Even still, most of the content on our blogs consists of images. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t quite learned to see yet, so images don’t quite make the grade either. Of course, you have the ever-important alt tags, but you are still lacking in the text department.

In order to help you offset your blog’s image-heaviness, I have created a simple video tutorial to teach you how to take advantage of a part of your site that is almost always under utilized – the category and tag pages. Did you know you can edit these? Check out the video to see how to use them for some extra SEO juice:

Simple, right? Just a little change could go a long way in getting your category and tag pages ranked. This could result in more bookings as visitors searching for specific terms such as “engagement photographer” will find just the page they are looking for and be that much closer to contacting you.

Here is the code from the video:

Category page:

<?php echo category_description(); ?>

Tag page:

<?php echo tag_description(); ?>

In the video I mentioned that you might not have a tag page in your template files. There is a simple fix. Simply use an FTP program to copy your category template (blog folder > wp-content > themes > yourtheme > category.php ) onto your desktop. Change its filename to tag.php and reupload it to the same folder. WordPress will automatically identify it as your tag template.

Want to do more with your category and tag pages? Check out the WordPress codex for additional info.

WordPress Categories

WordPress Tags

If you enjoyed this post please tweet it or post a comment below. Thanks!

Why I use custom Facebook link thumbnails

When you post a blog post link to Facebook you are usually presented with several options for the link thumbnail. These include the images from your blog post as well as your logo and other images on the page. Usually this works fine but sometimes the images are just not suited for use as a thumbnail.

For instance, I format my blog images so that two vertical images are side by side. I do this in Photoshop so the images I upload are either full horizontal images or a composite of two vertical images.

This works out great for my blog but makes for small link thumbnails when I post the link to Facebook.

A while back I published a post about how to customize your Facebook link thumbnails. The problem with this method is that you are limited to one specific thumbnail for every post on your site.

I have a new method. We are going to use WordPress’ built in featured image tool to customize our business Facebook page by taking control of our link thumbnails.

Note: This will only work if your blog theme supports featured images.

Creating your Facebook Link Thumbnail Image

You will first need to choose the image to use for your thumbnail.

As it turns out, all Facebook link thumbnails are not created equal.

Facebook has limited the thumbnail space to 90px X 90px. All vertical or horizontal images will be reduced to 90px at their longest point. Meaning that your image will use less than the space allotted for your link thumbnail.

In order to optimize your image, you will want to crop it to a square ratio before uploading. The size doesn’t really matter, as long as it is over 90px X 90px.

Be sure to use an image that will still look good at such a small size. You will also want to be sure that it is a good representation of the post.

The image won’t show up anywhere else so you don’t have to use one of the images you have already posted. I think it is fun to use a detail shot from the shoot/wedding to give a feel for the style of the photos.

When inside the post editor, choose set featured image from the featured image module in the post editor sidebar.

The uploading tool will open just as it would for uploading an image to insert in your post. Follow the prompts to upload your image.

Once the image has been uploaded, you will need to look under the sizing options and choose Use as featured image.

Click save all changes and be sure to update the post or publish if it isn’t already published.

Tell Facebook where to look

Now that your featured image is set you will need to tell Facebook that it should use it for your thumbnails.

In your WordPress menu, go to Appearance -> Editor. In the right side you will see a list of the various pages and parts of your WordPress theme. Click on the Header file to open it for editing.

Between the <head>...</head> tags copy and paste the following code.

<?php if(is_single()) { ?>
<?php
 
// Featured Image for FB Like
$feature_image = get_the_post_thumbnail($post->ID);
 
// Get image source
$doc = new DOMDocument();
$doc->loadHTML($feature_image);
$imageTags = $doc->getElementsByTagName('img');
 
foreach($imageTags as $tag) {
        $image_url = $tag->getAttribute('src');
    }
?>
<link rel="image_src" href="<?php echo $image_url; ?>" />
<?php } ?>

Click Update File to save your changes.

Test your new Facebook Link Image

Now you can go to Facebook and post the link to your blog post using your newly customized link thumbnail. Bring on the pretty!

Extra Credit: Add a call to action text layer to your link image in Photoshop. Tell your users to “Click Here”. It just might get you a few more clicks.

Want more help with Facebook? Check out my guest post over at Zach Prez’s Photography Web Marketing on optimizing the new Facebook layout for your business. Check out Zach’s Photography Web Marketing Guide for more help with online marketing.

This same technique can be used to get more Facebook fans (likes) for your business.

Do you have a Facebook landing page?

When someone comes to your Facebook page what do they see? Are they presented with a page of random posts about new photos, a conference you recently attended, or how great Jasmine Star’s latest workshop was?

By controlling their first view of your page, you can give them a more favorable and branded view of your business.

This is accomplished through a landing page. A landing page is a page of a website (or Facebook) that is created for the sole purpose of getting a visitor to do something. In this case, we want them to click that Like button so that you can reach them later on through the content you post on your page (which will then wind up in their feed). If they visit your page and don’t click like, then you have lost them forever.

How to create your Facebook page welcome tab

Previously, I showed you how to create a landing page using Facebook’s programming language – FBML. On March 11, 2011 Facebook removed FBML from the options for pages. If you already have a landing page created using FBML it will continue to work. New landing pages, however, cannot use FMBL.

As a replacement, Facebook is finally allowing iFrame tabs for pages. Personally, I am stoked. iFrames allow you to basically “import” a webpage from anywhere. You can do essentially anything with iFrames that you could do on your own site. For code-nuts such as myself, this is an awesome thing. For everyone else, it can seem a little intimidating.

Not to worry! There’s an app for that. (Ugg, I couldn’t resist).

The Static Html: Iframe Tabs Facebook App

Soon after Facebook rolled out these changes, a new app emerged on the scene. The Static Html: Iframe Tabs App makes it incredibly easy to add a welcome page to your Facebook business page.

To begin, go to your search bar in Facebook and search for iframe tab – look for the star thumbnail. Go to the page and look in the bottom of the left hand column. Choose Add to My Page and choose the appropriate Facebook page from your list of pages.

Now, go to your page and look in your menu. (Under the profile picture). Click on the Welcome tab with the star icon. You will be taken to the editor.

The top box is where you will enter the information for your non-fans landing page. This means that anyone who comes to your page that hasn’t already clicked “like” will see this page. You should focus your efforts on getting them to do so. Do not dilute the power of this page by linking to your site or trying to get them to take any other action.

The bottom box is the page people will see after they have liked your page. This is a great place to provide them with other options for getting to know your business. Links to your website, photo slideshows, etc can be posted here.

For a simple solution, create an image in Photoshop (or other editor) to use for each page. Upload it to your server or photobucket (use the “html” linking option) and display it on the page. Use this code for a server-uploaded image:

<img src="http://mysite.com/folder/myimage.jpg" />

If you are a little more comfortable with html, you can add links and anything else you can come up with to your landing pages.

When you are finished click Save and View Tab to check out your new landing pages.

That’s it! The iframe app definitely makes it easier to add Facebook landing pages to your business pages which can result in more Facebook fans.

Extra Credit: To get more bang for your buck create an incentive for them to click your like button. Tell them that they will get a free wedding planning booklet or a discount for portraits. Give them the booklet download or discount instructions on the second page.

Please post a link to your Facebook page so we can see your landing pages.

1. Setup an email newsletter.Sending out a simple email newsletter to your past brides and inquiries is an easy way to keep your business on their mind.
2. Go beyond the photos.Write a short 1-2 paragraph story of their wedding day at the beginning of their blog post. Show that you were paying attention! Write as if you are writing a (very short!) chapter in a romance novel. Talk about why they and their relationship are unique and explain the wedding day in detail. Every wedding can sound amazing if you present it that way!
3. Don’t forget about them.Your job isn’t over after the wedding album (or disc) is delivered. Keep up with them! Send them a card or free gift on their wedding anniversary, first Christmas or Valentine’s day. An 8×10 is an easy gift or a simple paper ornament. Let them know that they aren’t just another paycheck!
4. Beat them home.After you get home from the wedding (or the next day) do a quick run through of their images and pull the best for your blog post. Try to get the blog post up before they get home from their honeymoon. It is so important to do this before the big excitement of the day wears off.
5. Under promise, over deliver.If you don’t follow any of the other steps, follow this one. In every interaction and promise you make, under promise, over deliver. If you tell them you will have the images ready in 4 weeks, get them to them in 2. It’s as simple as that.

How to get referrals?

Getting great referrals from past clients is not as tough as it seems. If you truly care about your clients and want to give them the best experience you can, they won’t be able to resist telling everyone they know. Everyone loves to share something amazing, right?

So, what other things do you do to create happy clients and generate referrals?

Why should we be concerned? Image size.

As photographers, most of our content is image-based. This means large file sizes and slow loading times.

It is now more important than ever to be sure that your images are properly compressed. The balance between large viewing size and small file size should be moved up on your list of concerns when it comes to your blogging and Web design.

It is important to provide our clients (and prospects!) with large image sizes so as to optimize their viewing experience, but file size should also be a factor when making decisions about design and how you process your images for posting to the Web.

3 steps you can take that won’t affect image quality

1. Save your blog images to the exact size needed for display before uploading to the Web. Do not compress them later using html or your blog’s editing tools.
2. Split your photo-heavy posts into multiple pages.
3. Limit the number of posts displayed on each page of your blog. Look under “Reading” settings in WordPress.

All in all, this is a good thing. I know that I much prefer faster loading sites and i’m sure you do as well. Google is focused on user experience beyond the initial search result and I think this change will definitely have a major impact on the web as a whole.

Get on board! Remember to keep your site(s) simple and quick and hopefully this change will not have a negative impact on your rankings.

Take this new criteria seriously and you could actually see a rank increase as others in your market are not as quick to respond.

What do you think? Are you going to make some changes? Are you confident in the speed of your site and the way you currently handle images? Post a comment and lets discuss!

However, most SEO experts would suggest using one (or more) of your keywords in your business name for maximum impact.

I am here to tell you that using your name rather than an industry keyword can actually work out quite well for SEO when used properly. How is that? Well, when your business name includes your real name, your name actually becomes one of your keywords.

Sure, most people searching for your name will find you fairly easily. But what if you are like me and several other businesses/professionals use their name for their business name as well? I want to let Google know that when someone searches for me they are looking for a photographer (despite what those other Bethany Gilberts say).

The easiest way to do this is to comment on other photographer’s blogs.

Seem counter-intuitive?

Here’s how it works. When you comment on another photographer’s blog you (usually) are asked to enter your name, an email address and your website address before adding your comment.

After you click submit, the blog will then turn your name into a link to your site when displaying your comment.

This is called “link text”. Google LOVES link text. Google (and the other search engines) basically looks at the link text and associates whatever site is linked with those words.

So, when you comment on another photographer’s blog using your name as the link text, Google sees two things.

1. Your site is linked from another photographer’s site, so you must have something to do with photography.
2. Your link text is your name, so your name must have something to do with photography.

The moral of the story? If your business is named after yourself, comment like there is no tomorrow, and always (always) include your link.

P.S. Please remember to only post comments that are relevant, thoughtful and add something to the blog post. Comment about a particular image you liked for instance. Happy commenting!

P.S.S. Posting comments here will have the same effect since we are optimized for photography keywords. ; )