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ForegroundWeb Newsletter
YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF PHOTO WEBSITE ADVICE & INSPIRATION.
IN TODAY’S EMAIL:
⚡️ 3 Quick tips: competition, copy refresh, social links
🧠 SEO Deep dive: The “pinball” buyer journey & your photography website
2026 Photography Business Predictions — What’s About to Change
Honored to be part of a 2026 Predictions list gathered by Andrew Hellmich from PhotoBizX, where I spoke about these aspects:
Traffic is no longer the goal — authority is: Photography websites need to focus less on clicks and more on being trusted, cited, and recommended by AI tools that influence client decisions.
If AI can’t clearly explain your business, you’re invisible: Clear, consistent entity details (who you are, where you’re based, and what you specialise in) across your website, Google profile, and socials directly affect how AI represents your brand.
Stop trying to rank first, start being the answer: Modern SEO for photographers is about showing up in AI recommendations by clearly defining who you serve, where you work and what you specialise in.
Depth beats volume in content: Fact-dense About pages, detailed testimonials, case studies, and long-form educational guides give AI the confidence to recommend your photography business to real clients.
You’ll find this episode in the PhotoBizX podcast feed if you’re subscribed (which you should!), or you can listed to it online here:
QUICK TIPS
1. 🧠 Sometimes, your competition isn’t other photographers
It’s friction.
For example, interior designers already buy art.
Just not from you.
Why? Because stock sites are easier. Even when the images are worse.
That’s the real competition:
Faster browsing
Clear licensing
Instant previews
No back-and-forth emails
One photographer I spoke with said it perfectly: “I’m trying to sneak in the back door.”
That back door is usability. If your site lets designers:
Quickly shortlist images
Download previews
Request prints or files cleanly
You’re suddenly not competing with the entire internet anymore.
You’re just the obvious choice. And obvious wins.
2. ✍️ Refresh Your Copy Regularly
Photography businesses evolve, and your website copy should too.
Every 6 months, ask yourself:
Does my homepage still match my current services?
Have my business goals shifted?
Is this copy helping me get the kind of inquiries I want?
Even small updates can make a big difference.
3. 🚫 Don’t put social media links in your main menu
When people see a menu item, they assume it links to an internal page on your site. If you add a menu item like “Facebook” or “Instagram” there, it breaks that expectation — and creates confusion.
The fix?
Use social media icons instead of text
Place them separately from the main nav (above, below, or in the footer)
Never link to other people’s websites in your main menu
Keep your nav focused. Guide users within your site, not away from it.
DEEP DIVE
The “pinball” buyer journey & your photography website
I want to shed light on some recent shifts in the online landscape.
Because most photographers still imagine clients moving neatly from Instagram → website → inquiry.
But that’s not how people behave anymore.
Today’s clients bounce around like a pinball — Instagram, Google, WhatsApp, Reddit, YouTube, ChatGPT — then your site… and then back out again to double-check what they just saw.
If you’re only visible in one or two places, you’re losing people long before they ever see your best work.
Here’s what does work today:
Show up consistently in the places your audience pays attention — with the same message, same vibe, same transformation you provide.
Your website becomes one (important!) touchpoint, not the touchpoint.
And if your site’s underperforming, slow, unclear, or messy? In a pinball world, that bounce becomes an exit.
If you want clarity on what’s hurting conversions on your site, my manual Website Audit can show you where you’re losing people and how to fix it fast.
What’s one channel outside your website that sends you surprisingly good leads?
If Wikipedia is losing traffic… imagine what’s happening to small photography sites
AI didn’t break the internet. But it did change user behavior overnight.
Nearly 60% of Google searches never leave Google anymore. That means fewer eyes on your website — unless your site is clear, compelling, and built with real UX strategy.
Here’s what I’ve seen after 300+ photography site builds:
Most photographers don’t have a traffic problem.
They have a website clarity problem.
If visitors land on your homepage and can’t instantly tell:
who you are
what you shoot
where you’re based
and how to hire you
…they’ll bounce. AI won’t.
The opportunity? Your website becomes a conversion machine, not just a portfolio. Better structure, faster speed, and crisp messaging will outperform generic AI summaries every time.
If you want a punchy, personalized list of what to fix first on your site, drop CLARITY in the comments — I’ll send you my homepage checklist.
Trust will be the #1 ranking factor in AI search
Here’s the hard truth: if AI doesn’t trust your brand, it won’t show your work.
And trust isn’t built on keywords — it’s built on reputation.
AI Overviews heavily favor photographers with:
Positive reviews
Strong external mentions
Consistent branding
Clear messaging
A clean, professional, modern website
A neglected or outdated site hurts your reputation twice:
It turns away human visitors
It signals “low quality” to AI systems
Earned trust will matter more than ever. And I’ve seen this firsthand after working on 300+ photography sites — the ones that grow consistently have both great UX and great off-site reputation.
A few ways to strengthen trust on your site:
Add testimonials where they matter (homepage, services, contact).
Refresh outdated content and fix UX friction points.
Make your About page human, specific, and emotionally resonant.
Use clear service descriptions — AI favors clarity over cleverness.
TESTIMONIAL
I wouldn’t trust anyone with SEO or website except Alex. Honestly he is the nicest guy and is so so helpful. I’ve had great success following what Alex told me to do. It’s not an overnight thing but if you do the work you don’t need to outsource. Just do what he says.
HOW I CAN HELP
⚡ Stop wasting time fighting your platform
A recent client was wrestling with account access issues, plan upgrades, team permissions… all before we even touched his images.
Here’s the thing:
Photographers lose hours every month to platform friction — the kind of tech work you shouldn’t be doing in the first place.
If any of these sound familiar, you’re in the same boat:
Updating plugins scares you
Something breaks every time you upload
Your site looks different on every device
You’re never 100% sure Google is “seeing” your pages
You’re stuck between two platforms and don’t know how to connect them
This is exactly why I offer platform-agnostic website support plans — so photographers can stop wrestling with tech and get back to shooting.
And yes, I customize PhotoDeck, PhotoShelter, SmugMug, WordPress, and all the usual suspects.
Reply to this email if you want details on the plan that fits your setup.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.
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