Serious Problem...

Malaxos1

When I signed up for smugmug and got my domain almost a year ago I paid to optimize my site. I added it to every search engine imaginable, did all of the meta tags and keywords but have never been able to find my site. I do when I search for name, but not for the business I have been working so hard to build. Well today I spent hours reoptimizing and trying to find out what's wrong.

I just moved to Florida from Portland Oregon where I was doing very well, but all my business came from word of mouth, with the exception of a wedding I booked from craigslist.

Anyway, I had someone anylze my site and even though I put www.deanmalaxos.com it came up deanmalaxos powered by smugmug. That didn't bother me, what bothered me was that when it anylized the site it came back with a problem. It said my key words had nothing to do with my business. None of the meta tags or key words that I added where recognized, it gave me the key words for smugmug itself. That isn't good, it's like my site is working for smugmug not smugmug working for me, which is what I paid for.

The other thing is that I added my site to many photography and wedding sites and all I had to do was add a banner to my site in return. I added a ton of banners that work, and yet none of the websites are seeing that I placed the link there. One of them actually looked at the site and told where to place and it still wasn't picked up.

I am very dissapointed as I need this thing to work for me. Please help...Dean

onethumb

Malaxos1 wrote:

When I signed up for smugmug and got my domain almost a year ago I paid to optimize my site. I added it to every search engine imaginable, did all of the meta tags and keywords but have never been able to find my site. I do when I search for name, but not for the business I have been working so hard to build. Well today I spent hours reoptimizing and trying to find out what's wrong.

I just moved to Florida from Portland Oregon where I was doing very well, but all my business came from word of mouth, with the exception of a wedding I booked from craigslist.

Anyway, I had someone anylze my site and even though I put www.deanmalaxos.com it came up deanmalaxos powered by smugmug. That didn't bother me, what bothered me was that when it anylized the site it came back with a problem. It said my key words had nothing to do with my business. None of the meta tags or key words that I added where recognized, it gave me the key words for smugmug itself. That isn't good, it's like my site is working for smugmug not smugmug working for me, which is what I paid for.

You added keywords to your galleries and photos and they weren't displayed in the META HEAD fields? Can you give us a few links to the galleries in question, so we can double-check?

Malaxos1 wrote:

The other thing is that I added my site to many photography and wedding sites and all I had to do was add a banner to my site in return. I added a ton of banners that work, and yet none of the websites are seeing that I placed the link there. One of them actually looked at the site and told where to place and it still wasn't picked up.

You should probably know that this sounds like "link farming" as a way of manipulating the search engines. They don't like this, and if they detect you doing it, will remove your site entirely from their indexes.

If I'm wrong, great, but if not - you may be out of luck until you stop "link farming" and they detect that you're not doing so anymore.[/QUOTE]

Malaxos1 wrote:

I am very dissapointed as I need this thing to work for me. Please help...Dean

A few other notes after a quick look at your site:

- Almost all of the useful information for your business name and such is in images, not text, which is very hard for search engines to read. You might want to consider using more text and less images.

- Those images don't have any "alt" or "title" tags to help the search engines understand what the image is supposed to be saying. If you have to use images, make sure you properly describe those images in your "alt" and "title" tags.

- You have no Bio text or other descriptive text in your header/footer to help the search engines tell what your page is about. More text = better search indexing.

I'm sure others will pile in and give you a hand, but those are all great places to start.

Hope that helps!

Don

cabbey

I'll echo everything Don said, especially the bits about not using pictures of words. I'll also point out that one of your "keywords" is "brandon senior portrait photographer brandon senior portrait photography brandon florida senior portrait photographer brandon florida senior portrait photography senior portrait senior portraits central florida senior portrait photographer central florida", another is "brandon wedding photographer brandon wedding photography brandon florida wedding photographer brandon florida wedding photography wedding weddings central florida wedding photographer central florida wedding photography florida wedding photos floriday wed". (and wow, I love that shot!) I've been told several times that many of the big search engines detect repeat patterns like that and consider it an attempt at ballot stuffing, the reaction ranges from throwing away the entire "keyword" to throwing away the entire site from their indexing effort. I also see that you link to at least two possibly four sites that specialize in cooking search engine results. While none of the big search engines will admit to black listing just because you linked to one of these places... it's interesting to note that the number of sites that do, and show up in the big engines is kinda small (and kinda volatile).

Malaxos1

cabbey wrote:

I'll echo everything Don said, especially the bits about not using pictures of words. I'll also point out that one of your "keywords" is "brandon senior portrait photographer brandon senior portrait photography brandon florida senior portrait photographer brandon florida senior portrait photography senior portrait senior portraits central florida senior portrait photographer central florida", another is "brandon wedding photographer brandon wedding photography brandon florida wedding photographer brandon florida wedding photography wedding weddings central florida wedding photographer central florida wedding photography florida wedding photos floriday wed". (and wow, I love that shot!) I've been told several times that many of the big search engines detect repeat patterns like that and consider it an attempt at ballot stuffing, the reaction ranges from throwing away the entire "keyword" to throwing away the entire site from their indexing effort. I also see that you link to at least two possibly four sites that specialize in cooking search engine results. While none of the big search engines will admit to black listing just because you linked to one of these places... it's interesting to note that the number of sites that do, and show up in the big engines is kinda small (and kinda volatile).

I understand all that but the links and all of the keywords are an attempmt to get recognition. I didn't do any of these things until a week or so ago as I have not been recogninized since I joined smugmug last May. I will get rid of the search engine links and key words and start over. Man could I use some help though...Dean

Andy

Dean,

Googling Dean Malaxos Photography I got like 5 pages of links, many from Fla wedding referral sites.

Malaxos1

Andy wrote:

Dean,

Googling Dean Malaxos Photography I got like 5 pages of links, many from Fla wedding referral sites.

I know, but that works for people who know my name, not for someone who is just looking for a wedding photographer in my area. That is what I am looking to do. Whan I search for Lakeland Florida wedding photographer I want my business to show up.


Anyway, I deleted all of my key words in the photos and then got rid of the search engine links, what do I do now?

Also, i will go to google and get rid of my meta tags...Dean

Malaxos1

Malaxos1 wrote:

I know, but that works for people who know my name, not for someone who is just looking for a wedding photographer in my area. That is what I am looking to do. Whan I search for Lakeland Florida wedding photographer I want my business to show up.


Anyway, I deleted all of my key words in the photos and then got rid of the search engine links, what do I do now?

Also, i will go to google and get rid of my meta tags...Dean

Somebody please tell me what to do now. I moved to Florida nd really going for it. I am not working and just looking to do photography, in order to have a go I need my site to be working for me...Dean

JimM

I would start talking to local businesses and show up to networking functions... pass out a lot of cards. Ask people if they know of anyone looking for a photographer. Start shooting kids sports and other local events.

The web is not the best way to advertise or find clients, just a good way to show off your work and to sell prints through.

Good luck and let us know what works. I believe the best way to get business is through word of mouth, so start shooting and have people talk about you!

dogwood

i second that
You could also delete the Portland, Oregon in your signature here. I find google sometimes picks up my posts here and lists them when I search for my name-- and that could be confusing to someone if you're actually in Florida.

I know this is old-fashioned, but many people still rely on word of mouth to hire people for big budget projects. Just because a guy has a nice web page doesn't mean you'll hire him to remodel your kitchen-- especially if your trusty neighbor tells you about a different guy who remodelled her kitchen and did a great job. The same is true with wedding photography. Meet other photographers (use professional organizations like ASMP). During the busy wedding season, these guys and gals will get booked, but they'll often be willing to recommend other photographers. No search engine required.

The web is wonderful-- but if you get yourself in front of single 20-somethings who are planning weddings (bridal shows, caterers, event planners, bridal/tux shops)-- this may help more than all the search engine power in the world.

You might also consider a portal, or whatever the correct word is-- where just your homepage is hosted on a server and all the print ordering and portfolio pages are hosted by smugmug. There are several stunning smugmug examples of this including the http://www.emphoto.com/ site.

Just some ideas.

Malaxos1

dogwood wrote:

You could also delete the Portland, Oregon in your signature here. I find google sometimes picks up my posts here and lists them when I search for my name-- and that could be confusing to someone if you're actually in Florida.

I know this is old-fashioned, but many people still rely on word of mouth to hire people for big budget projects. Just because a guy has a nice web page doesn't mean you'll hire him to remodel your kitchen-- especially if your trusty neighbor tells you about a different guy who remodelled her kitchen and did a great job. The same is true with wedding photography. Meet other photographers (use professional organizations like ASMP). During the busy wedding season, these guys and gals will get booked, but they'll often be willing to recommend other photographers. No search engine required.

The web is wonderful-- but if you get yourself in front of single 20-somethings who are planning weddings (bridal shows, caterers, event planners, bridal/tux shops)-- this may help more than all the search engine power in the world.

You might also consider a portal, or whatever the correct word is-- where just your homepage is hosted on a server and all the print ordering and portfolio pages are hosted by smugmug. There are several stunning smugmug examples of this including the http://www.emphoto.com/ site.

Just some ideas.

Thanks, not sure how to get rid of the Portland thing, I thought I had already done so. I know what you mean by word of mouth, I did over 30 weddings that were all word of mouth. While in Portland I flew to SF California and Spokane Washington, oh a three hour drive away because of word of mouth. Being new to Florida I don't have that working for me yet. However, tomorrow I am shooting four JR Highschool basketball teams and individuals of each player. I am hoping that I will get a lot of new clients out of this...Dean

Malaxos1

Malaxos1 wrote:

Thanks, not sure how to get rid of the Portland thing, I thought I had already done so. I know what you mean by word of mouth, I did over 30 weddings that were all word of mouth. While in Portland I flew to SF California and Spokane Washington, oh a three hour drive away because of word of mouth. Being new to Florida I don't have that working for me yet. However, tomorrow I am shooting four JR Highschool basketball teams and individuals of each player. I am hoping that I will get a lot of new clients out of this...Dean

Come on, somebody please help me. I don't know what to do next...Dean

Andy

Malaxos1 wrote:

Come on, somebody please help me. I don't know what to do next...Dean

Dean, I've moved you to MYOB. Let's see what other pros do.

Malaxos1

Malaxos1 wrote:

Thanks, not sure how to get rid of the Portland thing, I thought I had already done so. I know what you mean by word of mouth, I did over 30 weddings that were all word of mouth. While in Portland I flew to SF California and Spokane Washington, oh a three hour drive away because of word of mouth. Being new to Florida I don't have that working for me yet. However, tomorrow I am shooting four JR Highschool basketball teams and individuals of each player. I am hoping that I will get a lot of new clients out of this...Dean

Thanks Andy

ziggy53

Dean,

I see that you still have "Portland Oregon" as part of your signature.

If you mouse-click on the "You!", just left of the "FAQ", in the upper left of most screens, you will shortcut-link to your personal settings. Check your signature and adjust as necessary.

ziggy53

Malaxos1

ziggy53 wrote:

Dean,

I see that you still have "Portland Oregon" as part of your signature.

If you mouse-click on the "You!", just left of the "FAQ", in the upper left of most screens, you will shortcut-link to your personal settings. Check your signature and adjust as necessary.

ziggy53

Thanks Ziggy, I did it. Now how about the key words thing? I removed the and want to do it right so that I can get my site recognized bt the search engines...Dean

ziggy53

Dean,

Sorry, I'm just learning as you are. The best I can do is bump this up and hope someone will dive in and help.

ziggy53

Andy

ziggy53 wrote:

Dean,

Sorry, I'm just learning as you are. The best I can do is bump this up and hope someone will dive in and help.

ziggy53

You mean, like this?

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=29215

ziggy53

Andy wrote:

You mean, like this?

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=29215[/quote]

Well, like my good friend Homer says, "Doh!"

Thanks Andy,

ziggy53

Shay Stephens

You do realize that it can take years of dedicated work to get decent search engine ranking right? It's not something that happens overnight, it's not something you can just pull a few tricks on, and it's not something you can throw money at.

And even if you do everything right, there is no guarantee that you will get any results approaching useable.

Malaxos1 wrote:

When I signed up for smugmug and got my domain almost a year ago I paid to optimize my site. I added it to every search engine imaginable, did all of the meta tags and keywords but have never been able to find my site. I do when I search for name, but not for the business I have been working so hard to build. Well today I spent hours reoptimizing and trying to find out what's wrong.

Malaxos1

Shay Stephens wrote:

You do realize that it can take years of dedicated work to get decent search engine ranking right? It's not something that happens overnight, it's not something you can just pull a few tricks on, and it's not something you can throw money at.

And even if you do everything right, there is no guarantee that you will get any results approaching useable.

I understand, it has been almost a full year since trying...Dean

Shay Stephens

I can't emphasize this more

Malaxos1 wrote:

I understand, it has been almost a full year since trying...Dean

It can take years of *dedicated work* to get decent search engine ranking.

StevenV

If you mean Google, note that they operate at least in (large) part on page rank - that means how many others are pointing to your site.

bham

Shay Stephens wrote:

It can take years of *dedicated work* to get decent search engine ranking.

If it were easy and there were tricks, anybody and everybody would do it. Get listed on directories with other photographers. Who comes up first when you do these searches and then see what they are doing. Look at their links and I guarantee their are reciprocal links. Volume of use I think is important. Get people visiting your site someway, somehow. Anyway these are just a few ideas that maybe will help.