Let’s start with the basic Snappa Vs. Canva introductions.

SNAPPA – the fast and easy to use Canva alternative.

Seriously. That’s the description used on their website. So what does that mean? They saw the platform created by the Canva team and decided to make it better, to meet the needs that their team saw a demand for.

Here’s what you can do with SNAPPA:

1. Edit graphics. 

Use the super simple drag and drop editor to create highly engaging content. Their built-in image effects give you more control over customizing your graphic and make the process quick and easy.

2. Take advantage of their visual assets.

SNAPPA offers a huge HUGE collection of visual assets. We’re talking 500,000+ photos, 70,000+ graphics, and 200+ fonts. But here’s the best part… each of these are 100% royalty free and licensed for commercial use. This means that you don’t have to worry about an angry photographer or illustrator coming after you for some kind of copyright issue. #Phew

3. #TemplateLove

The in-house team of designers at SNAPPA has created hundreds of templates that are pre-sized and ready for you to use. Just find the one that best fits your needs and customize away.

4. Resize your graphics.

SNAPPA is throwing around the fairy dust here, as they allow you to magically resize your graphics. We’ll talk about this a little more later when we do the SNAPPA vs. Canva comparison, but let me just give you a little preview by telling you that this is a BIG DEAL. Magic resizing is way more than adjusting the # of pixels or cropping the graphic to fit your needs.

5. Upload your own images or graphics.

Go ahead and create gorgeous graphics, then brand them with your logo or a client’s logo. Maybe you’re a photographer and have a collection of images that you want to use for a marketing campaign. Perfecto! SNAPPA lets you upload your own images and use them when creating graphics.

6. Organize your work.

If you’re sick of scrolling through long lists of graphics that you’ve created, SNAPPA has the answer. Simply organize your files in folders. It’ll save you time and so much headache when you need to refer back to something you’ve created.

7. Import custom fonts.

There are over 200 built in fonts on the SNAPPA platform, but if you can’t find what you need – no worries. You’re allowed to upload your own custom font in order to create the graphics of your dreams.

8. Share to your social media platforms.

No download and wait time. Create your graphic and share it directly from the SNAPPA platform. Not only can you share instantly, but you can also schedule posts. They’ve created SNAPPA to become your one-stop-shop for all graphic needs.

9. Collaborate with your team.

With everything stored in the cloud and the ability to create and share from one platform, why waste time with emails and other communications? Link your team members to your SNAPPA account to make collaboration easy. You’ll be able to share files, fonts, you name it – you can share it.

10. Check out the tutorials.

SNAPPA wants to make it easy for you to create whatever you’ve envisioned. If you need help with one of their features or just can’t seem to sort out how to do something within their platform, no worries. Browse through their knowledge base or library of video tutorials and you’ll find the answer in no time. Check this out… (below)

As you can tell from the pretty hefty list above, SNAPPA offers a very powerful graphic design software solution. The features are robust and all-inclusive. If you need still graphics, they’re an excellent Canva alternative that should definitely be considered. Don’t worry, they offer a free trial. From there, there are two plans available – pro for $10 per month and team for $20 per month.

Now let’s talk about Canva – simply great design for you and your team.

Often auto-corrected to Canvas (such a pain), Canva is the leading online graphic design software solution. It’s well known amongst graphic designers, bloggers, business owners, everyone who wants to make something pretty. What you can do with Canva is very similar to the details listed above for SNAPPA.

“I love Canva and all the options available (let’s face it, they’re kind of endless) for digital use! When it comes to printing products created in Canva, however, I feel there’s big room for improvement. I’ve printed business cards, paper newsletters, and invitations created in Canva, and have been really disappointed. Luckily the local printing company I use has a graphic artist who’s a rockstar and has fixed all the alignment and funky sizing issues that came with my Canva downloads.” – Jessica Pennington, www.mrspenningtonforyourthoughts.com

Here’s a quick breakdown of the bonus tools offered by Canva:

1. Photo editor.

Within Canva, you have the ability to crop, rotate, and filter any images that you upload to your library.

2. Color palette generator.

Similar to the color matching tool at any hardware store, the color palette feature allows you to define your brand’s color scheme by uploading a single image. It’s a pretty cool feature that can help with design ‘block’ – check it out here.

3. Font combinations.

‘Typography Made Easy’ – this tool helps you find font combinations that will fit your brand. Begin with a starter font that you already know and love, then pick from one of four accent fonts provided by Canva. What makes this tool incredibly helpful, is that it doesn’t just show you the name of the font that will look nice with the original one you chose. Instead, it gives you a visual (of course) of what it will look like within your design. That way you can choose from a limited number of excellent options.

Another interesting feature about Canva is that they offer a pretty vast marketplace where you can find all kinds of templates, photos, and icons that you don’t see within the platform on a ‘usual basis’. Once signed up, you’ll also receive regular emails that include designs curated just for you. It can be super inspiring when you’re having a less than creative type of day.

“Canva is an easy and free way for anyone to design graphics. This intuitive program helps you step by step create gorgeous graphics with your photos in the background or their photos.” – Sarah Lafountain, www.cookwith5kids.com

“I’ve been using the free version of Canva for my blog and for my husband’s online business. I am so impressed with how quickly I can come up with designs that look and feel professional. I love playing around with new ideas and, once we can generate enough income, I look forward to upgrading my account to a paid version.” – Ingrid Snydal, www.mysomethingwonderful.com

Let’s be honest, Canva is the leading graphic design software for a reason… the platform is amazing. Its design is simple and easy to use. The templates are gorgeous. The font combinations are beautiful and the selection of illustrations and photos available for use sometimes seem endless.

“If you are still looking I would love to add a quote! I am currently working in social media marketing and I love using Canva to create quick and easy images to post on Facebook, Instagram, and twitter! The images are always super eye appealing and their templates are great but also super easy to customize! I have gotten lots of complements on the graphics I have made using Canva!” – Kaylee Richard

“I love how easy canva is to use and how that you don’t have to know a lot but can still create beautiful graphics, posters etc. I also love that I can use the app on the go to add my watermark before adding photos to social media.” – Arjaye Breuer

But here’s the thing, there are Canva alternatives for a reason. Graphic design software is not a one-size-fits-all solution. If that was the case, we’d still all be using Photoshop with limited design options and files trapped on our computers. Ready to start the SNAPPA vs. Canva comparison? Let’s go!

Both SNAPPA and Canva offer excellent solutions for any general graphic design software needs. But what exactly is different and why should you choose one over the other? Here are a few factors you should consider when making the choice of…

SNAPPA vs. Canva – which is the best graphic design software?

1. Membership price.

Both SNAPPA and Canva have free account options. Where they differ is with what’s included in the free plan.

SNAPPA is all-inclusive. There are no micro-invoices within the platform. This means that you get to use all of the photos, illustrations, fonts, and templates that you want without having to pay extra fees. Here’s the catch. The free plan only includes one user, five downloads, and two social media accounts. So you’re quite limited with what you can do once you’ve created gorgeous graphics.

Canva on the other hand can be used to download as many graphics as you’d like every single month. There are no limits. There are, however, micro-invoicing opportunities for the ‘premium’ photos and illustrations included within the visual assets library. You may find yourself paying for small upgrades within the platform but at least you aren’t limited to five downloads.

SNAPPA offers two upgraded membership options. $10 per month for PRO (1 user) and $20 per month for Team (up to 5 users). Both allow you to download an unlimited number of graphics each month, save your designs in organized folders, upload custom fonts, and integrate with your Buffer account.

Canva offers an upgrade to a pro membership which is $12.95 per month, per team member. This gives you access to the premium collection of photos and illustrations, allows you to organize your designs within folders, magically resize designs, save color palettes, and gives you priority support.

2. Resizing designs.

This seems like a pretty basic thing. You create a design and it’s not the right fit for where you’re using it. Simply go back and adjust, right? Wrong. Well, depending.

With SNAPPA, you can go in and magically resize your designs when using the free account. This means that each of the elements will be automatically adjusted within the new constraints of your pixels in a way that should generally look and feel ‘right’. (That’s the magic part.)

Canva has the same feature, but you have to pay for it. Not just for the magic, but for any kind of resizing at all. So let’s say you create a basic 3×3 design and you now want it to be 3×4, no bueno. If you’re in the free account you’ll either need to upgrade to the pro plan or start over from scratch within the constraints of a new design. #PainInThe____

Why does this feature matter? It’s more than just the ‘oops’ when it comes to sizing. Resizing your designs is incredibly helpful if you are creating multi-purpose graphics. Let’s use this article as an example. If I want one graphic for Facebook, one for Twitter, one for my blog, and one for Instagram – I’ll have to create four different files with a paid account in Canva in order to optimize my presence on each platform. If I upgrade my Canva account (or just use SNAPPA), I can ‘magically’ resize my first design and create four separate designs without having to do all the foot work. Get it? #ProblemSolved  

3. The user experience.

So SNAPPA has this section of their website where they actually take Canva customer feedback and address how they are better. Something we’ve all likely wanted to do but never actually implemented, right? haha. Anyways… here are a few of the items reported as ‘reasons why customers switched’ that define the SNAPPA vs. Canva debate.

Canva is clunky.

Basically saying that the Canva platform is slow and tough to navigate. I’ve not found this to be a serious issue unless dealing with very large images, but to each her own, I suppose. SNAPPA claims to move ‘as fast as you do’ without cursors that freeze and images that take forever to render.

Share to social media instantly.

It’s true. You can’t share graphics directly from Canva instantly or share future posts. If this is something that you find to be an important feature or something you’d really like to take advantage of within your graphic design software, then you’ll need to turn to SNAPPA which gives you the option to connect your account with Buffer and share or schedule all kinds of social posts.

Free templates that are easy to find.

Canva doesn’t give you the ability to search through templates without being on the featured plan, so spend a lot of time scrolling through $1 photos, graphics, and icons. I typically end up downloading free images from a separate site and importing them into Canva. Now that I realize there’s an option, I may have to reconsider my choices and how I spend my time. SNAPPA allows you to easy search through their collection of over 500,000 visual assets that are all free to use.

No learning curve required.

This is something that both platforms claim but can only be verified on an individual basis. SNAPPA does not have a ‘design school‘ which can be considered good or bad depending on your design abilities. If you need inspiration or tutorials, you’ll be grateful for all sources of inspiration – be it from blog posts, newsletters, or templates within the design platform.

All inclusive.

We talked about membership pricing but this is a little different. You should know that with SNAPPA, everything is included. No extra charges here or there. Canva has extra charges built into their business plan. They expect you to want to upgrade to use their collection of ‘better’ visual assets. The price isn’t high (typically $1 each) but you should be aware of the built in micro-charges before you start relying on Canva as your go-to graphic design software.

Who wins in our SNAPPA vs. Canva debate?

The two platforms are very similar and offer an excellent product. When it comes to choosing the winner for SNAPPA vs. Canva, it comes down to one thing. How many designs will you need to create? If it’s 5 or less, head over to SNAPPA. If you create designs on the daily and need to download regularly, Canva is the choice for you.

What do you think? Do you agree with our winner choice? Tell me in the comments below.

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• How much does it cost and how is it billed? Monthly? Annually?
• Do they offer customer support and if so, do the users seem happy?
• Does the host support WordPress?
• How much disk space do you get with the plan?
• What is the contract term?
• Do they offer a free trial or money back guarantee?
• Is a domain name included?
• Do they guarantee solid uptime
• What are the general user reviews?

Once you’ve gone through the list and determined which factors mean the most to you, it’s time to do some research. You’ll want to compare exactly what the top hosting companies offer in order to pick the one that will best fit your needs.

To get you started in the right direction, here are the top ten hosting companies in 2018:

#1 – BLUEHOST

• Starting rate is $2.95 per month
• Customer Support Available 24/7
• Unlimited traffic and space plans are available
• FREE 1-click WordPress installations
• FREE domain name (1-year registration)
• FREE site builder
• FREE email accounts
• FREE SSL for 12 months
• Considered the BEST overall hosting plan
• Bluehost.com

#2 – HOSTGATOR

• Starting rate is $2.64 per month
• Unlimited traffic and space on all plans
• FREE Weebly site builder
• No contract
• 45-day money back guarantee
• Considered one of the best overall hosting plans
• Hostgator.com

#3 – SITEGROUND

• Starting rate is $3.95 per month
• Space plans range from 10 GB to 30 GB
• FREE site transfer or new setup with 1-click installation
• FREE automated daily backups
• FREE email accounts
• FREE CDN
• FREE SSL
• 99.9% uptime
• 30-day money back guarantee
• Siteground.com

#4 – iPAGE

• Starting rate of $1.99 per month
• Unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and emails
• FREE domain name (1-year registration)
• FREE Google marketing
• FREE site builder and shopping cart
• 30-day money back guarantee
• Considered the best hosting company for business sites
• iPage.com 

#5 – FATCOW

• Starting rate of $3.15 per month
• Unlimited disk space, bandwidth, emails, and databases
• FREE domain name (1-year registration)
• FREE point and click website builders
• Cusotmer Support Available 24/7
• GREEN HOSTING COMPANY!
  100% powered by wind energy
• 30-day money back guarantee
• FatCow.com

#6 – HOSTPAPA

• Starting rate of $2.95 per month
• Space plans range from 100 GB to unlimited
• FREE drag and drop website builder
• FREE domain name FOR LIFE
• Award-winning customer support available 24/7/365
• Personal video training sessions available with HostPapa expert
• HostPapa.com

#7 – WEB.COM

• Starting rate of $1.95 per month
• 300 GB
• Basic hosting plan with incredible intro rate ($1.95 for your first month)
• Site builder included
• FREE domain (1-year registration)
• Web.com

#8 – WEB HOSTING HUB

• Starting rate of $2.99 per month
• Unlimited disk space
• FREE domain name FOR LIFE
• Includes cPanel and 1-click WordPress installation
• Offers website transfers with zero downtime
• Support for eCommerce site
• 90-day money back guarantee
• WebHostingHub.com

#9 – JUST HOST

• Starting rate of $3.95 per month
• Unlimited disk space
• Customer Service Available 24/7 via phone or chat
• FREE site builder
• FREE domain (1-year registration)
• $200 worth of advertising credits
• 30-day money back guarantee
• JustHost.com

#10 – A2 HOSTING

• Starting rate of $3.92 per month
• Unlimited RAID-10 disk space
• FREE site transfer
• FREE HackScan
• Host unlimited websites
• 1-click WordPress installation
• Domain name $14.99
• Money back guarantee at any time
• a2hosting.com 

Okay, that’s a lot of information! Here’s the thing, it’s nice to know that you have options. LOTS of options. If you want to know what I use, I’m here to tell you that it’s BlueHost. The only issue I’ve ever come up against with BlueHost is the SSL renewal. It doesn’t always happen as scheduled, so it may require you to follow up. Other than that, the product has been excellent and customer service is always there to help.

Tell me about your faves in the comments!

The post Top 10 Hosting Companies in 2018 appeared first on Atterbie.

Here’s a quick list of the pros and cons of being a freelance and working remotely.

The PROS of being a freelancer and working from home:

• You make the rules and have absolute control over every aspect of your workday.
• You can make as much money as you want and you get to keep it (well, about 75% of it after taxes).
• Skip the long commute! When you’re working remotely you just pick up your laptop and get to work!
• You can work from the comfort of your own bed, snuggled up on the sofa, in your assigned seat on an airplane, or oceanside with a cool drink in your hand.
• As a freelancer, you can write-off your home office, marketing expenses, mileage, equipment costs, and other business expenses when you do your taxes. Be sure to check the IRS’ website for details.
• Take as many vacation days as you’d like!

The CONS of being a freelancer and working from home:

• You have the power to make yourself incredibly successful, or not.
• Your time and effort equals money and you’re responsible for making it all happen.
• You need to purchase whatever equipment and software that it will take in order to make your freelance business successful. This can quickly add up and cost you a pretty penny.
• Because you can literally work from anywhere, people will expect you to be working wherever you are. Be sure to set boundaries for yourself so that you get some downtime. Otherwise, you’ll quickly get burned out and even consider heading back to that exciting 9 to 5 lifestyle.
• When you’re working remotely, taxes get a lot harder! It’s so nice that you can write things off, but rules are sometimes in the grey area and this can cause a lot of undue stress. Lessen your burden by keeping very detailed records and hire a professional to do your taxes.
• Time = Money, I mentioned this above. So take as many vacation days as you’d like, but don’t forget that you aren’t getting paid. If you’re relying solely on freelance work, the paycheck stops when you stop delivering. So be cautious with how you schedule and diligent with your budgeting to make sure you’re covered at the end of the month.
• Freelancers do not get fringe benefits, including health care. If your spouse does not have health insurance that covers you as well, be sure to plan accordingly.

Ready to get your freelance business started? It all begins by setting up a simple website that serves as your marketing hub to showcase the products and services you have available for clients to purchase. If you’re all ready to do it all yourself, head over to BlueHost to get your hosting set up and install WordPress. It’s super simple!

If you need help getting your website established, let me know. I’d love to help.

Here’s how you can reach me:

Amy Sallie
ATTERBIE LLC
Hudson, OH 44236
amy@atterbie.com

Today we covered:
The Pros & Cons of Being a Freelancer and Working Remotely

You may also be interested in reading:
How to Start a Blog In 9 Minutes

In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from one of my favorite companies listed above. I only recommend products and systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.

The post The Pros & Cons of Being a Freelancer and Working Remotely appeared first on Atterbie.

Responsive web designs are those adapt to the size of the screen, no matter how the site is being viewed. In short, you create one design that automatically adjusts the way it is viewed – no additional design required. Adaptive web design is where you take one main design and then create individual layouts based on standard screen sizes. It requires a lot of additional work on the front end when you’re setting up your site.

The pros to responsive web design:

• Less work on the front end, as you only create ONE website that will work on any screen.
• There are a large number of responsive theme options available to WordPress users, making the design phase easier.

The cons to responsive web design:

• Because your site is fluid and will match whatever sized screen its faced with, you can not absolutely predict the way in which it will appear for the user.
• The more control you desire over the way your site is viewed, the more time it will take to adjust your responsive options and set up your main design.

The pros to adaptive web design:

• You have absolute control over the presentation of your site.
• This is the latest and greatest when it comes to website design.
• Load time is much faster on adaptive sites than responsive.

The cons to adaptive web design:

• Requires a LOT of work on the front end, as you are required to set up multiple designs in order to fit a number of different standards screen sizes.
• There are less themes available to users and require a little more research in order to find one that will best suit your needs.

Not sure which one to choose for your new website? It really comes down to what you’re hoping to accomplish within your site and how you can create the best user experience in order to increase conversions. If you’re a total DIYer and ready to start developing your new site, head over to BlueHost to get your hosting set up and install WordPress. It’s super simple!

Ready to get started on developing your new website? I’d love to help!

Here’s how you can reach me:

Amy Sallie
ATTERBIE LLC
Hudson, OH 44236
amy@atterbie.com

Today we covered:
Responsive Vs. Adaptive Web Design

You may also be interested in reading:
How to Start a Blog In 9 Minutes

In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from one of my favorite companies listed above. I only recommend products and systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.

The post Responsive Vs. Adaptive Web Design appeared first on Atterbie.

Just to make sure we’re clear here… I’m talking about a self-hosted blog that’s built in WordPress. While it’s not 100% free, the cost is as low as $3.95/month (totally affordable, right) and you’ll have full ownership and control over the content.

You will be able to use this blog or website, whatever you want to call it, to promote your brand and start making money!

How to Start a Blog in 9 Minutes

Step 1 in How to Start a Blog:  Go to BlueHost.com and click on ‘Get Started Now’.

Step 2 in How to Start a Blog:  Choose a plan.

BlueHost offers three options – Basic, Plus, and Prime. If you’re just getting started you can stick with the basic plan. It will provide you with more than enough to get started. End up needing more power or extra storage space for your email? You are free to upgrade your plan at any time. Here’s a quick screenshot of the three BlueHost plan options.

Step 3 in How to Start a Blog:  Choose a domain.

One of the perks of signing up for a hosting account with BlueHost is that they include registration for one domain name. That means it is absolutely FREE with your new hosting account. Even if you already have a domain name that you love, I highly recommend that you take advantage of this free domain name that they offer and register something new even if it’s just a back-up for your site.

Step 4 in How to Start a Blog:  Create your account.

Simply fill in the blanks and click on ‘submit’.  It’s super easy.

You’ll notice that there is zero setup fee (it’s totally free) and there are a few other options that you get to choose from:

• Domain Privacy Protection – $0.99/month
  Totally optional, but super helpful if you want to avoid spam calls and prefer not to have your personal information published on a domain registration site like whois.com.
• SiteLock Security – $1.99/month
  Extra security for your site. If you’re hosting confidential information or are afraid that you’ve got something spammers most definitely want, go ahead and sign up. Totally up to you.
• Codeguard Basic – $2.99/month
  Automate your backup system with CodeGuard Basic. If you don’t want to think about backing thing sup on a regular basis or need the confidence of knowing that your info is secure in the cloud, go for it!
• Bluehost SEO Tools Start – $2.99/month
  Would you rather not learn all there is to know about SEO? Bluehost has a plan that will help automate things for you and make sure that your SEO is taken care of.
• Comodo PositiveSSL – $3.33/month
  Keep your site and your customers secure with a security certificate.

Need additional information in order to make a decision on which to purchase? No worries, just click on ‘more info’ and you’ll learn everything you need to know. I’ll tell you from experienced that I’ve worked on sites that use all of these options and also those that use none. What you choose when it comes to how to start a blog is completely up to you.

Step 5 in How to Start a Blog:  Install WordPress.

Once your new account is complete, chances are that BlueHost is going to take you directly to a ‘Getting Started’ page that will guide you through the process of starting your blog.  You can choose if it’s for personal or business use, and then opt for a free them in order to get started.

Watch for my next blog post that details how to choose the best theme for your new blog!

Have a comment? Need help? Leave me a comment below or get in touch.

Here’s how you can reach me:

Amy Sallie
ATTERBIE LLC
Hudson, OH 44236
amy@atterbie.com

Today we covered:
How to Start a Blog in 10 Minutes

In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, many (not all) of these are affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from one of my favorite companies listed above. I only recommend products and systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.

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The post How to start a blog in 10 minutes – Domain name appeared first on Atterbie.

The Basics

You’ll need to make sure that your focus keywords are included in the basic setup of your website. These areas include:

• Website title
• Website description
• Page titles
• Page descriptions

Content. Content. Content.

We’ve discussed some of the advantages that photographers have over other business owners when it comes to SEO. The reverse is true in this situation… trying to fill your website with keywords can sometimes just feel (and read) weird or boring.

So what do you do?

You think outside of the box! Let’s say you’re getting ready to post a preview from your seventh engagement session. You’re tired of repeating the words “Bowling Green Engagement Photographer”. So what do you write? Here are a few options…

• Tips on how to make an engagement photography session successful.
• What to wear during an engagement photography session.
• How you help your newly engaged couple feel comfortable in front of the camera during their photo session.
• The best time of day to capture those soft and romantic shots for your engagement session.
• Top ten things to look for when searching for an engagement photographer.

There are seriously a zillion options, you just have to get creative and choose the one that best fits your needs.

Now that you’ve figured out what to write, where exactly should it go?

• The basic pages throughout your site are the most important; home, about, services, prices, contact.
• Utilize every single blog post to the fullest. Every post needs a focus, make it one of your keywords/phrases.

Wrap-Up

Every word on your website is there for a reason. Whether it’s entertaining or just there to help you connect with your readers, make sure that it’s also helping to increase your site’s SEO.

Don’t forget, potential clients can’t hire you if they can’t find you!

Check back soon for Step 3 of our DIY SEO for Photographers project… all about images!

Questions? Comment below or email us at info@atterbie.com.

SEO Hudson Ohio | SEO Ohio | Search Engine Optimization | SEO for Photographers

The post DIY SEO for Photographers – 102 appeared first on Atterbie.

With that in mind, we’ve created this DIY SEO series for folks who have some extra time and want to learn how to apply simple SEO practices to their websites that will help improve their site’s search ranking.

And now for the first step in DIY SEO series…

SEO:101 – Define your Keywords and Phrases.

Keywords and phrases are the specific terms people enter into a search engine (like Google) to find whatever product, service, or information they’re looking for. Knowing the terms that your ideal clients are looking for will help you determine how to properly market your website.

Example: If you are a photographer who takes pictures of babies who were just born, your keyword may include… Newborn Photographer, Baby Photographer, Baby Photos, etc.

Once you’ve figured out what the general terms that people are looking for, it’s time to think about how you can narrow these keywords and phrases down to best describe your business.

The first thing you must consider is niche. Do you serve a specific portion of the market or offer a product that is unique to your business? Make sure to include terms that will help set you apart from the competition.

Example: If you are a photographer who focuses on elopements, don’t rely on “wedding photographer” to best describe your services. Make sure you utilize “elopement photographer” while making your DIY SEO plans.

The second thing you must take into account is location. Most photographers serve the area located within 1.5 hours (at most) of their studio or home base. With that in mind, you can add general locations to your keywords to filter out clients who you will likely not travel all day to photograph.

Example:  If you are a family photographer located in Detroit, Michigan – make sure that you use “Detroit” as a keyword.

Don’t be afraid of losing people searching for those general “family photographer” terms. Ideal clients are looking for photographers who will serve their specific needs. While you may get traffic from around the world if you one day have high rankings with the term “family photographer”, chances are you won’t want to travel to Timbuktu to do a one-hour family session.

We’re going for quality over quantity here folks!  

Questions? Comment below or email info@atterbie.com for help.      Atterbie – Digital Marketing Solutions – SEO Services – SEO Hudson, Ohio – Search Engine Optimization – SEO For Photographers

The post DIY SEO for Photographers – 101 appeared first on Atterbie.