QUICK TIPS

Most photography websites don’t have a “traffic problem.” They have a clarity problem.

In a recent review session, we uncovered:

Individually, they seem small.

Together, they quietly kill conversions.

After many photography websites, I can tell you this: it’s rarely one big mistake. It’s 20 tiny ones.

If you suspect your site is “almost good”… it probably needs sharper execution.

Most photographers think “SEO” is just keywords.

But agentic AI (Google, smart devices, assistants) will use your site — not just read it.

Clients will soon ask their devices:

“Find a portrait photographer near me with availability next Saturday.”

“Book a 30-min headshot session under $400.”

If your website isn’t structured, fast, and technically sound, AI simply won’t “see” you.

This is where photographers get left behind — outdated plugins, messy WordPress setups, slow hosting, unstructured content… all invisible to AI assistants.

A few steps to prepare:

Here’s the problem: when clients land on a site that blends everything together, their brain works overtime.

Confusion = inaction. Inaction = no inquiry.

I'm referring to photographers that truly work with two different audiences at the same time. For example, doing both corporate headshots and pet photography, with both deserving equal footing on the website.

Here’s the fix I always recommend:

It’s modern positioning 101 — online clarity = more bookings.

If you’re running multiple niches and your site feels like a tug-of-war, let’s fix that.

DEEP DIVE

Nobody is sitting on your About page thinking, “Nice photos, but where are the awards?”

I’ve built 300 plus photography websites over the past 15 years. I’ve seen photographers with trophies struggle to get inquiries. I’ve also seen beginners with zero press features book solid seasons.

The difference usually isn’t accolades.

It’s personality.

Photography websites blur together fast.

Same layouts. Same muted tones. Same copy that sounds like it was filtered through a “professional” setting.

When everything looks polished, people look for something human.

A sentence that sounds like you.

A detail about your life.

A photo where you look approachable.

Trust is what gets the inquiry.

And trust is emotional, not technical.

If you have awards, show them. Sure.

But most clients don’t know what those logos mean. They’re planning a wedding or booking family photos. They’re asking themselves one simple question:

Do I feel good about this person?

If your Bio page reads like a résumé, it creates distance.

Instead, talk about why you care about your work. What you love about wedding mornings. Why you prefer calm elopements. What clients usually thank you for.

Honest beats impressive.

Design gets people in the door.

Your words decide if they stay.

I’ve reviewed sites where the portfolio was strong but the copy felt flat. Neutral. Safe. Like it could belong to anyone.

We rewrote it to sound like the actual human behind the camera. Inquiries went up.

Same photos. Different tone.

That’s connection.

Write how you speak. Use contractions. Be reassuring in plain language.

Not:

“I ensure a seamless photography experience tailored to your needs.”

More like:

“I’ll guide you through the day so you’re not standing there wondering what to do with your hands.”

One sounds like a brochure. The other sounds like a person.

I care about SEO. I teach it.

But ranking first won’t save you if your site feels cold.

SEO gets traffic.

Personality converts it.

You can’t out-optimize everyone anymore. You can, however, be more you than anyone else.

Yes, keep paragraphs short.

Yes, use keywords.

Yes, add testimonials.

But don’t erase your voice trying to be “correct.”

The goal isn’t to follow rules blindly. It’s to understand them, then apply them in a way that still feels like you.

One of my favorite quotes is from Dolly Parton:

Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.

That’s branding.

If you’re calm and documentary focused, lean into it.

If you’re energetic and playful, show it.

Trying to appeal to everyone makes you blend in. And when you blend in, price becomes the only comparison.

That’s a race you don’t want to run.

If your Bio feels bland:

In a sea of identical photography websites, your personality is the one thing nobody else can copy.

Use it.

TESTIMONIAL

SEO TIP

First of all, I would argue that “SPECIALTY photographer LOCATION” is more important, for reasons explained here.

That’s getting comparable clicks, but at a much better CTR, meaning that people searching on Google resonate with your SEO tags and what your site has to offer more, it’s a better fit:

The main goal (for both “photography” and “photographer” variants) is to improve the position => ending up on page 1 for them (so position < 10), which will lead to more clicks.

The blog can somewhat help with this if you link back to the homepage with that respective anchor text, basically telling Google again that your homepage is about that topic.

But do you need to write a new blog post to accomplish this? Not really. You’d get the same effect, theoretically, from just editing one of your most popular posts and entering such a link there.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK