Research: How much do you spend on your website?
I recently put a very similar poll on Twitter asking the same, and the results pretty much astounded me. So, I’m posting the same question here. It’s completely anonymous so please answer if you can.
I’m refering to physical money spent on your website (web design, SEO services, marketing online etc) – rather than the cost of your time. I’m presenting a session at next years SWPP convention (you… Continue reading Research: How much do you spend on your website?.
How to check your backlinks?
Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of posts recently. I’ve been taken a bit by surprise by how busy this wedding photography season has been so far.
I’m well and truly into the season now, and its time to start taking more attention of this blog. By the way, I’m going to start reviewing photography sites from an SEO/Usability point of view (not the photography) – so… Continue reading How to check your backlinks?.
JPEG, PNG or GIF? And what about compression?
I’ve had several emails recently (did you know you can contact me if you have specific questions? – go on, don’t be shy) about which file format to use when it comes to generating images for your photography based website.
There are actually many different types of image formats, but the three most common and relevant ones are: JPEG, PNG & GIF.
Google Wave for Photographers
Today’s post is by Guest Blogger – Michael Shilling (because I have no idea about Google Wave and Michael knows a lot) – Enjoy
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It may be still in beta and there are defiantly a few bugs which need to be worked out but Google Wave is a wonderful tool to have at your disposal.
It does seem a little easier to use if you’re using… Continue reading Google Wave for Photographers.
Vue Shows
Just a very quick post today (I’ve got a lovely guest post by Michael Shilling coming tomorrow).
Recently, while trying to figure out a alternative slideshow tool that I could use easily on my iPhone I came across Vue Shows.
As it happens, it’s been developed by Jon Rouston – a UK Wedding Photographer than some of you may know. I’m using it for… Continue reading Vue Shows.
Potential Issues with Flash based websites (part 2) – the iPhone/iPad
Yesterday, after being confused once again by the “quarterfinal” system on Masterchef, I decided to get out my trusty iPhone and do some browsing of local wedding photographer sites. I knew which sites I wanted to visit, and of the ten that I visited I was greeted with the following screen shot on six:
You may, or may not, know that the iPhone, iPod Touch and the… Continue reading Potential Issues with Flash based websites (part 2) - the iPhone/iPad.
Bing Bing!
You’ve probably all heard of Bing by now. Microsoft’s re-born search engine and tools.
Have you checked your web stats? Have you noticed the usage of Bing as a source of referrals increasing? I have, and it will increase much more over the next three months.
Microsoft are about to start a 3 Billion dollar advertising campaign, of which 3 million will be spent on… Continue reading Bing Bing!.
Backlinks
Friend-of-the-blog Keith Adams recently asked that I do a post specifically about Back links and the benefits to SEO etc.,
As it happens, good blog-friend Jason D Moore has just posted an article that explains it all very succinctly.
Take a look at: SEO for Bloggers: Links on his site for more information.
Cheers… Continue reading Backlinks.
Wordpress Plugins that I use
Recently, I posted a poll asking which blogging tool do you use?
The results (to date), are 73% using Wordpress, 25% using Blogger, and 2% using other tools.
As promised in that blog post, here are a list of all the Wordpress plugins I use on www.kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk
- Akismet - the standard
Potential Issues with Flash based websites (part 1)
Flash based websites can look absolutely stunning; some of my favourite sites in fact are Flash based.
Two of my favourite ones currently in the UK are:
Both sites are very elegant and really show off the best of the work of both of these great photographers.
I think everyone… Continue reading Potential Issues with Flash based websites (part 1).
Understanding the extensions (.co.uk & .com)
You know when you use Google – have you ever noticed the radio buttons beneath the main search that says “search: the web | pages from the UK”?
Well, research suggests, around 1 in 3 people (in the UK) select the “pages from the UK” option.
Have you tried? – make sure your site appears under both result sets:
As a rule… Continue reading Understanding the extensions (.co.uk & .com).
© – simples….it’s 2010
Very very quickly this morning as I need to get my albums into Jorgensen before the prices go up 
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I did some reasearch a few years back about how people generally tell how recently updated a site is. Over 70% of the people interviewed said that they look for any “Site last updated:” style marks, or, failing that, they look at the Copyright statement in the footer… Continue reading © - simples....it's 2010.
Which blogging software do you use?
A very quick poll to see which is the most commong blogging tool that you guys use? I’m going to run a run-down of my favourite plug-ins for the winning engine next week.
Loading …-km (Listening to: Paper Gangsta: Lady Ga Ga)… Continue reading Which blogging software do you use?.
What do your visitors see?
In these days of multiple browsers and massively differing screen sizes, have you ever wondered what the average person actually sees when they open up your website?
Well, Google (isn’t it always Google these days?), has come up with an intriguing tool call Browser Size.
“Google Browser Size is a visualization of browser window sizes for people who visit Google. For example, the “90%” contour means that 90% of… Continue reading What do your visitors see?.
What’s on your homepage?
As wedding photographers, there is a dilemma in how to build the homepage of our websites.
Our instinct, and creative mind encourages us to have our lovely big photos on the homepage and little else. However, the little nagging SEO demon in our head reminds us that Google and the other Search Engines really really need some indexable, meaningful content on the homepage.
Very broadly speaking, the two… Continue reading What's on your homepage?.
Your photos & SEO
Your photos have a direct impact on SEO.
As photographers, images form a very focal part of our websites (or at least they should).
We are all aware of the importance of text and key words in our sites with regards to Search Engine Optimisation.
There is a whole world of SEO that can and should be applied to our images too.
The processes of optimising… Continue reading Your photos & SEO.
Use Wordpress? Care about performance? Cache your pages
If you use WordPress for your photography sites – and a LOT of you do, then you will probably be aware of plugins and widgets.
Google have recently started to introduce Website Performance as part of their ranking algorithms. So, if your site is not performing very well in terms of page loads then you may well find Google penalising you for this.
One of the quickest and… Continue reading Use Wordpress? Care about performance? Cache your pages.
Remember your site is for your clients, not for Google
One thing that we see a lot of when browsing the internet is an overly keen use of keywords in the text of the site. I’ve noticed this seems to be happening a lot on wedding photography sites that I visit.
The rule of thumb should be to build the text on your website for your target audience. Continue reading Remember your site is for your clients, not for Google.
Using Facebook friend lists to promote your business
Welcome to the very first post on PWT. I really want this blog to become a useful resource for wedding photographers, and photographers in general over the coming months and years. I actively encourage comments and interaction with the site – please leave me your feedback and I will aim to reply to everyone. Subscribe via the RSS or email subscription to ensure you get the latest article each week.
Onto the first post….
Facebook, Twitter, Linked In are all great social media tools for you and your photography business. Most of the wedding photographers I know have a Facebook account and some of them also have a Twitter account. Continue reading Using Facebook friend lists to promote your business.
