Optimize your Flash Website

CMD explores Local SEO strategies for Photographers and Small Businesses.

For years we’ve been focused on creating stunning Flash websites for Photographers and Creative Professionals. As photography websites transition from online portfolios to store fronts,  there is a growing interest in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and the way search engines index (or don’t index) Flash websites. CMD is taking the lead in Flash website optimization and over the next few weeks we’ll be posting articles on what to do and not to do when it comes to optimizing your website.

Getting Qualified Traffic in your Neighborhood

For most Photographers, 90% of their business will come from within a 30 mile circle around their studio. Getting found by internet users within that target area is the challenge. In this blog series, we will explore a number of strategies that focus on Local SEO. It’s one of the fastest growing areas of SEO and we’ll draw from a number of experts in the field as we delve into this topic.

The Importance of Key Words

Everything you do, from an SEO perspective, is based on your Key Words. It is essential that you identify the best Key Words for your business. You’ll use these Key Words in your Meta Tags and Page Titles, you will infuse them throughout the content of your website and blog, they’ll be used in the descriptions of your business in local directories, and finally, you will even try using them as the links you acquire from external websites. To identify your Key Words, think local. Use the vernacular of your region. According to Chris Sliver, the Director of Optimization Strategy for Key Relevance, one of the best key words you have at your disposal is your address. Your zip code separates you from 99.9% of your competition. There are also a number of tools to help you identify strong key words. In our next post we will look at some tips and tools that can help you determine the right Key Words for your business.

One of the best keywords you have at your disposal in your address and zip code because it separates you from 99% of your competition.

Optimizing your Photography Website for Search Engines

Most Photographers have Flash Websites which, by their very nature, cannot be read very well by the spiders that do the indexing. Whether you have a CMD website or not, your website needs to be optimized so that it’s content can be indexed by the major search engines.  You’ll need to add HTML components to your site in order to get indexed. We offer a number of HTML tools for this purpose and, when used together, they can be very effective. An HTML mirror site can get your page titles, “about us” page, and contact information indexed. This can be a great place to create a links page as well. Because a photography site has very little written content, you’ll also want a Splash Page .This is another place to get your key words and contact information in front the bots (and your readers). Finally, you’ll need to become an avid blogger. Blogs are the best way to get noticed, and because they are HTML, they are readily indexed. Google looks at how often content changes, so you’ll need to add content regularly. In a later post, we’ll illustrate how to optimize a Flash Website using CMD’s HTML tools mentioned above.

Maximize Your Content for a Local Audience

Once your site is “bot-ready”, the content you create is, by far, the most important element of getting ranked by the search engines. You’ll want to focus on identifying your business with your locality. There are millions of photographers in the world but very few of them live in your target zone. You need to know where the people who use your service live and write your content for them. Infuse your pages and blog with what’s around you and use terms your clients might use in a search. As  Patricia Hursh, president and founder of SmartSearch Marketing points out in her article on clickz.com, locals use different terms for local areas and things. People from Chicago, for example, refer to the downtown area as the LOOP and the outlying areas as Chicago Land. We’ll have a look at the essentials and what to do and what not to do later in the month. The Blog is so important; we’ll devote an entire post on how to optimize your blog and its content.

You need to know where the people who use your service live and write your content for them. Infuse your pages and blog with what’s around you and use terms your clients might use in a search.

The Power of Lists

Getting listed on the lists that people use to select services from is key to your success. There are a number of strategies when it comes to getting your site listed on the major local directories. In fact, if your site has been up for a while, it’s probably already listed. You’ll want to make sure the information is accurate and that it’s working in your favor. Both Patricia Hursh and Gary the Chief Editor of the Phoenix Realm SEO blog, have underscored the importance of Local Listings like Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and your local online Yellow Pages. There are companies that will get you listed and make sure the content is accurate on all the major listings but you’ll probably want to push a little further and get listed where ever you can. We’ll talk about where you should focus your energy and where not to. One of the best places to start is to find out where your competition is listed and get listed there as well.

If your site has been up for a while, it’s probably already listed. You’ll want to make sure the information is accurate and that it’s working in your favor.

The Importance of Links

Search engines use links to determine a site’s popularity. In very simple terms, the more links you have the more popular you must be, the more popular, the more relevant, the more relevant, the higher you move up the ladder. But all links are not created equal. Just as in high school, you want links from the popular crowd. Links from high ranked sites are worth more than links from obscure sites. There are a number of strategies we will explore to increase your volume and quality of links. Chances are, you are already doing the leg work. If you’re passing out promotional materials or are involved in local organizations that are related to your business, get a link while you at it. Link exchanges are a great way to build community.

Stay tuned. We’ll be looking at each of these topics in more detail throughout the month. Your comments are welcome. We’ll also be featuring several articles from Rick David as well as gathering articles from experts in the field. We want every one of our clients to be highly ranked in their area!