Connor Walberg SEO

A couple years ago I ran trainings covering the basics of landing photo clients - the core approaches that work at any stage in business.

I re-recorded these videos and am posting them this week on the YouTube channel. If you're feeling stuck and wondering how to get clients, these simple non-social media or ad based approaches should help you get some clients quickly! (If you enjoy, please consider subscribing to the channel and give the video a like!)

Here's the first one:

How to get new clients as a photographer - part 1 of 3 If you're aspiring to be a professional photographer, or maybe already are one but feel a bit light in the client department at the moment... then this is fo...

Just dropped a new video on the YouTube channel. A quick approach to learning exactly what you need to focus on with your SEO efforts to rank in your area. If you're working on SEO this is a must watch, you'll also want to grab the analysis worksheet in the video description to generate real (and faster) results!😀

Why Your Photography Website Isn't Ranking on Google Yet Ranking your photo website isn't about following an SEO checklist. When we get specific by looking at our competitors, we can focus on only the aspects that ...

Photographers, want an SEO audit with actionable tips to start ranking?

Drop your site below and I'll record a video for you!👍

Is your photo site sending you clients through Google?

Want a free SEO audit to show you how to rank?🚀

ONE step at a time. 🦶

That’s what it takes to make SEO work for you to bring in consistent photo leads.

It’s not a process that you can knock out in an afternoon.

And if you take that approach…

It becomes simple and easy, with results that last.

ONE step at a time is the way to get ahead with marketing. You have to go slow to go fast.

This is how you build your consistent lead machine.

The first time I went skiing I didn’t go off a 50 foot cliff.

I learned how to ski in a “pizza” on the bunny hill.

Years later I’d become confident and could safely drop 50 feet without getting hurt. If I’d tried that when I started it would not have gone well…

Approach your SEO one step at a time, rather than all at once, and the results will compound. That’s how I built and designed the Photo SEO Course. To simply walk you through your journey to ranking success by building up the most important components.

What will your first step be in this journey?

I'll tell you exactly what needs to be done on your site! 🚀

The #1 question I'm asked all the time? How do I set up alt text for images...

Here's the quick answer: Write a natural sentence that describes the image in detail. 😀

This is the area that most photographers are way over-optimizing. They stuff keywords in here constantly because they hear from "experts" that it's important to do that.

But to understand alt text, you need to know what it's really designed to do.

It's there for screen-readers as accessibility so people who can't see can understand the picture.

It's also there so your page can display what the image would be, if it doesn't load correctly.

It CAN reiterate to Google what your page is all about - but it should do so accurately and only feature keywords if relevant (i.e. a skyline of Denver could mention it's a portrait with the Denver skyline in the background.)

And finally, it's there to tell Google what the image shows (though Google can also tell pretty well by analyzing the actual image). This way Google can add the picture to image search for relevant searches.

I'm a firm believer that optimizing alt text is important simply to provide a more complete picture of your site to Google, and show that you are paying attention to all the things (not a bot!).
Hopefully this clears up a lot of confusion on this topic!

Just published an in-depth SEO guide for photographers - link in comments.

SEO doesn't have to be technical.

Wise words. Emailing from the point of someone who actually cares is far better than the typical "here's something you should buy" or "here's why you should listen to me more" approach that course creators take most often.

My favorite way to get back on track:

🧠 Brain dump on paper or digital paper - 10-20 minutes in silence where I write thoughts freely as they pop into my mind.

There are so many distractions and paths that can take us further from where we want to go. By doing this you'll get all the stuff out that's been weighing your mind down, and you'll most likely see a theme or a way to get back on track. 👍

I'd love to hear if you do this or how it goes if you try after reading this post!

The real question you need to ask is what makes the most sense to YOU - ads or organic?

Chances are high that one of these speaks to you and is easier to understand. That’s likely your best bet.

One piece of advice: If you think of ads as a magical and simple faucet that you turn on, it’s not that easy.

Both ads and organic have a learning curve and take time to get dialed. With ads the currency is money + time. With organic it’s largely just time.

The important part here is to get CONSISTENT with at least one.

Success lies in consistency. 😎

There isn't one key to success. If there was, we'd all know it and be successful.

Business task of the day for ANY person running a business:

The only way to learn about our clients/customers is to talk to them.

Today I’d like to challenge you to reach out and talk to 3 people any way you can - text, phone, email, fax, telegraph, carrier pigeon, or facebook.

👉 The lessons learned will be priceless, and you may even land a client.

Please reply back with any findings.

Add or Takeaway?

Two seemingly simple options.

One generally makes things more complicated.

One will almost always simplify things.

When we run our businesses we often focus on “add”.

It’s a part of our mindset programmed over the years. More is more, and more is better.

But what if less is more?

Simpler is easier and less time-consuming.

In our business, we choose simpler.!

How are you running your business?

Yesterday, a 1-on-1 client of mine was talking to me about comparison.

I said...
Here's the thing...

When you see someone and you compare yourself, there's two things you need to remember.

#1. You don't know what unfair advantages they had

and

#2. You're not respecting your own perfect timing, or theirs.

The first is so important.
See...

When most people are overnight successes, it's not overnight.
The people I mentor...

Generally have a few unfair advantages...
- past experience
- money
- time
- connections
- influence

One Entrepreneur I mentored that went from $0 to $2M in 9 months? Massive audience.

Another that went from $10K to $5M/year in 4 years?
A ton of cashflow from investments, 20 years of experience and experience speaking on stage.

Rarely, do I see someone blow up overnight.
But here's the thing...

Most of the time, they don't talk about that.
Not because they are hiding it, but because they don't even realize it.

Even myself...
When I started helping business owners online in 2015...

I was an Entrepreneur since I was 7...
I had my first $1M business by 16...
I helped 100's of businesses in my agency for years...
I scaled multiple businesses, over and over.
I had a pretty good connection base.

Now you can look at that and say...
Well, that sucks.

Or you can simply say...
Let me build my own set of unfair advantages.

As for #2
You're always on perfect time
even if you don't think you are.

Respect your season
AND the season of everyone else
for the highest level of fulfillment in life 🙂

If you’re feeling discouraged in your business - possibly triggered by a recent launch - then you need to hear this.

You’re on the right path. 😁

We all stumble along the way. We all make mistakes. We all have moments where it feels like we are failing.

Those that stick with it achieve the success they wanted when they started. It may look a whole lot different than they imagined but they get there.

Stick with it. Adjust as needed. Most importantly, keep launching.

Best business book you've ever read: GO!

Building a massive machine is not a requirement for launch success. 🚀

It seems like there are countless entrepreneurs out there who say we need to be working 36 hours per day (It’s not possible). 🤨

That we need to have 300+ components in a sophisticated and automated system, before we can make a sale. (When in fact you just have to talk to ONE person and make an offer for them that’s a no-brainer)

But this is “down the line” thinking. It’s a point to eventually arrive at when you have things working.

People at those stages stay successful by saying “no” to more new things and moving parts than they say “yes” to.

Early on, focus on just a few things that matter. Making connections, and making offers.

Sometimes we need a reminder that business isn’t everything - even though it feels that way sometimes.

What we are doing right now is either going to work, or it’s not.

When we take less weight off our business and view it from a less serious standpoint that isn’t “life or death”, we make better decisions that lead to more success, and can enjoy the ride.

Have you been enjoying the ride?🚲

Why do we feel the need to create new content every time we post, email, or share something?

A great email can be used as a:
👉Blog post
👉Facebook post
👉Instagram caption
👉Sales copy
👉Video script
👉RESENT a few months later (I know... crazy!)

This is just a reminder that if you've ever created content, you can find a way to use it again and again to save yourself hours of time, AND it will still effectively help your clients / customers. 😎