Part two: Meta Descriptions and SEO Titles |
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My intention is for this series on SEO in particular to be as simple as humanly possible. The steps I will outline each week will be straightforward and quick to check off your list. And even though they're easy, they're still impactful – promise! I'm not an SEO professional, but I have had good results with the efforts I've put in – the majority of my clients come from Google searches! This has been great for business obviously, and it also empowers me to take social media breaks whenever I feel they are important. All big wins! |
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seo titles & meta descriptions |
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If these terms are unfamiliar, don't let that stress you – today's two steps are SO easy, promise! Just make sure you've thought through your keywords like we covered last week, and you'll be ready to go. Your titles and descriptions are what help you get found for your keywords when someone runs a Google search. You can add titles and descriptions to both your pages and your images, and I'll walk you through both. Your titles and descriptions for your pages are part of what shows up in search results; your titles and descriptions for your images won't be seen by anyone except Google's search engines. Note: I use Showit, and I HIGHLY recommend using Showit for your website. It's amazing in general, and makes SEO super easy. (If you're interested in trying it out, use code HANNAH for a free month!) If you're not using Showit, this lesson is still very important, but you'll find your settings in different places than I find mine. |
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1. add titles & descriptions to your pages |
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In the example below, you can see a search result from my website. The larger text in blue is of course the SEO title, and the following smaller text is the meta description. The exact wording that shows up can vary somewhat depending on what keywords have been used in the search, and it may include text from your website itself (not just the meta description). |
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You can see my keywords in use! I'm at the top of the first page for all of my top keywords, which is exactly what I want! For your first step, open your website editor. If you're using Showit, you'll find your SEO settings on the right side, under the SEO Settings tab. Pretty obvious. ;) It's time to add some titles and descriptions! |
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Here are a few simple rules to follow for your title: > Use your keywords in your title. > Don't use too many keywords – keep your title concise and clear. > Use your brand name at the end of the title on all pages except your home page. Use it at the beginning there, like in my example above. > Make sure that your title reflects what your page is about. Note: your SEO title is not the same thing as your page title (set in the Page Info tab in Showit) that displays at the top of your browser tab. SEO title is for search results. In your meta description, you can expand a bit and add additional keywords. I chose to add more specific locations that I serve. Boise is the main city in my area, but we also refer to the area as a whole as the Treasure Valley, and I specifically added other cities that people might search for as well. |
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2. add titles & descriptions to your images |
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Step two is very similar to step one, but this time you're adding information to your images. Before you even upload images to your website, I recommend making sure you've named them with your keywords. For example, I may export some new maternity images I want to add to my site, and I'll make sure I name them something relevant, like ‘boise maternity photographer hannah mann.’ It doesn't need to be the prettiest title, but it should be informative. Note: if you have lots of images on your site that aren't named like this, don't sweat it! I've done that plenty, too. Just move forward with the next step, and you can choose more helpful image titles next time you're adding images. Adding titles and descriptions to your images works just like adding them to your pages, but you have more leeway because you're not describing a specific page, so you should work to integrate a nice variety of keywords throughout your site. |
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When you click on an image in Showit, you'll see this tab in the right panel. Pick a title and description that feel appropriate and that integrate your keywords. You don't need to describe the image itself; remember that these should reflect the search terms that you want to get found for. My full description isn't visible, but I chose ‘Newborn and family photographer in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Idaho’ for that image. As you're able, do this to every image on your site! You can't adjust these settings on galleries, but you can on any individual image. And none of this will be visible to anyone on your website; it simply informs Google as to what your page is about. |
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Why can't i see my changes in my search results? |
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The frustrating part about SEO is that it takes time to see your changes, typically several weeks. But don't worry – I promise this is all making a difference! Focus on working through each step to improve your ranking, and don't try to check for any changes for a few weeks. In a future lesson, I'll walk you through some tools that are helpful for understanding your ranking, but it really isn't time to worry about that yet – it's enough right now to make these changes! |
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That's it for now! Two easy steps: add titles and descriptions to your pages and to your images. |
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Like I said last week, done is better than perfect. As a perfectionist, I remind myself of this often – progress is still progress, even if we can't do it in the most ideal way possible. Work on what you can, and we'll tackle the next step next week. :) |
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First name / Friend, I'd love to invite you to join me in Unbasic Creatives! This is my premier offering: a six month group coaching program that will genuinely transform your business in every way. I created this program because I know what it's like to struggle in this industry, and to always wonder where the next client will come from, or feel like I'm working so hard yet have so little $$ to show for it. I spent years building a business that really worked, and now I get to teach others in just a few months what took me many years. I love seeing my students far surpass where I was at their stage. I love getting their messages telling me that they're meeting their income goals, loving what they're creating, and that they're thriving for the first time ever. I love my little tight-knit community and the friendships that have grown between myself and my students. If you're ready for real change in every way, I promise you that this is the best investment you can make in yourself, your family, and your business. Have questions? I'm here to answer them, no strings attached! xx |
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Investing in education with Hannah was one of the best, if not THE best, business decisions I made in the last year. I had been following Hannah on Instagram for quite a while because I absolutely loved her work and found it so inspiring. When I saw that she was offering a coaching and education program for family photographers, I was thrilled about the opportunity to learn from someone so talented who had found a lot of success in this niche. But I also knew I would need to ask a lot of questions before committing, in order to ensure that it would be worth the financial and time investment. Hannah was wonderful from the very beginning, answering all of my questions thoroughly and with genuine care. Although the program was more than I was planning to spend at the time, I could tell from our earliest conversations that Hannah was totally invested in my success, and that I could count on her to provide guidance, mentorship, and a level of service worth far more than the price point. Almost 10 months later, I can confidently those feelings I had from Day 1 were justified. Working with Hannah has been worth every penny and more. In addition to the wealth of knowledge and confidence I’ve gained, I also feel like I now have some new friends and cheerleaders — in Hannah herself, as well as the other photographers in the Unbasic Creatives community that Hannah has created and nurtured. The materials Hannah creates for her courses are extremely robust and detailed. She’s also a fantastic teacher and has a knack for explaining things in a way that makes them seem simple, inspiring confidence that you, too, can do this. I also very much appreciated that Hannah keeps her coaching groups small, which allows for a lot more one-on-one attention and the opportunity to get to know the other photographers in the group and create new supportive friendships in the industry. Hannah was beyond generous with her time, frequently going over the allotted time on our coaching calls, and continues to be that way to this day, answering questions and providing advice when I need it, even though my 6-month coaching period has ended. As a busy mom of four, Hannah has a very practical approach to her business. It was so refreshing and encouraging to hear that she has found success while (and perhaps BY) refusing to overcomplicate things. Hannah helped me identify areas of improvement for my business and also helped me see more clearly where I was making things more difficult than they needed to be (for myself and for my clients). In particular, I am SO much happier with my approach to pricing after working with Hannah. I feel like I have settled on a pricing structure that works for me and is easy for my clients to understand. It feels totally sustainable, and I’m no longer spending hours debating internally about what to do about my prices, losing precious sleep over it. For the first time ever, I think I’m in such a good place on my pricing that I don’t need to change anything about it for next year. Hannah’s guidance has also helped me make vast improvements when it comes to my session flow, editing, the quality of my client galleries, and even my blogging. And when I’m feeling a little uninspired or overwhelmed by some aspect of my business, I know that there’s almost certainly a module on that in the course materials, which I can refer back to anytime. Just the other day I revisited some of Hannah’s session flow modules and felt 10x more confident heading into my next session than I otherwise would have. There are a lot of photography education and coaching programs out there, but I’m not aware of anything like what Hannah is offering. The combination of the focus this program offers in our beloved niche of family photography, along with the depth of the information and guidance shared, the personal attention, and Hannah’s genuine kindness and desire to serve and support her students/mentees create what I think is very likely the best program out there for family photographers. |
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“ The money that I invested in working with Hannah is the best money spent in my whole photography career. Ana |
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2976 E State St., Ste 120 Unit #2234
Eagle, ID 83616, United States |
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