone is activated, your advertisement will follow them for up to 30 days. This also isn’t limited to their smartphone, either. If someone is logged into social media accounts or email on their smartphone, the advertisement will follow them to their computer if logged onto a desktop.

Another feature with geofencing is you can set specific times to capture an audience. This is convenient for temporary events, such as a concert or ball game.

Seeing Results

While this all sounds great, how can you be sure this advanced form of advertising is actually working? Great question!

All reputable geofencing companies should offer transparent digital reporting. This includes how many impressions are being served in addition to the amount of clicks each ad receives, also known as a click-through rate (CTR).

Beyond this, geofencing offers an advantage standard digital advertisement doesn’t for brick and mortar businesses. It’s possible to see when target consumers visit your targeted locations, are served your ad, then visit your business.

This process is called a conversion zone. When you select your targeted addresses you also provide your company’s location so this can be tracked. This feature is helpful in determining which addresses are reaching a larger audience compared to others.

Of course, every company’s needs will vary. These geofencing marketing providers different options whether it’s targeting by zip codes or solely focusing on competing businesses.

Developing a Geofencing Marketing Strategy

Digital advertising has a lot of components, some of which can be a lot to grasp if you’re new to it. With the right approach and outlook, it can be a great tool for reaching a whole new audience while getting the most bang for your buck.

Create a realistic strategy for geofencing marketing. Study your consumers’ habits and where they spend time away from your business.

Are you looking to improve your marketing efforts? Neal Schaffer has a proven track record of helping businesses of all sizes with their digital transformation of sales and marketing through consulting and training. Contact him today to learn more about how he can help.

Facebook had 1.59 billion average daily users and 2.41 billion monthly active users in June 2019.

That’s a lot — about 20.5 percent of the world’s population uses Facebook every day and 32.2 percent use it monthly. (Estimates based on the company’s latest disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and world population estimates from and an illustration of United Nations data.)

There is so much power for advertisers and marketers on Facebook, not the least of which is the nearly infinite ways to splice the user population for targeted content. 

But are you on the fence? Have you never marketed through social sites? 

Don’t worry. This post will run through the benefits of Facebook advertising to get you up to speed on what could become a go-to source for online efforts. 

Targeting with Wild Specificity 

Facebook can help you pare down the specific populations that you want to see your message in pretty amazing ways. Think of any number of demographics to target and then multiply the possible subpopulations by a whole gambit of behaviors get ultra-specific campaigns.

In case you’ve been living under a rock on another planet, the power and specificity of the data that Facebook gathers and offers to marketers have gotten the company in trouble. Its ability to influence specific people is a matter of American national defense issue.

Being Where Customers Live One the Top Benefits of Facebook Advertising

Awareness is all about frequency. The theory behind the classic billboard is that its long-term presence in people’s sightlines will help boost the awareness of a brand as it is seen over and over.

But the problem with the billboard is that it’s not at all targeted and it is only as good as the thoroughfare that it’s exposed to. 

Building brand awareness through Facebook advertising puts a “billboard” in the place where people live online.  

Since Facebook has such a large user base, Bear Newman of Bear Fox Marketing (https://www.bearfoxmarketing.com/) says that you should utilize Facebook ads, because your audience is bound to be on there somewhere.

An Ad Machine in Every Pocket

According to at least one measure, 96 percent of Facebook users access the social network through cellphones or tablets. That means that marketers and advertisers could be putting the message of their client into millions of people’s pockets. 

And it’s hard to say for sure how much time people spend on Facebook. The general zeitgeist suggests that most people spend too much time on Facebook. Some rumors have suggested average daily user time spent on the sight is between 40 and 50 minutes.  

Couple that with the fact that smartphone adoption is a runaway train and you should realize that it’s plain foolishness to use Facebook with your ad and marketing efforts. 

No Reason Not to Start Now

The backend-user interface for Facebook’s advertising platform is really easy to use and produces a lot of data to analyze. This means that Facebook feeds both your ad and marketing operations and management, and there’s no good reason not to take advantage of the benefits of Facebook advertising. 

For more on how to turn those insights into action, hit up our Digital Marketing or Social Media tags to see our latest on how to build your biz with the best internet tools on the planet. 

Want to know one of the most effective ways to promote your brand and increase your sales over time?

Create branded merchandise on behalf of your company—and then give it away for free. One study after another has shown that companies can’t go wrong by getting free stuff into the hands of their customers.

The “free stuff” can be just about anything. From promotional pens and pencils to T-shirts and hats with your company’s name and logo on them, there is so much branded merch you can use.

But logo branded pins might be your best option. Even though they’re small, they’ll pack a big punch when you utilize them for marketing purposes.

Here are seven benefits that will come along with creating custom pins and using them to promote your business.

1. They’re Different

The key to using branded merch to your company’s advantage is coming up with promo products that other companies aren’t already using.

All of the products we just mentioned above—including pens, pencils, T-shirts, and hats—have become go-to promo items for most companies out there. It’s actually rare to see a company that doesn’t use them in some form or fashion to promote themselves.

You can use those kinds of products if you want, but you should also have a few promo products in your arsenal that make your company stand out. Logo branded pins will serve that purpose.

There aren’t too many businesses using pins at this time. That alone will differentiate your company from the crowd.

2. They’re Affordable

While you want to have promo products on hand to pass out to your customers, you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on them. Whenever possible, you should invest in products that cost next to nothing and offer a great return on investment.

Branded pins fit into that category. Because they’re on the smaller side, they don’t cost much at all. You won’t have to worry about blowing your marketing budget on pins when you buy them.

3. They Appeal to Those of All Ages

There are some promotional products that only appeal to those of a certain age. For example, promotional planners tend to appeal to the middle-aged crowd, while promotional Frisbees tend to appeal to the younger set.

But something like branded pins will appeal to everyone all at once. Young kids, teenagers, young adults, adults, and even elderly people will appreciate getting their hands on pins.

4. They’re Collectible

If you only want to make a single branded pin featuring your company’s logo, you’re free to do it. But one way to keep people coming back to your business might be to create several branded pins for your company.

By doing this, you’ll put people in a position where they’ll want to come back to your business over and over again to continue to collect different pins from you. You have the option of creating any number of pins that you want and encouraging your customers to collect them.

People will have a lot of fun collecting your pins in the coming weeks and months.

5. They Won’t Take Up a Ton of Space

There are some promotional products that will take up too much space when you welcome them into your shop or office. Even something as straightforward as T-shirts will take up more space than you might think, especially if you order hundreds of them.

You can literally order thousands of branded pins, though, and not make a dent in your available space. Pins don’t take up a lot of room, which means that you can order as many as you want and not have to worry about them eating into your space at any point. 

6. They’re Good for Any Business

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you own. You can create a pin to represent it.

Do you run a deli? You can create a pin that looks like a hoagie or a bag of chips.

Do you operate a computer repair shop? You can design a pin that looks like a computer monitor, a computer tower, or a laptop.

Do you head up a dance studio? You can put together dance pins that feature ballet slippers or something else that represents your brand.

Branded pins can benefit whatever type of business you have. They’ll get the same great reaction from your customers, no matter who they might be.

7. They Put Your Logo in the Right Light

The logo that you create for your business is one of the most important promotional tools that you have. If you’re able to market your logo right, you can build up your brand recognition and make people aware of the fact that your business exists.

You can slap your logo onto any piece of branded merch you want and get some of the recognition you’re searching for. But you could make the argument that branded pins will put your logo in the best possible light.

People will be able to touch and feel your logo when they’re holding it in pin form. This will create a stronger connection between them and your brand and give them a good feeling overall.

People will also be able to put your pin onto almost any article of clothing or accessory that they own. They can turn an ordinary T-shirt, a plain hat, or even a book bag into a promotional product for you when they stick your pin on it.

Order Branded Pins to Promote Your Business Today

Do you have logo branded pins to pass out to your customers yet? If not, you could be making a big mistake.

Consider placing an order for professional lapel pins today and start showing your logo off to the world in a whole new way. You’ll wonder why you didn’t order them sooner once you see how your customers react to them.

Find other ways to use your logo to create great branded merch by browsing around right here on our blog for more ideas.