SEO for photographers: how this client soared up Google

Read this blog for photographer SEO tips, and be inspired by the results from my recent maternity, newborn + wedding photography copywriting project! You can do this, too. 

Now, I’m not one to brag, but check these SEO results out for a photographer client:

Those results are pretty special, right? When Kadi Davis Photography was ready for a complete reinvention of her brand, she didn’t hang about. Reaching out to the wonderful (+ lovely!) Little Hound Creative, Kadi booked in for an incredible package — a new brand identity (logo, colour palette, textures, the lot!) and a shiny new custom Showit website.

But also? Moi. I came along as part of the package — supporting Kadi with her copywriting + SEO — so her website design wasn’t just a pretty face; it had the words to underpin her message, lead-gen, and SEO. Nice.

But as I said, I’m not here to just boast. Okay, maybe a little blowin’ of the old trumpet. But, really, I’m here to explain: What did I do to Kadi’s web copy to get these kinds of results? Was it magic? Some techy insider knowledge? Bearing in mind her old (at the time current) website wasn’t even ranking, and is now position 4… woohoo!

Nope. What I did was strategic copywriting with a good old dollop of SEO (a.k.a. a Google user mindset) that got this photographer ranking on Google.

But I appreciate that might not mean much to you. So, let me break it down into 5 stages:

1. Keyword research first

Before even one word of copy was written, we did the keyword research. First, I asked Kadi what her goals were (what did she want to do more of + sell more of). The answer: maternity, newborn + in-studio shoots as a priority! After all, she’d just invested in a new studio location. Then, wedding photography!

So, off I went! Equipped with what mattered to this photographer in mind. And I did my keyword research based on that.

I love UberSuggest, and I always put my clients on my dashboard so I can track their positioning. Kadi’s previous website was coming up blank (UberSuggest only tracks up to position 100 — because, let’s face it, who’s scrollin’ past that?).

With a list of keywords ready to go, we set off writing her copy knowing what her ideal clients were searching for.

Tip: Use a keyword planner and check out volume + competition. These tools show how many searches are made on average and how competitive a term is. For example, ‘website copywriting’ is super competitive, but ‘website copywriting for photographers’ and ‘Cheshire website copywriter’ are less competitive because they’re more niche.

In your industry, you can laser-focus your SEO by specifying:

• Location (from state to town)
• Photography niche (wedding, newborn, maternity, headshots, etc.)
• Photography style (luxury, fine art, etc.)

2. A strong copy wireframe

This is a hotly debated topic in the copy world: Does the web copy or the web structure come first? I’m firmly in the latter camp!

A strong website copy structure means you can:

• Define where headings go (then apply header tags that are vital for SEO)
• Map out how your keywords work into your headings
• Create an ‘eyebrow copy’ strategy to boost keywords (or add in extra brand personality where keywords naturally fit in headings)

Tip: If you’re DIYing your website copy, check out this blog post about wireframes or download your own website copywriting template here to access my ready-to-go copy wireframe.

3. Writing copy with your photographer keywords in mind

Great website copywriting for photographers (or any industry, really!) is about writing naturally. No forced keywords or awkward phrases — just write like a human for your humans.

However, I always do keyword research first, so those terms are in my mind while writing. This way, keywords naturally filter into the copy. After 10+ years of writing for SEO, I firmly believe this is the foundation of great SEO copywriting.

4. Refining copy with keywords

Once Kadi’s copy was drafted, it was time to go through and strategically infuse keywords, ensuring her copy ranked for key phrases like ‘newborn photography in Huntsville, Alabama.’

Tip: Avoid keyword stuffing by asking yourself: Does this keyword make this sentence better or worse here? If it’s better, add it! Sometimes, keywords strengthen the clarity of a sentence.

But if it’s worse, don’t force it. Remember, SEO is about humans using Google. And, poor-quality, robotic copy won’t cut it (plus, Google penalises keyword stuffing).

5. Prioritising SEO ‘uplifts’

There’s so much more you can do with your copy and website. For every client — photographer or otherwise — I apply what I call ‘SEO uplifts,’ which are all the extra tweaks to maximise performance. For Kadi, these included:

• Title tags + meta descriptions (the preview text on Search Engine Results Pages)
• Footer copy (a great spot for keyword placement and summarising what you do, who you do it for, and where)
• Locational keyword placement (mini bios, location pages, and repeated keywords throughout the site to target searches like ‘Northern Alabama’ and ‘Huntsville’)
• Alt tags for images (a HUGE one for photographers, helping their imagery boost SEO)

Bonus: SEO for photographers: long-term strategy

But it doesn’t end there! As a wedding photographer (or newborn photographer, maternity photographer, brand photographer etc.!), you’ve got a tonne of potential to keep climbing Google (and stay there!). Here’s what I advised Kadi to do:

• Write strategic blog posts targeting keywords her ideal clients are searching for.
• Upload regular portfolio updates incorporating SEO content (showing off her latest work while improving search rankings).
• Keep an eye on her SEO with a tool like UberSuggest, using it to tweak and refine her strategy over time.

If you take a look at these results, you can see that ‘wedding photographer’ is a more competitive phrase! So that’s where we’d focus our attention on to give Kadi a real boost in this area, too. 

Photographer website copy + SEO inspo this way…

Want to check out Kadi’s website (+ snoop on her SEO)? Head here. Big credit to Little Hound Creative for creating such a gorgeous high-end photographer website.

If you’re ready for a VIP copywriting experience (where SEO results are key!), check out my custom website copywriting service here.

Looking for an easy-on-the-budget-but-still-actually-effective option? My website copywriting templates + mini SEO guides are coming very soon (Feb ’25!). Head here, add your email to my list + get first look (+ presale pricing!).