Best way to set up Pages for SEO ? still fighting the index monster.

Mrfunks

What is the best way to set up pages and galleries?

As it is I have a folder called Gallery, which contains my Various galleries, this you select from my main menu.
Should I have created a new PAGE and then add the appropriate text and the add a gallery?

The two pages which appear to have indexing working - "about me" and "Portfolio" have selected images on them, which are indexed - please search for "sunset Landscape Photo sully Beach.

and you will see that these pages appear :) So is that the trick, to create pages and then add photos? would this work if you add a gallery, (or not as that gallery actually isnt on your page, its just embedded) is that why people are only seeing the first image, as its the featured one for your gallery

I hope to god this makes sense what I'm asking, so I can finally get my site up and running..

I really welcome any help. I know this is basic, but just want to get my site working correctly, before I create a blog etc

My site is ambientpix.co.uk

Hikin' Mike

I searched your images in Google (site:ambientpix.co.uk/) and I found several index. Unfortunately only one displayed when click on, your home page cover. All of the others display a "not found" when I click on them.

If you're concerned about SEO, you might want to read my SEO for the Photographer link in my signature to start.

Mrfunks

Thank you for your reply.

Images 3,7,8 are actually from my site. The "framed" images are from my Etsy shop. and images 1,2,4,5,6 are from my previous website which no longer exists .

So images 3,7,8 are from pages - about me | portfolio | home and not from my galleries (although thats where they live but hey are used on these pages)
**So my question still stands:-
" So is that the trick, to create pages and then add photos? would this work if you add a gallery, (or not as that gallery actually isn't on your page, its just embedded) is that why people are only seeing the first image, as its the featured one for your gallery"

Would it be best to create pages and then add photos ? as these are being indexed whilst my galleries arent? Is this what the problem is with smugmug, if you use images on your pages in a traditional way you get indexed?

So should my gallery be a page instead of a folder? As right now "gallery" is a folder
**

i welcome an answer to this question, as I have tried to ask it several times on here and via email to smugmug support, and not getting an answer.

Hikin' Mike

Image #3 is not "indexed". Click on the image and it goes to a not found page.

Folders can contain, Galleries, Pages and other Folder. It cannot be a Gallery.

Pages are just that, Pages. You can insert Galleries and Folders and create text and photo pages, but it cannot be a Gallery.

Galleries are where the images are "stored' or collected.

You just need time. I have hundreds of my SmugMug images indexed. I have a hundreds in my WordPress images too.

Hikin' Mike

To add, indexing is one thing, but trying to get your IMAGES on the first page of Google Images is another story. I personally don't concern myself with Google Images. My only concern is Google itself (pages).

Mrfunks

Thanks for the response,

So again my questions still stands. Is it best to have a PAGE and then put my gallery on that?

As right now my Gallery is a folder, containing galleries.

---

Re indexing photos.

Please dont take offence -

Ive tried this with several of your Photos Mike it looks like your Blog photos index but not Smugmug?
So it seems without a blog Smugmug is useless?

examples:-

search - fall colors at conway summit
result your blog pic

Im finding this happens for multiple images on your site. = blog pictures not smugmug.

In fact when I search images - site:imagesinthebackcountry.com = I would say that 90% of these are Blog images, and not smugmug
I find it so disappointing that the only way to get this to work and to get results is to create a blog . If I knew this I wouldn't of bothered with smugmug at all, and just done a normal site and link to etsy..

Etsy only charge 15% and I wouldnt have to off paid the £200 to smugmug , plus approx £120 to a site to host a blog

I welcome your response.

Hikin' Mike

@Mrfunks said:
So again my questions still stands. Is it best to have a PAGE and then put my gallery on that?

I don't have an answer. My gut says it won't make a difference. You can conduct a test. Do some with a page and one with galleries. Give it at least 6 months.

@Mrfunks said:
Ive tried this with several of your Photos Mike it looks like your Blog photos index but not Smugmug?
So it seems without a blog Smugmug is useless?

examples:-

search - fall colors at conway summit
result your blog pic

Im finding this happens for multiple images on your site. = blog pictures not smugmug.

I mentioned in my blog that I post a lot of other stuff, not all that get's posted to my "for sale" SmugMug site. Also, when I post stuff on my Blog, I don't upload images from SMugMug. I use WordPress. Nothing wrong with using SM, but I've been using WP way before I became a SM user, so I just prefer using WP for WP, if that makes sense. I have a feeling that if I uploaded images from SM to my WP blog, I will get indexed, just fine. That's why using a Blog is a good thing.

I don't care if people find my images from SM or WP, as long as they find me.

@Mrfunks said:
In fact when I search images - site:imagesinthebackcountry.com = I would say that 90% of these are Blog images, and not smugmug

My SmugMug is 'gallery.imagesinthebackcountry.com'. I have hundreds of images there too.

Mrfunks

So the only way to get https://ambientpix.co.uk to work is to have a blog?

Hikin' Mike

No, but using a blog may help your stuff get indexed quicker.

jimh

I've been trying for a long time to figure out how to get my photos on SM indexed by Google. Just putting them here, with descriptions, no longer works.

Long story short, I now have my own domain, a blog, and a 'gallery' subdomain pointing to SM. The blog is now getting some traffic, and is indexed by Google. The idea was that this SEO success would rub off on my photos, but so far success has been limited. Some of my photos, and galleries, are indexed, but most still show a status of "Discovered - currently not indexed" on Google Search Console. This status doesn't represent SEO death, but rather a sort of limbo; Google hasn't made up its mind yet whether it likes those pages. For the ones that Google has chosen to index, I don't know what the significant difference is, that made them worthy. It might be that they were linked to on my blog, or that my blog 'referred' the traffic. I hope to figure this out over time.

I'd like to hear from more SM users who are hoping to get indexed. It doesn't seem to be simple or easy.

If anyone is interested, I've written a series of blog posts about my SmugMug SEO journey:
https://jimhphoto.com/index.php/2019/11/28/smugmug-and-seo-crickets-chirping/

Mrfunks

Thanks Jim, fantastic response.
So when I search your site:jimhphoto.com agreed lots of images appear
then when I search site:gallery.jimhphoto.com just 5 which are from your Hawaii collection.

Which looks like to get visits and indexed you create a blog and upload your images, I see yours are uploads and not embedded smugmug images.

Im not a stalker but can see you are all over fineartamerica !

I really like this interface and galleries of smugmug , just wish they would fix the indexing.

the question must be , what is the point of smugmug?

Im stuck in limbo_ my etsy is getting the hits, and now made some sales... and images are indexing
Cant decide to stick with smugmug and add a blog or use smugmug to create a blog and then point traffic to my etsy?

Im not hearing any success stories on smugmug, has anybody had ANY sales?

jimh

Mrfunks, I have all the same questions :-)

Let's start with this: I don't trust that "site:" thing to show me what's indexed. Google Search Console shows me I have 228 pages indexed in my domain, including photos on SmugMug. I tend to believe Search Console, I see no reason why it would lie, and it's used throughout the SEO world. But why the discrepancy? In my blog posts, I showed screen captures from Google Search Console. I need to do a new post showing where I'm at after all this effort.

According to Google Analytics, those Hawaii photos have been hit a lot lately, but it's not like anyone is buying them. A long time ago I linked to that gallery in a post on FStoppers, as an example of photos shot with a Nikon Z50. I think that may be the source of the ongoing traffic.

Yes, the question is, what's the point of SmugMug any more? They do some things well, some things badly. My big issue is their UI for ordering prints - it's all oriented to wedding and event photos, and doesn't work well for 'fine art' photographers, for several reasons. That's why I point back to FAA for print sales. But that's another subject.

I'd like to sell on Etsy, but it seems like way too much work to set up, too costly to list, and worst of all, you have to handle your own fulfillment and pay the shipping charges. I'm not going there.