extreme website makeover

EXTREME MAKEOVER: PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITES

TELLURIDE PHOTO FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Andrew Fingerman VP Marketing, PhotoShelter

HI, I’M ANDREW…

Andrew Fingerman •  PhotoShelter VP, Marketing •  Looooove good BBQ •  I have a serious coffee “problem”

Stops along the ride:

ABOUT PHOTOSHELTER

Your Photo Website:

+ Attract Visitors

+ Engage & Convert

+ Delight Your Clients

+ Manage Your Archive

+ Community

PHOTOSHELTER RESOURCES

Free Reports: 5 free e-books http://www.photoshelter.com/mkt/research

Blog: A Picture’s Worth http://blog.photoshelter.com/

Webinars: Live Sessions with Q&A http://www.photoshelter.com/about/webinar

Videos: Tutorials and Archived Webinars http://www.photoshelter.com/help/

Social: Find us on Facebook & Twitter @photoshelter, @heygrover

Live, human support staff

AND YOU ARE? QUICK POLLS

 Have a photography website? Blog?  Make $ from photography?  Intend to?  Care about building a following for your work?  Used Google in the last 24 hours to find something?

I’M HERE TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Which part of your brain got invited to help design your website?

The Artist? The Business Person?

•  Help me attract new clients; help new clients find me •  Let visitors really interact with my content •  Enable visitors to become my customers •  Help me better serve my clients

I’M HERE TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

“Old Way” – Online Portfolio “New Way” – Business Tool

I’M HERE TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Your website is a business tool.

•  Have a goal

•  Know your audience

•  Worry about how it works

•  Always be testing

NEW WEBSITE REALITY #1

Search engines are changing how people find photography.

•  61% of PEs & image buyers use Google search

•  Content is your ticket in the SEO lottery

•  The “long tail” concept

  The optimized photo websites will win

Source: PhotoShelter Buyer Survey 2009

NEW WEBSITE REALITY #1

Search engines are changing how people find photography.

•  National park pictures 27,000 searches/ mo

•  Nature photography 49,500

•  Wildlife photos 9,900

•  Mountain bike photos 2,400

Source: Google Adwords Keyword Tool

NEW WEBSITE REALITY #2

Social media has crushed traditional content gateways.

•  Easily create & connect with new communities

•  Self publishing & distribution is simple

•  Be a part of “the conversation”

  The winners will learn to use SM productively

NEW WEBSITE REALITY #3

Website marketing is a science that makes sense.

•  How big is your funnel?

•  What is your conversion rate?

•  Create hypothesis, test & measure, refine

  Get smart about content & marketing decisions

NEW WEBSITE REALITY #4

People have become far less generous with their time.

•  Be relevant to the target market

•  Get organized and edit well

•  Be easy to find and work with

  Make someone’s life easier; they’ll come back for more.

MARKETING PRINCIPLES YOU NEED TO KNOW

Two primary types of marketing:

MEET GAVIN GOUGH

FEB 2010 - 16

MEET GAVIN GOUGH

•  Blog, portfolio, and archive fully integrated •  Blogs frequently •  Great balance of text & photos •  Built a following through social media; 2 way conversation via his site •  Online licensing to process transactions & deliver images automatically

“New Way” – Business Tool

gavingough.com

MEET RANDY SANTOS

FEB 2010 - 18

MEET RANDY SANTOS

•  No major stock agency relationship •  Attracts 25 inquiries per month through SEO •  Best clients: hotels, hospitals, restaurants & book publishers •  Well organized site and easy tools to help find images •  Online licensing to process transactions & deliver images automatically

“New Way” – Business Tool

MEET JIM GOLDSTEIN

MEET JIM GOLDSTEIN

•  90% of licensing & workshop inquires come from SEO

•  Blog is the “front door” to his web presence

•  Builds links into his content throughout his online footprint

•  Shares content via social media, RSS

•  Multiple ways to interact with his content ; connect with Jim; become his customer

“New Way” – Business Tool

jmg-galleries.com/blog/

EXTREME MAKEOVER: KEEP IT S.I.M.P.L.E

Some wisdom from Grover Sanschagrin…

EXTREME MAKEOVER: KEEP IT S.I.M.P.L.E

FEB 2010 - 24

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZED

Everyone uses search engines

to find stuff.

SEO is how you put yourself in

their path.

BASIC SEO TACTICS

•  Build your keyword strategy

•  Infuse keywords across your site

•  Build content, blog often

•  Build links into your site/ key content

•  Renew your domain for multiple years

•  Avoid Flash-only websites

Free guide: Photographer’s SEO Cookbook http://www.photoshelter.com/mkt/research/

WHAT’S THE PAYOFF?

Washington DC images: •  9,900 searches/month •  #1 SERP

Travel Photographer: •  4,400 searches/month •  Page 1 SERP

BASIC SEO PRINCIPLES – KEYWORD USAGE

BASIC SEO PRINCIPLES – KEYWORD USAGE

BASIC SEO PRINCIPLES – KEYWORD USAGE

FEB 2010 - 31

HELP PEOPLE BECOME YOUR CUSTOMER

Join me in the fight against window shopping.

•  Sell prints

•  Sell photo products

•  Sell stock photos

•  Sell personal use downloads

HELP VISITORS BECOME CUSTOMERS

HELP VISITORS BECOME CUSTOMERS

HELP VISITORS BECOME CUSTOMERS

HELP VISITORS BECOME CUSTOMERS

FEB 2010 - 37

MEASURE, ANALYZE & TWEAK

Install Google Analytics

FEB 2010 - 38

MEASURE, ANALYZE & TWEAK

Install Google Analytics

•  How much traffic does my site get?

•  Where is traffic coming from?

•  Are visitors behaving as I would expect/ desire?

•  How are my SEO target keywords performing?

•  Which images/galleries are most popular?

•  Am I making smart marketing decisions?

Then Optimize!

MEASURE, ANALYZE & TWEAK

Free guide: Google Analytics for Photographers http://www.photoshelter.com/mkt/research/

FEB 2010 - 41

BUILDING LINKS

FEB 2010 - 41

•  Compelling content drives links

•  Join industry associations

•  Encourage social sharing

•  Exchange links with partners

•  Blog frequently •  “Top 10” lists •  Challenge popular opinion •  Post reviews •  Publish a resource list •  Include deep links into your own content

Building links is hard, but rewarding.

BUILDING LINKS: YOUR OWN LINKS

Your blog(s) can be a powerful way to build new links to your content.!

asiaimages.blogspot.com funkystock.com robertcaplin.com/blog

FEB 2010 - 44

LIVING & BREATHING: THE FRESHNESS PRINCIPLE

•  Google loves freshness •  Gives you “news” to share

FEB 2010 - 46

EFFICIENT: SAVE EVERYONE SOME TIME

•  Secure client access •  Image downloads = no CDs

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

•  Grab our research reports!photoshelter.com/mkt/research!

•  Get friendly on facebook! facebook.com/photoshelter!

•  Follow us on twitter!@photoshelter!

•  Try PhotoShelter for $1 !photoshelter.com!