Options

Please restore unlimited number of keywords for Pro Users

2»

Comments

  • Options
    PBolchoverPBolchover Registered Users Posts: 909 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2007
    Does the limit of 15 keywords only apply to Pro-level accounts, or does it apply to all users?

    I'm a Power user, and use keywords to identify which of my friends are in various snapshots. Using my normal scheme, a couple of my photos will require more than 15 keywords...
  • Options
    Paul (France)Paul (France) Registered Users Posts: 30 Big grins
    edited June 25, 2007
    Look at other professional services to photographers and picture researchers
    ivar wrote:
    The limit is 15 keywords. We know you want it to be higher. We are aware of your request thumb.gif

    Hi Ivar and Andy,

    I like to come back into this discussion, because I have the idea the essential point is missed. I would like to invite you to go to www.getty-images.com. Getty is the best known address for ad agencies and magazines to search for pictures. Not only news and sports, but also travel and tourism, which is more in my own domain.

    I would like you to search for wathever you want. Take 'Mercantour'for instance, the national park where I live. Look at whatever picture and then look at the keywords below the picture.

    You hardly find any picture with less then 15 keywords. Search for whatever other subject and you'll see this. Many tens of stock agencies are part of Getty. Look at all of them seperately and you'll see the same.

    Getty is not about very specialist photographers, like our friend the botanist. Having more then 15 keywords is nothing weird or out of the normal. It is the rule in professional stock photography.

    In professional digital stock photography, keywording is as important as a great lay-out for showing your work (in which Smugmug is top). It is simply and plainly essential for your work. Your pictures should be found, that is our business as pros.

    So I really think this discussion is misplaced. Any service being for professional photographers should offer unlimited keywords. If it doesn't, it is not for professional photographers and it should not be called so. Please ask any picture researcher or magazine editor how they search for pictures at Getty, Corbis, Image Bank and the others. The answer is: by keywords.

    Now I understand that offering keywords is technically complex and puts strain on the servers, I would suggest to make it a service people pay extra for. Since the pro users already pay nearly 4 times as much as standard users, it would be logical it would be offered to them. And, as I showed above, it is really worth paying for, so upgrading for. Simply don't include it in the Standard Account, if people need it let them upgrade to Power Account and offer the limit of 15 keywords and if you pay the Pro Account you get unlimited keywords. This seems a very honest structure to me, and the professional photographers among the Smugmug users get what they need.

    Thanks for your attention again,

    Paul
  • Options
    iambackiamback Registered Users Posts: 288 Major grins
    edited June 25, 2007
    Andy wrote:
    I have offered you a full refund, if you wish to do this. I'm sorry we don't have a better answer for you right now.
    Andy, I know, and thanks.

    The problem is that other services are no better overall. So I guess I'm here to stay while building much of my own solution.

    But that doesn't mean I'm liking it.
    Marjolein Katsma
    Look through my eyes on Cultural Surfaces! - customizing... currently in a state between limbo and chaos
  • Options
    iambackiamback Registered Users Posts: 288 Major grins
    edited June 25, 2007
    Now I understand that offering keywords is technically complex and puts strain on the servers, I would suggest to make it a service people pay extra for. Since the pro users already pay nearly 4 times as much as standard users, it would be logical it would be offered to them. And, as I showed above, it is really worth paying for, so upgrading for. Simply don't include it in the Standard Account, if people need it let them upgrade to Power Account and offer the limit of 15 keywords and if you pay the Pro Account you get unlimited keywords. This seems a very honest structure to me, and the professional photographers among the Smugmug users get what they need.
    And I'd sooner upgrade to Pro for unlimited keywords than for being able to sell stuff (until we get electronic transfers or Paypal). It's actually easier to build my own watermarking solution than to build (and maintain!) my own keywords database.
    Marjolein Katsma
    Look through my eyes on Cultural Surfaces! - customizing... currently in a state between limbo and chaos
  • Options
    CindyCindy Registered Users Posts: 542 Major grins
    edited June 25, 2007
    So when exactly did the 15 limit go into effect????????????
    Has it always been there?
    I thought 'unlimited' photos meant for keywords also?
    Until this thread I never once saw anything specifying a limited number of keywords. I just visited smugmugs help pages and yep sure enough theres a little gottcha about the 15 keyword limit... but when was that gotcha and limit added? I'm allmost certain it wasn't there 6 months ago.
    Does the limit affect how smugmugs search engine work only... or does it also effect google and other search engines?

    I used to be rather lazy adding keywords but noticed my pages wasn't found very easy on google search so I started experimenting with keywords after I began reading tons of threads regarding 'Keywords get you found' and such. Guess what... the keywords worked.
    After that I started visiting other photo sites searching for specific photos and trying to find out how they keyworded. For birds I'll look for them to see how others keyword and use similar words so my pictures can be found... or so I thought.

    Since I started adding my name, my business name, my town, etc to ALL photos google allmost always lists me right at the top anytime you search for me. But now that I'm not so lazy adding keywords anymore the limit certainly effects me greatly. I use 5 words just with my name and business name.

    I've watched this thread for quite awhile not adding my own thoughts because I was having a real hard time digesting it eek7.gifheadscratch.gif :cry
    Adding my 2 cents: I'm still having a hard time with it... rolleyes1.gif
    Please return unlimited keywords.

    EDIT PS: I have noticed a big problem with 'drilling down' now that I add my name, business name, etc to all photos. Is there a better way to go about this instead of adding name etc to all photos so that people find me via google, etc. Seems the only best way to get my name to the top is via keywords... I'd gladly drop those from 'my list of keywords to add to every photo' if there was a better way. Once they find me I'd prefer not having my name and such clogging up their ability to drill down.
    Note this line copied from smugmugs help pages states: If you tag a photo with two or more keywords, you give your admirers the power to drill down to just what they want.
    Cindy Colbert (Utterback) • Wishing You Co-Bear Love, Hugs & Laughter!!!
  • Options
    iambackiamback Registered Users Posts: 288 Major grins
    edited June 25, 2007
    Cindy wrote:
    Does the limit affect how smugmugs search engine work only... or does it also effect google and other search engines?
    Both.
    1. You can still store unlimited keywords with your photographs (or at least more than 15) and I hope this at least will remain so... And I assume that SM doesn't mess with the IPTC data embedded in an image so whatever is there remains there.
    2. When showing keywords with a photo, SM shows only the first 15. As long as that information appears on a page that search engine bots can actually reach, they can not only use those keywords as indexable text but also follow the links formed with those keywords - but those 15 only. So you'll need to prioritize your keywords, and put the "most important" first.
    3. On a page with a photo with keywords, SmugMug uses the stored keywords to build the meta keywords tag. However, the length of this string is limited (if bots use the tag at all, they won't read beyond a certain character limit). Since SmugMug uses the stored keywords to build the string but truncates the string you may end up with more than 15 keywords in the meta tag - but quite likely also with a "new" keyword because the string is simply truncated at a string length, not at a word border.
    4. For a search engine, keywords in a meta tag are not terribly important by themselves (if used at all); to give them "value" they need to occur in text somewhere on the page - but with the new 15-keyword limit you may end up with some "orphan" keywords in your meta tag. You could partially amend this by putting the "less important" keywords (beyond the 15-word limit) in your caption and/or gallery description.
    5. Since SmugMug now only "shows" 15 keywords (even if more are stored) that implies that the rest probably won't be indexed and thus not searchable within SmugMug. (Untested but highly likely)
    6. The "extra" keywords also won't count towards the keywords box which SmugMug generates for you (Untested but highly likely). But that keywords box is itself good fodder for search engine bots, even if you hide it from human browsers. Fewer keywords appearing there implies your keywords box is also less valuable now to lead search engine bots to your photos.
    7. ... and I may have missed a few aspects.

    All of which means that as long as this 15-keyword limit is in place, you must make sure to put the most important ones first, and try to put as many of the others somewhere else in a page's text. (Whether or not any of it is hidden with CSS doesn't matter to search engine bots or the SM search system.)
    Marjolein Katsma
    Look through my eyes on Cultural Surfaces! - customizing... currently in a state between limbo and chaos
  • Options
    PamelaPamela Registered Users Posts: 453 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Would someone please tell us when the keyword limit went into effect?
    (Im not happy to hear about the limit for pro users)
    I have been having a problem with google search for a couple of months.
    I really rely on this function.
    Or do I have the wrong punctuation in between my words?
    Thankyou

    Pamela

    www.exposedimages.net
  • Options
    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Pamela wrote:
    Would someone please tell us when the keyword limit went into effect?
    (Im not happy to hear about the limit for pro users)
    I have been having a problem with google search for a couple of months.
    I really rely on this function.
    Or do I have the wrong punctuation in between my words?
    It was a couple of months ago. What, specifically is the problem with Google Search? There are many things to do besides # of keywords, that will get you "up there" in terms of Google Searching...

    http://smugmug.jot.com/WikiHome/MaximizeYourFindability
  • Options
    Paul (France)Paul (France) Registered Users Posts: 30 Big grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Did you reflect on looking at Getty?
    Hi Andy,

    I didn't get a reaction yet on my suggestion made the 25th of June in this thread: to have a look at other digital services for professional photographers and see how keywords are used and handled there.

    Keywords is one of the main items to distinguish between services for professional and amateur photographers. Since I think the Smugmug Pro account is definitely ment for pros (because it is good quality clap.gif ) dropping a professional keyword service that was offered before without discussion with your pro customers was and is a mistake :cry .

    Please correct that step for us, the pros, and let the Pro Account become a pro service again. bowdown.gif
  • Options
    PamelaPamela Registered Users Posts: 453 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Andy wrote:
    It was a couple of months ago. What, specifically is the problem with Google Search? There are many things to do besides # of keywords, that will get you "up there" in terms of Google Searching...

    http://smugmug.jot.com/WikiHome/MaximizeYourFindability
    Andy

    This started a couple of months ago. In the past, if I were to type in my Personal full name, in google my site would be on the first page. Also if I typed exposed images photography , i would get my site showing as well.


    I dont know where or why this started , I have spoke to you about this in the past , that is when I did register with the google page you recommended.
    Is there something I possibly have done wrong in how I seperate my keywords, or anything else.

    Now with the Blog, I dont know where or how to get one , I would love to have one , if you could guide me along.


    :D
    Thanks Andy
    Thankyou

    Pamela

    www.exposedimages.net
  • Options
    denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,243 moderator
    edited July 31, 2007
    Pamela wrote:
    Now with the Blog, I dont know where or how to get one , I would love to have one , if you could guide me along.
    Pamela -
    Andy may well have other suggestions, but here's a start.

    I have a blog at http://www.blogger.com. You can click to it from my smugmug page, and you can click back to my galleries from my blog. I often include photos in my blog, and I always enter them so that the reader can click on the photos and be placed directly in my gallery.

    Here's an example of the html I use to embed photos in my blog:
    <a href="http://Denise.smugmug.com/gallery/3024411/1/178240524">
    <img src="http://Denise.smugmug.com/photos/178240524-S.jpg"></a>
    

    You can see this example on this page: http://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com/2007/07/dragonfly-posing.html

    --- Denise
  • Options
    PamelaPamela Registered Users Posts: 453 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Pamela -
    Andy may well have other suggestions, but here's a start.

    I have a blog at http://www.blogger.com. You can click to it from my smugmug page, and you can click back to my galleries from my blog. I often include photos in my blog, and I always enter them so that the reader can click on the photos and be placed directly in my gallery.

    --- Denise

    Thanks Denise

    I just checked it out, where do I find out how much this cost?
    Can I use my web gallery name for my web address.
    Thankyou

    Pamela

    www.exposedimages.net
  • Options
    denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,243 moderator
    edited July 31, 2007
    Pamela wrote:
    Thanks Denise

    I just checked it out, where do I find out how much this cost?
    Can I use my web gallery name for my web address.
    Pamela -
    It's free - just go over to http://www.blogger.com and set yourself up. The names are in the format http://<your-name>.blogspot.com. My blog is at http://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com. As of right now it looks like http://exposed-images.blogspot.com is available.

    Also - I added an example of the html I use to embed photos there in my previous post.

    --- Denise
  • Options
    PamelaPamela Registered Users Posts: 453 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Pamela -
    It's free - just go over to http://www.blogger.com and set yourself up. The names are in the format http://<your-name>.blogspot.com. My blog is at http://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com. As of right now it looks like http://exposed-images.blogspot.com is available.

    Also - I added an example of the html I use to embed photos there in my previous post.

    --- Denise

    Denise
    Im on the create an account, where it asks for a email address that already exists. Can I use my yahoo email in that area?

    I Love your Blog , neat & simple
    Thankyou

    Pamela

    www.exposedimages.net
  • Options
    denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,243 moderator
    edited July 31, 2007
    Pamela wrote:
    Denise
    Im on the create an account, where it asks for a email address that already exists. Can I use my yahoo email in that area?

    I Love your Blog , neat & simple
    No, I'm pretty sure you need to sign up for a gmail account (http://www.gmail.com) first. That's free too. Google uses their gmail accounts for mail, for google analytics, for blogs.

    If it turns out that you need an invitation (I think they've stopped that requirement, but you never know), send me your email address and I'll send you one.

    And thanks for the compliment on my blog. It's always good to hear reactions from others.

    --- Denise
  • Options
    Ryan ArmbrustRyan Armbrust Registered Users Posts: 329 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2007
    Andy,

    This saddens me a great deal. If people are abusing the keyword feature, can't you just deal with those people?

    Before the keyword limiting, I was the #2 return for "Kentucky Derby" and "Kentucky Derby Infield" on Google. Now I am #29 for "Kentucky Derby Infield" and I have no idea HOW far back I am for the ky derby search.

    THIS SUCKS!

    My traffic, per Google Analytics, says that I am getting a third of the traffic.

    THIS SUCKS!

    Anyone that says that the number of keywords doesn't matter on google search is crazy.
    I know you said that there are other things you can do to bump your site up in the search engines, but, months ago you and others said that the easiest way to get noticed was to keyword!

    I went through ALL OF MY GALLERIES and keyworded and captioned ALL OF MY PICS! THIS TOOK FOR EVER. I got pretty high in the searches, now it is all gone and for nothing and my traffic tells the story.

    VERY UPSETTING!
  • Options
    Ryan ArmbrustRyan Armbrust Registered Users Posts: 329 Major grins
    edited August 2, 2007
    Andy,

    This saddens me a great deal. If people are abusing the keyword feature, can't you just deal with those people?

    Before the keyword limiting, I was the #2 return for "Kentucky Derby" and "Kentucky Derby Infield" on Google. Now I am #29 for "Kentucky Derby Infield" and I have no idea HOW far back I am for the ky derby search.

    THIS SUCKS!

    My traffic, per Google Analytics, says that I am getting a third of the traffic.

    THIS SUCKS!

    Anyone that says that the number of keywords doesn't matter on google search is crazy.
    I know you said that there are other things you can do to bump your site up in the search engines, but, months ago you and others said that the easiest way to get noticed was to keyword!

    I went through ALL OF MY GALLERIES and keyworded and captioned ALL OF MY PICS! THIS TOOK FOR EVER. I got pretty high in the searches, now it is all gone and for nothing and my traffic tells the story.

    VERY UPSETTING!

    Bumping for an answer.
  • Options
    petelangloispetelanglois Registered Users Posts: 57 Big grins
    edited August 2, 2007
    Bumping for an answer.

    I just visited your website and I saw some hot air balloons. Nice shots. I am wondering why every image has Kentucky Derby for keywords? When I hover over any image it says the same thing. Maybe this is why your google rating has dropped.

    I keep my keywords relevant to the image itself, not to my entire website. Maybe you sell more photos this way but it seems like you're not targeting the right audience and are just increasing "noise" into google's results.

    Here is an example.

    http://www.sniperphotography.com/keyword/hot+air+balloon#67950902-L-LB

    This should be something like, airshow, air show, blue angels, USN Blue Angels, not "kentucky derby",derby,kentucky,"churchill downs",louisville,"kentucky derby festival",infield,"kentucky derby infield","derby infield",pictures,photos,pics,tits,boobs,nudity,"infield party","3rd turn",drunk ,"ky derby infield" ,"infield kentucky derby" ,"kentucky derby infield pictures","kentucky derby infield pics","kentucky derby infield photos" ,"millionaire's row","horse racing",photojournalism,"horse betting","ryan armbrust",sniperphotography,louisville,ky,kentucky,photographer,photojournalist,portfolio,favorite,pics,pictures,photo,"sniper photography",sniperphotography.com,&#148;Kentucky derby pics&#148;,&#148;Kentucky derby pictures&#148;,&#148;Kentucky derby photos&#148;,&#148;derby pics&#148;,&#148;derby pictures&#148;,&#148;derby photos&#148;,&#148;big ryan&#148;,"zambelli fireworks",thunder,over,louisville,kentucky,downtown,ohio,river,fireworks,"thunder over louisville",pegasus,parade,louisville,ky,kentucky,derby,festival,downtown,broadway,event,events,may,marching,bands,"marching bands",floats,"grand marshall","muhammed ali",ludicrous ,,&#148;downtown Louisville&#148;,&#148;Louisville pics&#148;,&#148;Louisville pictures&#148;,&#148;Louisville photos&#148;,&#148;Pegasus parade pics&#148;,&#148;Pegasus parade photos&#148;,&#148;Pegasus parade pictures&#148;,&#148;derby parade&#148;,&#148;derby parade pics&#148;,&#148;derby parade pictures&#148;,&#148;derby parade photos&#148;,&#148;derby parade pics&#148;,"hot air balloon","hotair balloon","balloon glow","great lawn","hot air balloon race&#148;

    Pete Langlois
    http://www.petelanglois.net
    http://blog.petelanglois.net
    Gear: Nikon D300s & D50 | 16-85mm VR | 18-55mm DX | 70-300mm VR | 85mm f/1.8D | 50mm f/1.8D | 35mm f/1.8G | 11-16mm f/2.8 Tokina | Extension Tube Set | Manfrotto Monopod and 190CXPRO3
  • Options
    Paul (France)Paul (France) Registered Users Posts: 30 Big grins
    edited August 3, 2007
    Use keywords for what they are, indeed
    I keep my keywords relevant to the image itself, not to my entire website. Maybe you sell more photos this way but it seems like you're not targeting the right audience and are just increasing "noise" into google's results.

    I do agree with Pete. The keywords were introduced so that people could find images. It is not ment for Google (for finding your website). Such 'wrong' keyword use must have overwhelmed the Smugmug server and caused Smugmug to limit the number of keywords to 15. Which kind of destroyed the keyword usability for professionals.

    In my opinion keywords should only be used so your pictures can be found by others (clients or friends). There are other ways to have your website found by search engines. Like good writing of the main body of your website, writing a good introduction with every gallery (with all metadata hidden in good readable text) and writing to-the-point captions.
  • Options
    Ryan ArmbrustRyan Armbrust Registered Users Posts: 329 Major grins
    edited August 3, 2007
    I just visited your website and I saw some hot air balloons. Nice shots. I am wondering why every image has Kentucky Derby for keywords? When I hover over any image it says the same thing. Maybe this is why your google rating has dropped.

    I keep my keywords relevant to the image itself, not to my entire website. Maybe you sell more photos this way but it seems like you're not targeting the right audience and are just increasing "noise" into google's results.

    Here is an example.

    http://www.sniperphotography.com/keyword/hot+air+balloon#67950902-L-LB

    This should be something like, airshow, air show, blue angels, USN Blue Angels, not "kentucky derby",derby,kentucky,"churchill downs",louisville,"kentucky derby festival",infield,"kentucky derby infield","derby infield",pictures,photos,pics,tits,boobs,nudity,"infield party","3rd turn",drunk ,"ky derby infield" ,"infield kentucky derby" ,"kentucky derby infield pictures","kentucky derby infield pics","kentucky derby infield photos" ,"millionaire's row","horse racing",photojournalism,"horse betting","ryan armbrust",sniperphotography,louisville,ky,kentucky,photographer,photojournalist,portfolio,favorite,pics,pictures,photo,"sniper photography",sniperphotography.com,”Kentucky derby pics”,”Kentucky derby pictures”,”Kentucky derby photos”,”derby pics”,”derby pictures”,”derby photos”,”big ryan”,"zambelli fireworks",thunder,over,louisville,kentucky,downtown,ohio,river,fireworks,"thunder over louisville",pegasus,parade,louisville,ky,kentucky,derby,festival,downtown,broadway,event,events,may,marching,bands,"marching bands",floats,"grand marshall","muhammed ali",ludicrous ,,”downtown Louisville”,”Louisville pics”,”Louisville pictures”,”Louisville photos”,”Pegasus parade pics”,”Pegasus parade photos”,”Pegasus parade pictures”,”derby parade”,”derby parade pics”,”derby parade pictures”,”derby parade photos”,”derby parade pics”,"hot air balloon","hotair balloon","balloon glow","great lawn","hot air balloon race”




    The keyword were listed in such a way because they are all Kentucky Derby events. I was getting a lot of traffic and inquireies due to this.
    I guess now, I will need to go and re do them all?
  • Options
    dbddbd Registered Users Posts: 216 Major grins
    edited August 3, 2007
    I just visited your website and I saw some hot air balloons. Nice shots. I am wondering why every image has Kentucky Derby for keywords? When I hover over any image it says the same thing. Maybe this is why your google rating has dropped.

    I keep my keywords relevant to the image itself, not to my entire website. Maybe you sell more photos this way but it seems like you're not targeting the right audience and are just increasing "noise" into google's results.

    Here is an example.

    http://www.sniperphotography.com/keyword/hot+air+balloon#67950902-L-LB

    This should be something like, airshow, air show, blue angels, USN Blue Angels, not "kentucky derby",derby,kentucky,"churchill downs",louisville,"kentucky derby festival",infield,"kentucky derby infield","derby infield",pictures,photos,pics,tits,boobs,nudity,"infield party","3rd turn",drunk ,"ky derby infield" ,"infield kentucky derby" ,"kentucky derby infield pictures","kentucky derby infield pics","kentucky derby infield photos" ,"millionaire's row","horse racing",photojournalism,"horse betting","ryan armbrust",sniperphotography,louisville,ky,kentucky,photographer,photojournalist,portfolio,favorite,pics,pictures,photo,"sniper photography",sniperphotography.com,”Kentucky derby pics”,”Kentucky derby pictures”,”Kentucky derby photos”,”derby pics”,”derby pictures”,”derby photos”,”big ryan”,"zambelli fireworks",thunder,over,louisville,kentucky,downtown,ohio,river,fireworks,"thunder over louisville",pegasus,parade,louisville,ky,kentucky,derby,festival,downtown,broadway,event,events,may,marching,bands,"marching bands",floats,"grand marshall","muhammed ali",ludicrous ,,”downtown Louisville”,”Louisville pics”,”Louisville pictures”,”Louisville photos”,”Pegasus parade pics”,”Pegasus parade photos”,”Pegasus parade pictures”,”derby parade”,”derby parade pics”,”derby parade pictures”,”derby parade photos”,”derby parade pics”,"hot air balloon","hotair balloon","balloon glow","great lawn","hot air balloon race”
    This kind of over-zealous use of each image's keyword list to keyword all images not only bogs down search response at Smugmug, but also poisons the keyword space.:cry

    Think of all the poor people Googling for 'boobs' who have to dig through all these inane (to them) Kentucky Derby images.headscratch.gif

    In a day when even cameras can have facial recognition algorithms, maybe Smugmug and Google can upgrade their algorithms to delist all images that are keyworded with 'boobs' but don't have more than one recognizable breast or more than one recognizable politician.thumb.gif

    Dale B. Dalrymple
    http://dbdimages.com
    "Give me a lens long enough and a place to stand and I can image the earth."
    ...with apology to Archimedies
  • Options
    shrekieshrekie Registered Users Posts: 285 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    I would also like to put my vote in for returning unlimited keywords as a feature. Sure, as with all features, they can potentially be abused, but exactly how many of the pro users were abusing them, and to what extent? It's not really fair for those who are not abusing the system to be punished for bad practices.

    I must say that this came as a surprise to me because I have never come across ANY photo hosting website previously that limited keywords, so I just expected that this feature would be here seeing as the pro account was to cater for pro photographers.
  • Options
    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    shrekie wrote:
    I must say that this came as a surprise to me because I have never come across ANY photo hosting website previously that limited keywords

    Actually it's rather common to have a limit....

    We don't like it, any more than you do, but thank you for posting about how important it is!
  • Options
    shrekieshrekie Registered Users Posts: 285 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    Andy wrote:
    Actually it's rather common to have a limit....

    We don't like it, any more than you do, but thank you for posting about how important it is!

    Oh really? I've never come across one. Zenfolio, iStockphoto, Getty Images, Flickr, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, BigStockPhoto, Lonely Planet Images...and the list goes on...they're probably some of the best known ones and they all support unlimited keywords. Just out of interest, what other photo hosting sites only have limited keywords?

    Thanks:)
  • Options
    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    shrekie wrote:
    Oh really? I've never come across one. Zenfolio, iStockphoto, Getty Images, Flickr, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, BigStockPhoto, Lonely Planet Images...and the list goes on...they're probably some of the best known ones and they all support unlimited keywords. Just out of interest, what other photo hosting sites only have limited keywords?

    Thanks:)
    istock has a limit. flickr has a limit. I don't have time at the moment to search out the rest..

    http://www.microstockdiaries.com/the-battle-on-microstock-keyword-spam.html
  • Options
    shrekieshrekie Registered Users Posts: 285 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2008
    Andy wrote:
    istock has a limit. flickr has a limit. I don't have time at the moment to search out the rest..

    http://www.microstockdiaries.com/the-battle-on-microstock-keyword-spam.html

    Thanks Andy. Sorry, my mistake...I assumed they were unlimited as I had never gone over their keyword limit restriction, although iStock's is at 50 and flickr's is at 75.

    I suppose "unlimited" may be unnecessary and it would be impossible to satisfy all users with anything less than "unlimited", but it would be interesting to know the magic number that a vast majority of the pro users would be happy with:)

    Thanks for the link...the other sites have also implemented some interesting workarounds to keyword spam...is Smugmug looking at perhaps using some of these methods in future?
  • Options
    casperOnecasperOne Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
    edited September 26, 2008
    Not a Pro, but understand the need for more keywords..
    I am most definitely not a professional photographer, but I definitely have the need for more keywords in my photos.

    I tend to have a pretty rigorous workflow for someone who does a lot of "point-and-shoot" type photography. I value having very detailed keywording in my photos, and I would hope that SmugMug would respect it.

    The most recent example is my wedding photos. I have large group shots with a number of people in the photo who I identify by first and last name, and I easily exceed 15 people in the photo (as well as other information like location, etc, etc).

    I saw the suggestion of figuring out which keywords are most important and placing those first.

    In a situation like this, that's akin to trying to figure out who the 15 most important people in the photo are. If I knew that, I wouldn't have fit more than 15 people in the photo to begin with.
Sign In or Register to comment.