You Cannot Be Found While Staying Invisible, No Matter How Hard You Want To
In the age of AI search, it is going to become even more difficult to attract attention.
I was really cold. My hands were in pain, and I had to pull over in a bright patch of early morning light.
I haven’t been this cold in a long while.
I turned into the little viewpoint on the side of Mormon Lake and parked my bike at the farthest end of the parking lot.
Taking off my totally useless warm-weather gloves, I fumbled with the keys while trying to open the bag on the back. It took a moment—too long a moment—for the bag to open and for me to find my cold-weather gloves. I must have looked like a drunk rider to the two camouflage-wearing birders standing next to their bright red Bronco. They watched me as close as a hawk. A freezing hawk.
I grabbed the big, fur-lined gloves, slapped them down on the black leather seat, and let the heat of the sun warm them. They sat in the sun, baking in the warmth like an older couple from Montreal on the beach in Miami. Soaking up the sun.
I stuck my hands down around the motor to try and discover some feeling in the fingers, and hopefully regain some motion. Hands are integral in the operation of a motorcycle. This is not just my opinion, you can ask other bikers if you want.
The consensus will always be that yes, fully functioning hands are important.
Critical even.
This was a hastily conceived plan. Leave for Flagstaff on Sunday morning, ride through Payson, Pine, Camp Verde, Page Springs, Sedona, and into Flagstaff. I haven’t ridden through Oak Creek since the summer after I graduated high school. I think I roade a Brontasouras. Or a Honda 750 chopper.
From the bottom of Oak Creek to the top of the mountain where Flagstaff is, there are a set of switchbacks, and I wanted to ride that stretch of road bad. Like driving through 100-degree weather bad. Like not stopping for lunch bad.
Before I explain this day to you, gentle reader, I must remind you that I have ridden almost every tall mountain pass in the western US. Beartooth, Independence, Red Mountain… if it is paved, I have probably ridden it.
This was not like any of those. As switchbacks go, these are a 2. Beartooth is a 9, Lolo is a 7. And don’t get me started on the amazing Escalante Highway 12.
“A hell of a long ride to go four miles of mild corners,” I thought to myself.
But that was still on Sunday, and I was grouchy.
I had not been on a ride over 50 miles in a year, and now I had ridden over 150 miles just to experience this meandering two lanes of guardrailed pavement. It was fun, do not get me wrong. Two wheels and two lanes are always fun.
Just less exciting, I guess.
And my hands hurt, my back hurt, and I had lost feeling in my feet back in Cornville.
It was an audacious first time back in the saddle after a too-long hiatus.
I got to Flagstaff, parked the bike and waddled over to a Mexican Food restaurant for a taco. I only eat tacos on my road trips. Tacos for lunch, tacos for dinner.
Tacos are delicious. Tacos are proof of the magnificence of the human spirit.
It was a decent Taco, and I went back to the hotel room and crashed.
Hard.
Better to crash on the bed than on the asphalt, but I digress.
Morning came fast, and I packed the bike, put on the wrong gloves, and headed out in the 42-degree morning like I had it all together.
At least I brought the right jacket. Warm, fluffy, and not at all what ’real’ bikers wear.
I will never pass the ‘real biker’ test.
No patches, no leathers, no flowing white hair… OK, I wish I had the hair, not gonna lie.
My aches were gone, and I rode the 180 miles back home without incident.
Well, once I got the warm gloves on for the ride into Payson.
Just below Payson, I pulled over, stashed the jacket in a hard bag, changed the gloves for the warmer weather ones, and headed down into the valley.
By the time I got to Usery Pass, it was pushing 100 degrees. I still had 50 miles to go, but what the hell, it was a great trip, the bike performed flawlessly, and I got a little wind therapy out of my system.
Next ride will be to southern CO to see some fall leaves if everything goes right. If not, I am heading down to Big Bend, Texas for a ride to a new area.
I enjoyed the little road trip, and the bike seemed to enjoy it too. It ran like a top, and sits outside my office window, looking longingly toward the road.
It is too looking longingly. Bikes are people too.
See you all next time.
We start the Website building workshop tomorrow, so if you are interested, hit the link below and get on board.
In the meantime, read this little post on the importance of SEO as the search engines all begin using AI for results posting.
Being found by a search engine is not just important, it is now critical. Search companies are turning toward AI, and a website that is not ready for this change will be left out in the cold… and fast.
Photography sites are at a disadvantage because they do not have lots of text and information that makes them relevant to the vast amount of content on the web.
As a result, they will be even more disadvantaged by the coming changes in how search will find, catalog, and distribute results.
This is my preferred approach to boosting SEO for photography websites. By using landing pages and strategic URLs, we can build more searchable content and boost the overall website ranking.
Here's an overview of my suggestions along with supporting facts:
Landing Pages for Photography SEO
Creating a dedicated landing page is an effective strategy for improving a photography website's SEO. Landing pages offer several advantages:
Targeted Content: A landing page allows focus on specific keywords and services, making it easier to optimize for search engines. This is basically providing more fodder for the search engines to find. And in the age of AI, this will be a deciding factor in your site’s visibility.
Increased Text Content: Photography websites often lack text content. A landing page provides an opportunity to include more relevant text without cluttering the main portfolio. Search engines are still text-based, and the necessity for users to clearly understand what they are seeing is more important than ever.
Improved User Experience: A well-designed landing page can guide potential clients to the information they need quickly, improving engagement and potentially reducing bounce rates. Bounces affect your ranking, and that can be a long term problem. We combat that with content that keeps them on the page.
Strategic URL Selection
My suggestion is to use a keyword-rich domain name for the landing page (e.g., "best-food-photographer-tacoma.com" for a food photographer in Tacoma), aligns with SEO best practices:
Keyword Inclusion: Having relevant keywords in the URL can positively impact search rankings. And genre, city, states, clients, subject matter, etc… can be huge in helping people find you.
Local SEO Boost: Including the location (e.g., "tacoma") in the URL supports local SEO efforts, which is crucial for photographers targeting specific geographic areas.
User Intent Match: Such a URL clearly communicates what searchers can expect, potentially improving click-through rates from search results, and helping to curb high bounce rates.
Additional Considerations
There are other ways to accomplish this as well; consider these points:
Domain vs. Subdirectory: If you do not wish to create a separate domain, you should consider using a subdirectory on the main website (e.g., www.photographername.com/best-food-photographer-tacoma). This can help consolidate domain authority. This is easily accomplished on any platform (Wix, Wordpress, SquareSpace, etc…)
Content Quality: Ensure the landing page provides valuable, unique content beyond just keywords. Google prioritizes high-quality, relevant content. This is the magic that we bring with good copy and killer images.
Mobile Optimization: With Google's mobile-first indexing, ensure the landing page is fully responsive and mobile-friendly. This is important to double check.
Image Optimization: Don't forget to optimize images on the landing page with descriptive file names and alt text. If your images are too heavy (ie; 2.6MB), you can be dinged by Google and never realize it. Save your images for the web using tools that will cut down the file size.
A strategy of using a targeted landing page with a keyword-rich URL is a solid approach to improving SEO for your photography website.
We can deal with the common issue of limited text content while providing opportunities for targeted optimization and far improved user experience.
And also, they’re kinda cool.
When you are ready, here is how I can help you succeed.
Group Mentorship: a small group of photographers who meet to show images, work on their portfolio, and build their businesses with help from a wonderful group. Lifetime membership for one fee.
One-on-one Mentorship: You and me - working together in an intense 6-month push to get you on the way to over $30K in additional revenue. The work we lay down will help you increase and scale your business for years ahead.
Thank you for supporting my work.