When you’re creating your SEO strategy, off-page SEO is one of the three key elements – right there with technical SEO and content SEO. While technical and content SEO are improved by implementing strategies on your website, off-page SEO reflects how other websites interact with yours.

Off-page SEO is typically improved by building backlinks – and it’s no different for photographers. Here’s how to build backlinks as a photographer to improve your SEO:

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks – also known as “inbound links” or “one-way links” – are links on other websites that direct the user back to your website. These links are labeled as either do-follow or no-follow for Google’s crawlers. For photographers, backlinks are an essential way to build authority online and generate trust with Google.

Building trust with Google is one of the best ways to improve both your overall SEO and local SEO, giving your photography website a better chance of ranking for those in-demand high-traffic keywords over other photography websites.

The best backlinks for your website are those coming from high-authority websites. A high-authority or high-quality backlinking website is a website that already has strong trust with Google, is in your niche, and is typically ranking on the first page for some search queries and keywords.

These websites can typically be identified by looking at their DA, or domain authority. The higher the DA, the more trust they have with Google – although this is not the only thing to consider when building backlinks as a photographer.

RELATED POST: What is Domain Authority (DA)?

Why Are Backlinks Important for SEO?

To put it simply, backlinks improve your reputation with search engines which then improves your ability to rank for your targeted keywords. Generally speaking, the more backlinks a page has, the more organic traffic it gets from Google [Source: Ahrefs].

In fact, according to a Google Q&A, Andrey Lipattsev, a Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, backlinks are one of the main three factors considered when ranking content – right up there with content and UX.

In a niche with many local and not-so-local competitors, photographers benefit greatly from building high-quality backlinks. It can make a huge difference in who shows up when you audience is looking for photographers in your area.

How to Build Backlinks as a Photographer

SEO is a difficult task for photographers – mainly due to intense online competition and lack of content (not pictures, but copy). Off-page SEO and backlink building is no different. In fact, the best way to build backlinks as a photographer might surprise you.

Although some methods involve waiting on others to find your content and decide to link to it on their own, their are a few methods that you can use to increase the backlinks to your website.

Let’s look at how to build backlinks as a photographer and improve your website’s SEO:

#1. Launch a Blog

Creating high-quality content of your own is actually the best way to continuously create backlinks to your website as a photographer. While you do have to create and write the blog post – which can be as simple as highlighting a photoshoot – Google will do the rest of it for you!

Blog posts that solve a problem or answer a query (think “creative photoshoot on Charleston Beach” or “best blue-hour photoshoots in Asheville, NC”) will perform best. The key to this method is really honing in on your blog strategy and writing SEO-friendly blog posts.

#2. Submit Yourself to Directories

Trustworthy directories are a great way to start building backlinks as a photographer. It’s also the easiest – although it can get quite costly. While some directories that ONLY offer backlinking/mentioning in the directory are free (as they have to be), most trustworthy directories are offered as a membership with a community aspect and cost anywhere from $10 to $300 per month.

Now, there is a big difference between being in a paid membership with a directory and paying for backlinks. NEVER pay for backlinks, it can end up hurting your SEO rather than helping!

#3. Photo Features and Contest

Although you shouldn’t go out and create a full photography session for them – unless the rewards are just THAT good – competing in and submitting photos for features and contest is another way to build backlinks. Typically, winning and high-placing photographers get bylines with links to their websites along with a photo feature when picked for these competitions.

#4. Guest Posting on Other Websites

The second-to-best method of building high-quality backlinks to your website, guest posting on other websites consists of writing a blog post for another website with a backlink and bio for your website. Not only do you get a backlink, but when used correctly, you’re introduced to an audience that would be interested in your services.

While you need to carefully vet your guest post opportunities to ensure it’s worth the effort, there are plenty of opportunities available for all types of photographers! If you want to learn how to find, pitch, write, and publish guest posts, check out our Guest Posting Guidebook!

RELATED POST: Why Guest Posting Works: The Benefits of Guest Blogging

#5. Be a Guest on a Podcast or Youtube Channel

For most online hosts, backlinks will still count to improve your off-page SEO. This applies to both Youtube and Podcasting! Plus, in most situation, many youtubers and podcasters repurpose their content onto their website – creating multiple backlinking opportunities for you! These are easy ways to acquire backlinks and introduce yourself to a whole new audience.

How to Check Your Backlinks

After you’ve worked on building new backlinks for your website, you should track how many, where, and how it affects your SEO. You can do this using online SEO tools – my favorite is MOZ.

With their free program, you get 10 free searches each month. This is MORE than enough to check up on your backlinks and domain authority. I recommend checking up each week if you are actively working on building backlinks – if not, monthly is fine.

As your domain authority and high-quality backlinks increase, you’ll notice that your website will start to rank for new or rank higher for existing keywords. Still, backlinking will only do so much. This is only one part of improving your website’s SEO!

Ready to get your photography business ranking on first page? Connect with The Comma Mama Co. and book your SEO audit to ensure you’re on the right path!