Six Common Mistakes Photographers Make On Their Website Homepages
HOMEPAGES PT. 2 | After setting the primary goals for your homepage last week, it's time to discuss the most detrimental issues your homepage might have...and how to fix them.
Last week, we discussed in depth why photographers’ homepages deserve a little extra attention during the website writing process. We also shared six goals you should be striving for when revamping your homepage. Those six goals included:
Assuring first-time visitors that they’re in the right place
Sharing that you understand the visitor’s wishes
Keeping the visitor engaged
Expressing your uniqueness
Showcasing value
Drawing them deeper into your website
To read more on why each of these goals is so important to a successful homepage, give last week’s article a read before diving into this week’s! Once you have your homepage goals in mind, the rest of this month’s conversation will make so much more sense. Because this week, we are going even deeper into the subject by covering the top six mistakes we see photographers making on their homepages…and how to fix them!
When photographers come to us asking for help with their content, the common issues they cite are struggles to book and struggles to connect meaningfully with an ideal client.
Whether you’re not receiving enough inquiries or you’re receiving too many from the wrong people, the problem starts right here—on your homepage! And the root of the issue might be in one of these big six mistakes we’re going to chew on today.
So, even if you think you’re a homepage pro, you’re gonna want to double-check these puppies to make sure you’re not accidentally inhibiting your ability to connect with future ideal clients!
Mistake #1: The location you serve isn’t clearly displayed front-and-center
No matter how fancy you want to make your homepage website design, the first and most important thing you need to do is make sure the location you serve is clearly displayed. Your location needs to be in the first header on your homepage because that’s the one Google is going to look at first!
Photographers always ask us about the complexities of SEO. And I know it sounds super confusing if you haven’t spent any time working with it before. But it’s actually much more straightforward than you might think…or that other copywriters might be trying to make it seem. The most important thing you can do for your SEO is to identify the key phrase people will be using to search for you. Then, use that keyphrase in the page header, one other header, and three to four times organically in the body text! You’ll also want to use that keyphrase in the metadescription and image tags, but it all starts with how you use it in the content
And how do potential clients search for photographers? It’s simple: LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE photographer. Manhattan wedding photographer. Oahu family photographer. Pensacola newborn photographer. California elopement photographer. The location is essential! So, if you’re not using it in your content, you’re going to struggle to rank on Google.
But Google isn’t the only concern here. The last thing you want is for a potential client to adore your work but never inquire because they can’t figure out if you’re locally based! And don’t tell me it’s in the footer or on your details page or in the second sentence of your about teaser. Not good enough! It needs to be front-and-center right away.
This sounds like such a simple thing to do, but it really is important and can be easy to forget when you get in the groove of writing your content for your site. Double-check right now that your location is in the primary header of your homepage, and if it isn’t, add it today!