An interesting post appeared on Rob Haggart's blog, A Photo Editor (if you haven't been visiting his blog, you ought to!) dealing with Search Engine Optimization.
Haggart's post is very well thought out (don't forget to also check out the comments on his post), but reading it more than once to make sure, I was struck how my own entry about 18 months ago into the world of branding, blogging and website maximization followed his post's worthwhile recommendations. I only wish it had been written before...it would've saved me many hours!
For instance, blogging is now a must-do for photographers who seek to maximize their chances of being seen (and contracted) by photo editors, buyers and the public. Haggart goes so far as saying :"Who cares if no humans read your blog. The search engine benefits alone are worth it. "
Absolutely!
Most of the buying requests for my photographs in the months since I've started The Travel Photography blog have been made by buyers reading (or having seen) it, which they land on through Google. In fact, many of the new clients for my photo expeditions are readers of this blog...and since I've placed a subscription box for my email newsletters on it, subscriptions have jumped at least ten-fold.
More suggestions by Rob Haggart are: link the blog to one's website, and vice-versa, to exchange links with 2-3 peers in your specific industry (travel photography for me), and to make sure that the title of the blog reflects one's interest and specialization. Perhaps these are basic and fundamental to me now...but did I know all this some 18 months ago? No, I didn't.
As I said, a must-read post.