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SEO for photographers
277 Plays3 years ago
Happy Woo Wednesdays!
I've been hearing about SEO search engine optimization for the last 12 years. Do you really understand it?
If you don't understand it fully, you will want to tune in this episdoe. Most photographers over-complicate SEO (image tagging! Alt text! Blogging!) and focus too much on the tiny details. The bigger picture is more important-- what are your clients searching for, and how can you create the most helpful information on that topic?
Sara Dunn is a Wedding SEO Specialist for wedding photographers other wedding professionals who want their websites to rank higher on Google.
With a knack for making SEO easy to understand, she’s created a unique Wedding SEO Framework that simplifies what it takes to get your wedding business in front of your dream clients.
She was named a WeddingPro educator for 2022 and has presented to audiences including WeddingPro, WIPA, and Wedding MBA.
Connect with Sara
https://www.instagram.com/saradoesseo/
Connect with Carissa
https://instagram.com/carissawoo
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Transcript
Introduction & Freebies
00:00:00
Speaker
Happy Woo Wednesdays! Welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with me, your host, Carissa Wu. Are you scared of SEO? Search engine optimization? I've been hearing about SEO and trying to figure it out for as long as I've been out of college. 2007, baby! Do you really understand it? Today, Sarah does an amazing job of teaching us all about it.
00:00:19
Speaker
Also get her real wedding blog template for free in the show notes. And also get my freebie, a guide on how to generate nonstop leads and how to get onto the preferred vendor list. Enjoy today's episode.
00:00:35
Speaker
Welcome
Carissa's Background
00:00:36
Speaker
to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. I'm your host, Carissa, and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all. I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:01:04
Speaker
Time hacks because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey. I hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon.
Meet Sarah Dunn: SEO Specialist
00:01:27
Speaker
Hey guys, welcome back to heck yes with me, your host, Carissa Woo.
00:01:31
Speaker
And I'm here with the famous Sarah from Sarah Does SEO. That's her Instagram handle. And she pretty much is the Google expert. So a little introduction about her. Sarah Dunn is a wedding SEO specialist for wedding photographers and wedding professionals. So it's perfect for our listeners who want to rank websites to rank higher on Google. With a knack for making SEO easy to understand, she's created a unique wedding SEO framework
00:02:01
Speaker
that simplifies what it takes to get your wedding business in front of your dream client. And something crazy when I read this, she was named Wedding Pro Educator for 2022 and has presented to audiences including Wedding Pro, WIPA, and Wedding MBA. And me trying to get in that industry, I know it's very difficult. So maybe you could help me in that aspect later on. We can definitely talk about that.
00:02:27
Speaker
Yay. Okay. So just say hi to everyone in our audience. Hey, I'm so glad you all are listening. I think we're going to have some fun today, which I know fun is not normally what wedding pros associate with SEO, but I promise we'll keep it simple. We'll keep it easy and hopefully give you some tips that you can implement right away.
00:02:46
Speaker
Yay, and tell the audience where you are located. I know we were talking about it a little bit earlier, but. Yeah, so I'm from Michigan, but we're recording this during the winter of 2022. And I'm currently spending several weeks in Florida. So it is wonderful to see the sunshine and get to get outside and walk my French bulldog who doesn't like the snow. So we're really enjoying it.
00:03:10
Speaker
Is it like a vacation home or like an Airbnb? Yeah, we did a long-term stay at an Airbnb. I love the host. He's super cool. So it's a really good situation. Cool. I mean, that's definitely a luxury. Yes.
00:03:24
Speaker
Yes, it's funny because it's like what a lot of people do after retirement if you're from Michigan is spend winters in Florida. And I'm like, you know what, I just want to do that right now. I don't want to wait until after my career. So I'm really thankful to do what I do so I can do it from wherever I am.
00:03:41
Speaker
Oh, cool.
Sarah's Coding Journey
00:03:42
Speaker
Okay, so yeah, we're going to learn so much about your journey today, but tell us like how you kind of, you don't have to talk about SEO at all, but like how you were like growing up and then like your journey to where you are now helping wedding professionals and photographers with SEO, but it doesn't have to do anything with SEO.
00:04:01
Speaker
Well, it's funny because I've always been someone with a little bit of a computer background. So my parents actually met in computer science school at Central Michigan University. And so I grew up around computers, but I never thought I would work in them full time. I went to college for international business and thought I would get a big corporate job.
00:04:24
Speaker
And it just so happened that I was able to teach myself to code and really enjoyed working on the internet. So I started making websites on the side after college, like, you know, like an organization wanted to put a calendar online. Sure, I'll help you figure that out. A friend had a business who needed a website. I was like, I've done that before. Let me help you with that. So it was kind of a hobby and something I did for fun. And then about 2012, I realized that people would actually pay me to make them websites.
00:04:54
Speaker
and do digital marketing. And so I made it a business and I did general digital marketing and strategy for about seven years before I started working in the wedding industry with wedding professionals, specifically helping them to show up higher on Google. And it's fun for me because it's something so specialized. I never thought that I would just work with one industry on one service, but it's really helped me to be able to
00:05:22
Speaker
really focus on SEO in a special way and think about all sorts of SEO advice from one perspective and just really fully understand the way that engaged couples are searching online. Interesting. Okay, so your parents met in computer science, but you went to school for international studies. What is international studies? It was actually a management degree with an international focus.
00:05:50
Speaker
And I just really enjoyed it. So I got to take coursework like international marketing. So while you're talking about selling to people of different cultures, I got to take a course that was on managing people from different cultures. And that was just curriculum that I found really interesting. And that's how I ended up in it. But I really didn't know what I was going to do with it. Interesting. And what do your parents do now? I mean, if they're retired, but what were their profession?
00:06:17
Speaker
Yeah, so my mom actually worked as a computer programmer for the government. So she was a contractor that worked on projects for the Department of Defense. And my father worked at a Fortune 500 and worked in the IT department.
00:06:33
Speaker
That's awesome. I mean, power couple. For sure. I don't even really know what computer science is. I know that I went to UC Riverside and I had one friend that was a computer science major and he out of all my friends, even my high school, middle school college, he is doing the best financially.
00:06:52
Speaker
I mean, there's a lot of need for it. But of course, computer science in the late 70s is very different than what it is now. My mom still tells a story of how she wanted my dad to notice her and he was a lab assistant in the computer lab. And at the time, the way that you actually communicated with a computer is that you would feed cards into a machine and the cards would be read.
00:07:17
Speaker
So she said she told him he couldn't figure it out and that she told him that she couldn't figure out how it worked and could he help her. So they went to the lab together and fed cards in the machine and that's how they ended up dating.
00:07:30
Speaker
Oh my god, that's so romantic. Yeah. I know. And I love that she pursued him. I love that story so much, especially now that I think about my mom. She's so amazing. And I just love that she took charge of that and was like, I'm gonna make this happen. Oh, she's like the modern day bumble.
00:07:57
Speaker
That's so cool. It's interesting because I have been doing this podcast I feel like for a while now, but I wanted to ask different questions and I really wanted to ask more about parents. So I'm so glad that you brought that up because I'm pretty close with my parents too.
Family Ties in Business
00:08:11
Speaker
Yeah. So my mom actually works with me also. She's worked with me, I think for over six years. So when she retired from her programming job and working for the government, she just said to me, is there anything that you need help with? And at the time I was completely a solo one person operation. And I was doing a ton of web design projects. And I was like, absolutely, I need help with things.
00:08:35
Speaker
And so she jumped right in and started doing customer support. She started building websites with me. She does all the bookkeeping. And now she still does all of those things, works kind of like a flexible part time schedule, but has worked with me for years and years. And at this point, I don't know if I could operate this business without her.
00:08:58
Speaker
Yeah, she's not she's not your average mom that can't use like their point and touch like camera or iPhone. She's probably smarter than you. Oh, totally. Yes. And she can figure anything out like she's so dedicated to solving problems. She loves to find answers. And so she's just an amazing person to get to work with.
00:09:18
Speaker
Oh my God. Yeah. My mom, like yesterday, we were at lunch and she's like, I bought this course and they said I could download the audio version and I don't know how to do it. And I'm like, just click here and it worked.
00:09:39
Speaker
Totally opposite,
SEO and the Wedding Industry
00:09:40
Speaker
mom. Okay, so how did you get in the wedding industry? Why is that your target market? Yeah, so it totally happened by accident. I had actually never worked with a wedding business in my prior work in digital strategy until I met a woman at a women's business conference. This was the end of 2017, I think.
00:10:03
Speaker
And we were introducing ourselves. I told her that I did digital marketing and she goes, does that mean you know something about SEO? And I was like, I do actually help my clients with that. And she said, we need to talk because I just had my website redesigned. I paid a ton of money for it. And my rankings have totally fallen and fallen. And she had previously ranked on the first page of Google in her big major city for wedding planner searches.
00:10:32
Speaker
So that brought her a lot of inquiries and a lot of business. And she said, this is a big problem because it's really impacting my business for the future. Can you help me figure it out? And I said, well, I've never worked in the wedding industry. But I love this kind of work. Yes, we can totally figure it out. And so we worked together for about six months. And I was able to help her get back to the page one of Google.
00:10:58
Speaker
where she continues to be today. So it was really her that got me in the wedding industry because she was just so grateful and so generous. And she said, I'm telling everyone I know about you because I feel like the wedding industry doesn't have good SEO help. And I said, bring that on because I loved this project.
00:11:18
Speaker
so yeah like it was like destiny for sure that was twenty seventeen i think so i launched um sarah does seo.com in late twenty seventeen and i think it was by twenty eighteen that i was no longer taking on clients that weren't in the wedding industry i just
00:11:38
Speaker
I have always really enjoyed working with this type of business, the small business that really wants the help and wants my guidance and has often felt very intimidated by SEO in the past. And I get to bring a new flavor to that and hopefully help them.
00:11:58
Speaker
Okay, I had kind of a fun question because I think I used to go to WPPI when I first started wedding photography very a long time ago. So it was about like 2009. And everyone was just talking about SEO, SEO, SEO. And it was a big topic of that year. So
00:12:18
Speaker
How do you think it's changed or do you think it has some of the same framework and similarities as it has for the last 12 years? Yeah, it's certainly changed, but I think a big misconception is that SEO is totally changing wholesale, giant changes all the time.
00:12:37
Speaker
and it's impossible to keep up with. That's a misconception because the basic idea of what Google is doing doesn't change. Google is just trying to deliver their searchers the best and most helpful results. And so it's our job as business owners and my job as an SEO professional to make sure that our websites are the best and most helpful result when someone is searching for something.
00:13:04
Speaker
So there's still a few major things that still work, which is making sure that you use keywords really clearly on your homepage. You can't rank for a word that you yourself won't use. So wedding photographers come to me all the time and they're like, you know, here's an example. They're like, Sarah,
00:13:20
Speaker
I really want to rank for Tennessee wedding photographer, but I keep searching myself and I'm nowhere to be found and I'm so frustrated. I look at their website and they have never described themselves as a Tennessee wedding photographer. If you've never used that phrase, Google isn't going to associate you with that either.
00:13:41
Speaker
And that's totally the same as it was 12 years ago. Now, what Google has changed is Google is getting better at discounting things that people do that are kind of like weird SEO techniques. So like you used to be able to sign up for all sorts of online directories and that gave you more reputation on the internet and it could help you rank higher on Google. Google's figured out when you're doing that without actually having much of a reputation.
00:14:10
Speaker
So the way that Google has changed over the years is they're always trying to tweak to make sure that people that aren't actually the best business and the best search result make sure that those people move down. Well, the businesses that are more established in their market have better reviews and better reputation that those are the businesses that show up higher. So, you know, even though I've been teaching SEO for the wedding industry for almost five years now, I haven't
00:14:40
Speaker
really gone back and had to update a bunch of articles on my blog or rerecord a ton of videos for my course because the way that I teach SEO is more long-term and really focusing on making our websites the best and most helpful result.
00:14:56
Speaker
Yay. I mean, that was a great answer. And I guess Google does have some integrity to push up the people that actually are in it to win it, right? Yeah. Google's trying. It's really, they have to basically be using a robot to try to make decisions like a human would. So you and me, we can look at a couple of different businesses and go, oh, this one seems more credible. This one, the reviews seem really good.
00:15:25
Speaker
As humans, we can make those choices. And what Google is trying to do is teach their algorithm, or basically a robot, how to make similar choices in deciding who's actually going to show up.
Managing Google Visibility
00:15:38
Speaker
Oh, I love that. OK, so I wanted to know, do you have any statistics about how percentage-wise, how many brides find their photographers through Google versus maybe affiliate marketing or through Instagram or through Facebook?
00:15:55
Speaker
I don't have any statistics. I don't know if there's been a wide scale unbiased study on questions like that. I know that certainly couples are searching on Google every single day. I don't know what percentage of them find their vendors in that way. And you have to remember that sometimes people discover you through one platform, but then further experience your business to another.
00:16:21
Speaker
And they don't always remember what that original point of entry was where they first heard about you. So maybe someone has mentioned someone's photography business. Your friend, they got married. And maybe that you remember that they had a certain photographer. But then you go to Google and you search for photographers. And then you see that name again in the list. So that's the one that you click on.
00:16:48
Speaker
They actually heard about you through a referral, but they further experienced your business through Google. So there's many touch points, and it's hard to really say how someone actually discovered your business. But with SEO, we try to increase our business's opportunity of being found because we don't want those times when people say, oh, I wish I would have heard of you before I hired my photographer.
00:17:13
Speaker
we want to make sure you at least get the opportunity and that you're showing up when people are searching. It's kind of reminding me of like, this is totally a bad scenario, but like to compare it to but the tinder swimmer, like say you find someone on Tinder, and you want to Google them, and then you Google this guy and he you see like he has like
00:17:32
Speaker
his parents own like a gold mine or something or oil field. You want to like look at your photographer and search your name and see what's coming up like our bourgeois photos coming up like our good photos like that represent your brand coming up like people do their due diligence that they hear their name like you said from friends. They're going to Google
Online Presence Beyond Keywords
00:17:50
Speaker
you. So what do you see when you Google your name? I'm a little scared to Google myself.
00:17:54
Speaker
Yes. Well, that's such an underappreciated aspect of what I do. Everyone who comes to me, they're like, well, I want to make sure that I show up for these keywords where people are discovering me. Tennessee wedding photographer, Atlanta wedding photographer, or Georgia wedding venue, something like that. But there's also an aspect of what I do where we try to influence what shows up when people are already aware of your specific business.
00:18:23
Speaker
And they're doing a little bit of that due diligence and going, okay, I've heard of this person. I'm going to Google them and see what I find. And you got to remember that when people search for your business, over on the right side when you're on a computer is that panel of information and then the listing of your Google reviews.
00:18:43
Speaker
So you've got to make sure your Google business profile is up to date. I do a ton of that kind of work because that is kind of like someone's first experience with your business when they do Google you. What photos are showing up on Google business profile? How many reviews do you have over there? Have you filled it in with all the information that's possible? Made sure it links to your website. That kind of thing is underappreciated but very important.
00:19:12
Speaker
Yeah, all this is sounding so exciting, which you are making SEO super fun. I wanted to ask one last question before we go into our hot topic, but it's kind of a personal question. Okay, so just kind of emphasizing to our audience, like, hello, guys, wedding pros, wedding photographers, you have to rank high on Google. It's very important. People want to Google like the best Los Angeles wedding photographer, the best Torrance wedding photographer. But for me, I'm a coach, and I feel like a lot of wedding photographers
00:19:41
Speaker
don't even know they want a coach. So you feel like SEO is so important for
00:19:51
Speaker
my website or what's kind of like your take on that? Yeah. So I do occasionally come across businesses where they're doing something unique or special and their end client might not even quite know to look for that. One example is like I had someone come to me and she is a virtual wedding couple coach.
00:20:16
Speaker
So she's not exactly a wedding planner, but she helps coach people through their process of planning virtually. And I'm like, no one's going to be searching for a virtual wedding planner or virtual wedding coach or something like that. And so what's really important is that you think about the questions that your ideal clients would have
00:20:38
Speaker
before they make the decision to hire you. You have to bring them in, usually using blog content, and then present yourself as the solution. So for you, I think you should really think about what are those things that photographers might be struggling with that they're going to ask Google for the answer. You can provide them a great answer, and then you can say, hey, I'm Carissa. I've done this for so long. I offer mentoring.
00:21:05
Speaker
blah, blah, blah, and then you can link them over to your services page. And then they're introduced to you before they're even solution aware, which is really powerful. I love that you said that it's kind of like going full circle because my assistant she was she's really helpful, but she was going on some forums like wedding forums and seeing like what couples asked for or what photographers are asking and some people were asking for like portfolio audits. So that's something like I put on my Calendly like
00:21:35
Speaker
Hey, I'll do like a portfolio audit strategy call. That's awesome. Oh, I love it. So, you know, maybe you think about if someone is worried that their work isn't good enough, what questions might they ask in Google? And then you can recommend that the portfolio audit is the best way to get personal help with that. I don't know what those questions are, but I'm sure that there are things that you can think of.
00:22:01
Speaker
that people might be asking. And literally all you have to do is think about that question that someone might be asking, make that the title of the blog post and then make your answer the copy that's within that blog post. I did this myself. My most popular article on my own website is what do I name images for SEO?
00:22:23
Speaker
And that is literally the title because that's a question one of my clients asked me. And I wrote her up a really detailed answer. And then I said, shoot, you know what, other people probably want this answer too. So I just went to my blog, made the title, the question she asked.
00:22:42
Speaker
I expanded on the email that I had sent back to her and I published it. And that post has gotten many thousands of visits ever since. And just because I posted it on my blog as kind of a Q&A. That's kind of like an aha moment for me to like, for my titles of my podcast. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Think about how that podcast is answering a question for someone. Make sure you're doing a compelling title.
00:23:10
Speaker
Cool, so like specific, but that's what gets the most engagement. Yeah. Interesting. Okay, so I'm sure you touched upon some tips already about SEO, but our hot topic today is tips about SEO.
SEO Tips & Tools
00:23:24
Speaker
Fire it away with number one. I got in the last like two or three days, 18 inquiries.
00:23:32
Speaker
What the heck? Hey guys, you all know me. I'm Carissa Wu and I'm a coach for wedding photographers. I've also been a wedding photographer for over a decade so I've been through it all. I was a shy, awkward girl and I've come so far. I'm now beyond passionate about helping wedding photographers not struggle how I did for so many years.
00:23:53
Speaker
It was six years into my business and I was so tired of being ghosted, nickel undimed, and hearing the dreaded words, we went a different direction. I also knew I needed to find a way to not rely on referrals or paying $350 a month for the knot to get my leads. I didn't want to have anxiety about when my next payday was going to come and I wanted to scale my business.
00:24:15
Speaker
Fast forward to now, I created my very own stack system to help wedding photographers get constant leads and master the dreaded sales call and get a heck yes in 24 hours or less. And charge more than 4, 5, 6K. No more waiting around guys, this is our livelihood, our artistry and our passion and we deserve to be respected, valued and paid for what we are worth. I've helped so many wedding photographers.
00:24:41
Speaker
Watch my 20 minute masterclass all about lead generation and closing the sale. The link is in the bio. You don't want to miss out on the wedding boom and you don't want to miss out on booking your calendar for 2022. It's engagement season guys, so you don't want to miss this.
00:24:56
Speaker
See you guys soon.
00:25:18
Speaker
Okay, so that means on the homepage of your site, make sure that somewhere near the top, you are using that most important keyword that describes your business, Tennessee wedding photographer, Georgia wedding venue, whatever that is, you can't get found on Google for a keyword you don't use yourself. So that's tip number one. Okay, so would it just be as simple as that? Like, I'm in the South Bay like torrents when a photographer would I do like
00:25:46
Speaker
torrents, wedding photographer, or like Los Angeles wedding photographer, is it better to be more broad or more like specific?
00:25:53
Speaker
Yeah, usually for a big competitive market like LA, I would probably tell you to be a little more specific. Yeah. So that's what I would probably lean towards is a more specific area. And there are tools that you can use that actually give you some information about keywords and how often they're searched online. So one that I really like is called Ubersuggest. I teach all my trainings and my bootcamp using Ubersuggest.
00:26:19
Speaker
And you can actually type a keyword idea into that tool. And it will immediately spit out how many times people type that into Google every month, and also some related or recommended keyword ideas as well. So you can double check that people are searching for that area. Oh, I love that. And then would you just put it on like the homepage? Are you trying to like write that
00:26:41
Speaker
Phrase like over and over again on the website at every blog post. That's a great question Because that's another misconception that I see people think if they want to rank for that one keyword they need to use it on every single page of the website and Actually that can confuse Google about which page of your site you want to rank for that keyword So I recommend just repeating it a couple times on the home page Specifically because that's the page that you want to optimize for that most important keyword
00:27:11
Speaker
Okay, I love that tip. I think it's easy for our audience to just like do that today. It's incredible how much impact that has when you do actually clearly use your most important keyword on the homepage.
00:27:30
Speaker
Cool, okay, take it away with tip number two. All right, tip number two, I want everyone listening to think beyond just getting found on Google for your location and service.
Broadening SEO Content Strategy
00:27:42
Speaker
So I keep saying keywords like, you know, Charleston wedding photographer, Georgia wedding venue.
00:27:49
Speaker
But I also want you to realize there's so much opportunity out there on Google when people are searching for other things. So I want you to think about the questions or problems your ideal clients have before they hire you. And I want you to answer those questions using blog post content. So maybe it's best outdoor wedding venues in Northern California.
00:28:17
Speaker
something like that, or what's the best season for a wedding in North Georgia? Those kind of questions that happen very early in the planning process, especially if they're local-based topics to you, that can bring in couples to your website that haven't hired for your service yet. You're going to introduce them to your work, your expertise, your personality, and they could end up becoming inquiries and clients for you.
00:28:45
Speaker
You know Chris a you're in a really competitive market in Southern, California So even if we couldn't get you to the first page of Google for Los Angeles wedding photographer There's so much opportunity and other things that people want to find on Google in your area That it doesn't mean that SEO is useless to you. So think beyond just the location and service keyword Yeah, I think let's see. What's you most? couples us maybe like
00:29:17
Speaker
Would, would it be like very photography related or can they ask more broader questions? Like, how do I budget for a wedding? And I'm engaged. Like, where do I, how do I search for, or what questions do I ask the wedding photographer? Like, would you just kind of like, are there, should you go on a knot? Like, for example, should you go on Pinterest? Should you just like, maybe poll your audience on Facebook or how should you go about it?
00:29:43
Speaker
Yeah, I love the idea of a poll of your own social media. I also do a brainstorming exercise when I teach one of my co-working classes, which is it asks you to think about two things. The first is what do couples have to figure out or decide before they hire you?
00:30:03
Speaker
because there are so many things you could write about, but those are all things that happen after they've hired a photographer, like what to wear for your engagement photos or how to plan your photography timeline. Those are the types of things that photographers tend to focus on giving advice on. And the problem is that all those things happen too late, that if you bring in Google searchers looking for that information, they've probably already booked their photographer.
00:30:29
Speaker
And so it's really important to think about the decisions they need to make before they get to your point in their planning process. And that's why I love when photographers, like I mentioned, make a list of their favorite wedding venues in a certain area. Usually the venue is chosen first.
00:30:47
Speaker
So if you help a couple to find a great venue and you show examples of your photography there, then you've, you've introduced yourself at the right point in the process. So that's one of my favorite blog post ideas for planners and photographers and anyone else who works at multiple venues is create a top 10 list of your favorite venues in a certain area. Um, you can also make that list about a certain type of venue. So maybe you love working at
00:31:16
Speaker
down to wineries. Wineries, yes. Think about the types of venues that attract your ideal weddings, whether that's wineries, industrial, breweries, you know, unique. It's a really good keyword, you know, 10 unique wedding venues in Southern California. That's my favorite type of blog post to see photographers do.
00:31:43
Speaker
Yeah, I wrote a really special blog post about how to make your wedding stand out. And it really talks to my ideal client, which is kind of like the hipster, a couple that has like food trucks and like kind of things at their wedding. And they use like Polaroids and kind of like fun things. So it just really, it really speaks to my audience. So they could show my I could show my work and they could be like, Oh, that's so us, you know, like she's fine.
00:32:11
Speaker
I love it. I love it. Yeah, I think for you, finding some unique wedding venue. So if someone is on Google searching for unique wedding venues, they probably want to do something different. And they're probably a good vibe for you. Yeah, that's way better. But I didn't have you back then. That's a more searchable title for sure. So I know, I know. So it's interesting because when I try to teach SEO, a lot of my students ask,
00:32:40
Speaker
It's really hard for me to explain it. I obviously could refer you now, but it's just like literally the questions that your ideal client are asking. Yeah, that's the content to write about. And then, of course, showing off your work. I can't understate the importance of writing your real wedding blogs, actually doing those recaps of past weddings that are at venues that you loved working at.
00:33:07
Speaker
because then when people are looking for examples of weddings at a venue they're considering, they'll see your work show up. So that's a really good technique to make sure you're blogging your past weddings and describing the venue itself. Yeah. And it's so much easier because if new clients that are going to get married at your venue, they see this beautiful blog post, it's an easy sell because it's basically like,
00:33:34
Speaker
This is what you're going to get. Yes. And I know photographers don't like the concept where a couple's like, Oh, you've worked at my venue before. So I feel more comfortable. Like I know you can go to a new venue and do great work, but couples are still, they still feel better knowing that you've worked at their venue before. So that's a great way to show them right up front. Hey, I've been there. I've found the great photo locations. I'm super comfortable there and we will create beautiful things for you.
00:34:03
Speaker
Yeah, I gotta say like I would say that all the time, but it's not true because I'm I've been photographer for 12 years and now I got it going on. I got all my lenses on like my fanny packs and like all my lighting. But back in the day, like
00:34:15
Speaker
you're going in a cave and you didn't know you're going in a cave and you're not ready for that. Like, yes, it's better if you have preparation for sure. Experience helps. Totally. All right. My tip number three for SEO is that the user's experience on your website is really important.
User Experience & SEO
00:34:35
Speaker
So Google does not like to include in the search results websites that are hard to use or slow to load on a phone. So I always recommend to wedding professionals, occasionally do an audit of your own site, go to your website on your phone.
00:34:52
Speaker
and see what the experience is like. All of us as website owners, we tend to look at our own site and edit it on a computer. But more than half of your website visitors, I guarantee it, are using their phones. And your website needs to be easy to navigate so people don't leave it immediately. And it needs to guide them to the important information that you want to share. So user experience not only is great for your business and your inquiries, but it can also help you show up higher on Google.
00:35:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of crazy. I'm so used to being on my phone. I mean, we're doing this on my laptop right now because I have to. Yeah, but I'll literally like have a laptop in front of me, but I prefer looking at my phone because I'm just used to it. Even though it's bigger on the screen.
00:35:40
Speaker
I know. And that's everybody, you know, your engaged couples are, you know, searching through a few things secretly while they're at work or they're sitting on their couch at night while the TV is playing and they're double screening on their phone. So you got to make sure that it makes sense. And it's amazing to me how many websites look great on the desktop and then things end up really jumbled and strange when they're made smaller on the mobile screen.
00:36:08
Speaker
Yep, it happens. I used to use like show it back in the day, which I still love show it but the interface was different and then it says like what it would be on the phone or displayed and then I would go on my phone and then like everything's messed up. So I'm sure they fixed it like years ago but it just
00:36:26
Speaker
it gets frustrating. So sometimes you have to hire out. Yeah. And you know, you got to take the time and do it. I love show it for the fact that you can totally customize the mobile experience, but you also have to remember to do that. So, um, I actually added some headings to a client's show at website this week for one of our SEO fix clients, and it looks great on desktop. And then I switched to the mobile view and I realized they were all overlapping.
00:36:52
Speaker
So I had to do a bunch of work to move elements around and make sure that it looked just as good on mobile as it did for me on desktop. So show it as one where you have to be really careful because you have so much control, but it can look totally different on your phone. Yeah. And we'll talk all about like how to work with you in a bit, but I'm just going to do a quick recap. So tip number one, make sure on your homepage you actually say like,
00:37:20
Speaker
what you do in your location like torrents, wedding photographer, palace birdies, wedding photographer, and that should be like your priority. A good site that you suggest is called Uber suggest, so go check it out if it's an app or it's on your desktop, but it's going to help you with your keywords.
00:37:37
Speaker
That's a big takeaway from today. Number two is think beyond. So you talked a lot about blogging and think about like the questions that your ideal client asks. I think for me, it would be like even going back and like what camera lenses do I use for a wedding or what are your favorite presets or what do you do if your SD cards get wiped or how do you protect yourself? Very like very basic questions that you
00:38:07
Speaker
I've been doing it for so long, like I said, but questions I would forget that newcomers think about and it kind of gets them in your funnel. And like we said, like best venues in your area or your favorite spots for the engagement session, location-based are always very good for SEO. And show your work off. My blog was my first child. People don't like when I say that.
00:38:35
Speaker
but it's true. I dedicated everything to my blog and I was kind of introverted. I'm a little more extroverted now, but I literally, all I focused on is my blog. I even told people, I was like, if we don't shoot now, you're not going to be in the blog. Like we have to get magic hour photos. Like I'm really into my blog. It's my baby, like really my first born.
00:38:59
Speaker
Oh my gosh. A virtual topic, but my blog is my baby. Now I'm too busy for it. I'm coaching, but I focus more on like reels and stuff, but go check out my blog. It's really perfect. Yeah. I will literally like go into Photoshop and like squeeze in their necks, like,
00:39:18
Speaker
like I was crazy about like being perfect. That is crazy. Yes, crazy. Because it's like it's my work. It's like, literally like you spend eight hours at 12 hour a day. And you want to showcase it off. Yes. I say like, if it's on my blog, it didn't happen.
00:39:38
Speaker
Totally. If it's not on Instagram, it didn't happen. Yeah. Okay. So that was two. I went on a tangent, but I was passionate about the blog. And number three is user experience. I know it's kind of hard to look at your own work. Sometimes it's cringe-worthy, you're embarrassed, but do it. If you don't want to do it, have your friend do it and look at all the links. Are they working? Are they going to the sites? I actually
00:40:06
Speaker
been doing a lot of sales calls to try to people get people in my program. So I actually go on their Instagram, I go on their Facebook page. And this guy, I went on his Facebook page for his photography business, it took you to a porn site. Oh,
00:40:22
Speaker
No, the link on his about section. Yeah, the link took you to a porn site, because it was like, Mr. And Mrs. something. And he didn't even know and he's like, Oh, my God, like, I guess no one goes to my site, because no one told me and I'm like, Yeah, but still, you should change it. Yeah. Well, I mean, looked on it and they were too embarrassed to tell them. Yeah, because you just you don't look at like the things that you have to look at. I went to photography web workshop and
00:40:52
Speaker
I spent three days at Evolve and I was just like clicking on my stuff and like my logos were different from like my signatures and some of my PDF guides is very inconsistent and I was like, I just fixed all that up but I wouldn't have seen it unless I had like three days to just be like on the, you know, doing that thing. So yeah, so powerful. Okay, anything you want to add before we get into fun rapid fire questions? No, I think that's a great summary.
00:41:22
Speaker
Okay, so I have to ask what's your biggest heck yes sales technique?
00:41:27
Speaker
My, heck yes, sales technique is 100% honesty because I think that's really missing in SEO sales. A lot of SEO people, if you talk to them, they will promise the moon as long as you pay them lots of money and then they have very disappointing results. I like to give people really accurate, in-depth information about how successful I think a project could be and what would actually be a good investment for them.
00:41:57
Speaker
That's my heck yes sales technique. Yeah. I mean, you've been doing this honestly since you were in the womb, so you have a lot of knowledge. You were born into it, honestly. I was born behind a laptop. Yeah. Okay. What is your woo factor? I mean, that's very similar, but what makes you stand out besides honesty?
00:42:18
Speaker
Yeah, I honestly think one of the reasons I stand out is because I am one of the very few people that focus exclusively on the wedding industry for search engine optimization. I like to think that I'm a specialist in how engaged couples search online. So I only look at wedding websites every single day, and that means I'm able to find trends that other people might not see if they work with
00:42:45
Speaker
A couple photographers, but they also work with interior designers and they're doing work on online product shops. I'm able to see the trends because I'm actively doing 10 to 15 different wedding websites at all times. So I think that really helps me to stand out. And something that I really enjoy is going super deep on this topic instead of being more shallow and spread out.
00:43:09
Speaker
Did you get into the wedding industry also because you were getting married? No, no, I had been married for six years before that. I always loved it though. But when I read that on your questionnaire about your move factors, like, whoa, that's really crazy that you dig that deep.
00:43:27
Speaker
Oh yeah, I love it. And some people would get bored, I think, focusing on the same thing every single day. To me, it's like a game. I'm like, how do I do this better? How do I take what I learned from this client and apply it to a different client who's in a different part of the country? I'm able to find those things that are consistently working in the wedding industry and apply it to the way I teach. I love that.
00:43:53
Speaker
Okay, your favorite Florida pastime and your favorite Michigan pastime? Oh, that's so good. My favorite Florida pastime is taking walks with my dog. I have a French bulldog. She is the second love of my life. And I like to joke that we are in Florida for the winter for Jetta because she hates the snow so much. So that is my favorite thing to do in Florida. It really feels like a treat in February when it's 70 degrees and we can take a walk.
00:44:25
Speaker
Michigan past time. This is very geeky, but I do love to golf in the summer. I'm a big fan of being outside and playing golf. I do that with my husband a lot. So that's probably my favorite thing. Oh, that's so cool. Okay. So tell everyone about your freebie and how to work with you and where
Free Blogging Template Offer
00:44:50
Speaker
to find you. And then I'll ask one last question.
00:44:52
Speaker
I've got a couple free offers, but one of them that I think would really help your photographer clients is I do have a wedding blog post template. So for anyone who hasn't been blogging because they're not sure what to say or they're not sure what's unique or interesting about a past real wedding, I have a template with 12 questions that we send to clients when we write blog posts for them for SEO.
00:45:16
Speaker
And it's very, very helpful in helping to remember important details. So I would love to give anyone listening my wedding blog post template to help you out with those blog posts that will help your SEO. Yeah, I sent that to my students today and they were stoked. I love it. Good. Good. Definitely use it and definitely get some stuff up on your blog because it really helps.
00:45:40
Speaker
And we were joking about your handle. Sarah does SEO is her Instagram, but someone thought your last name was, what was it?
00:45:51
Speaker
which I totally get because on Instagram, there's no capitalization or spaces. So it's just like Sarah docio like no, no, Sarah does SEO. Very confusing. Yeah, totally. So that's how you find her. And then I guess the last question is your one lasting advice for wedding photographers and wedding pros. It doesn't have to be SEO related, but your your little speech.
00:46:18
Speaker
Yeah, so lasting advice for wedding photographers. Put me on the spot with this one. I know I did. I'm someone who loves to prepare. So now you're throwing this at me. And best advice. I think I would say that as much as the pressure is there for you to market yourself everywhere, I don't think it's really necessary. I think it's important to find the thing, the marketing method that connects with your ideal client that you also actually enjoy doing.
00:46:47
Speaker
And that might be in-person sales, that might be making connections with venues, it might be Instagram reels, and it might be SEO, but there's no right answer for everyone. And it's really important just to test out and see what works and then not feel that pressure that you have to do everything. Yes, do less with doing more. No, doing more with doing less. That's right, yes.
00:47:15
Speaker
Oh, well, I love this conversation. It was so fluid and I gained so much information. So I'm sure our audience is going to gain so much information. And I hope everyone works for you. Don't you have something where you do like a done for you SEO? Yes, I've got a couple levels of done for you SEO. My favorite service is called the SEO fix. And it's where my team sets up a wedding professionals website completely from start to finish with SEO in seven days. So it's fast, easy and affordable.
00:47:45
Speaker
and very effective. Okay. Well, I love that. Thank you so much, Sarah. All right. Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity.
00:47:59
Speaker
Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine. See you next time, wedding pros!