?'s about a book - photographers SEO

Cindy

Received a tweet linking to a book containing smugmug SEO info at: http://photographers-seo.com/2009/09/15/smugmug-seo-tips/
Has anyone seen or read this? Comments? Critique's? Worth the $$$?

Thanks much,

smugmug seo guy

Here is a biased answer
Hi Cindy,

I wrote the book, so my answer is biased. I was hoping someone else would respond, but you have been waiting 3 days now for an answer so I had to chime in. At least I was not the one who tweeted you ;-)

The book is targeted for beginning SEO-ers and includes a lot of information that is readily available by searching elsewhere on the web. I'm HONEST! The problem is that it takes too long to digest all of that information from other sources (that may or may not be reliable) and often times it is not specific to photographers. So for $39, I at least have saved you several hours of data mining and it's very specific to YOU.

I looked at your site at http://www.inspiringdesigns.net/ using a SmugMug design. Your site is the exact type of site I wrote the book (even though the book is for all sites and not specific to SmugMug). It is beautiful in design, but does not focus on a key phrase that users might search for, and does not have the link equity (yet) that can get you to the top of the results. How to do these quickly and easily are the main chapters of the ebook.

For example, here is one tip that you would learn from the book. The main phrase you want to rank for (and you only need to focus on one right now) should appear in your title (the blue bar at the top of your webpage) and on the homepage body. This is simple, easy, and can have quick results. So changing your main phrase to Mark Twain Lake Portrait Photography is much better for search traffic, and you will still rank for your business name because it appears in your URL!

I've gotten very positive feedback from the people who are tweeting about it as well as the client testimonials on my homepage, saying it is well written, easy to understand, and conveys the SEO principles that they have been trying to get photographers to adopt. For sites that are not going for super competitive terms such as Los Angeles Photography I would expect to see results.

Hope that helps and I wish you success.

Cindy

Wow Zach thanks for your amazing & detailed response.
Since your name's Zach and that's my sons name... I like you already - !
I see you found the other thread about the book so I'll follow your advice here and switch gears to the other thread. Now... to decide on a main key phrase... hmmmmmm. You'll likely see an order from me very soon!