FreePhotoResources – Photography Blog - Photography blog for ALL photographers

FPR has been ‘alive’ for a while now and continues to grow.

I thought I would share how I/we (Cheers Dan!) set the site up and what resources I use to keep the site going for those who may wish to start their own blog or website.

I have learned a lot since FPR was born, made mistakes and met some great people (cheers Punam, Ron and Stevo!).  With the exception of the recent ‘issue’ where I lost EVRYTHING it has been great!

Hopefully this post will inspire and guide you to creating a successfull site without being baffled by ‘SEO’ speak that you find all over the web!

Here goes!…….and remember that I am NOT an expert, this is what has worked for FPR!

Do you REALLY love what you write about?

Before embarking on a website, make sure that you love the subject enough to keep writing about it with a passion, to ensure that readers come back to your site time and time again.  I have seen loads of websites that promise to provide DAILY updates, only to fizzle out after a couple of weeks.

Remember that a blog or website such as FPR requires masses of research on a daily basis, to find interesting and original content (I’ll come back to this later) and that this in turn takes up A LOT of time (sorry Emma!).

The bottom line is – If you’re losing interest then that will be reflected in your website!

Choosing the Right Hosting Provider and Package

Obviously the cheapest package is the most appealing at first glance.  Remember however to check for the amount of space you get, emails etc.

Research Your Domain Name

Choose something relevant to the content of your website.  It’s all very nice to have a quirky name for your site which is either funny or unusual, but how often will it come up in a search in Google if it has nothing to do with the content?!  Also check that the domain name is available before designing your site around it!

Page Titles

Make sure that you give your pages accurate/content relevant titles (the text that appears in the browser tab when the site loads).  This is very important when getting your site noticed in search engines etc, and will also help to increase your rank on searches relating to those keywords.

Design

I use WordPress as there are tons of themes to choose from (both free and premium).  I specifically chose a theme that is clear (in my opinion!) easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing.  There are other similar systems available, but as I have no experience in these it would be unfair of me to comment on them.

Tags

Use ‘Metatags’ on your website and posts. Metatags no longer affect search engine ranking positions, but allow you to group your posts, providing more accurate filtering on your site for visitors with certain interests. Wordpress allows you to input these when you write your posts.

Logo

Once the site is up and running and you’re happy with the content and general layout, you can concentrate on a logo.  This gives your site a unique look (and is important as you begin to build a brand) and also looks nicer than just a text heading automatically generated by your template.  If you’re not the most artistic of people, then ask a mate to design one for you - Most people love to know that their design can potentially be seen by millions of people every day!

Submit to Search Engines

It sounds obvious, but ensure you submit your site to all available search engines, this ensures you can be found is as many diverse places as possible – driving more traffic to your site.  The process is usually simple, and most search engines offer a step by step guide which you just run through to submit.   There is also software available that will submit your site to multiple engines in one batch, such as SubmitWolf (a google search for ‘website search engine submission’ will yield many other options).

Submit to Directories

Submit to related directory sites to increase links, rank, traffic!  DMOZ is a good example of a heavily trusted directory site, that will provide you with a strong, one-way link.  A great place to start is here, this is a list of loads of page rank 5 and 4 directory sites which are free to register with.

Links

Both incoming and outgoing links are usually an invaluable part of any website.  Incoming links help to increase your page rank, Alexa rank and traffic.  Outgoing links obviously usually are where the content that you are posting about resides but also helps to build relationships to other sites and their owners (as long as they recognise the traffic that you are sending their way!

Links from notable websites are easier to get than you might think.  Many design/photography sites have ‘User Feeds’ that you can simply submit your content to for their readers to follow through to your site, the main ones I frequent are;

• PSDTutus
• Noupe
• SmashingApps
• Abduzeedo
• GoMediazine
• Joyoge
• TripWireMagazine
• SpeckyBoy

You can also publicise your site on social networks, such as;

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Flickr
• SmugMug

This enables you to interact with your readers, give them an insight into the running of the site and also allows them to suggest content etc.

Resources

NEVER underestimate your sources, in times of need (when you need inspiration) they are invaluable.  Sites like Smashing Magazine, Noupe and DezinerFolio are great resources.  If you discover a great tutorial regarding, let’s say Photography, don’t rip it off!

Link to the site and others of a similar nature and explain why you chose the tutorial to feature on your site and how this may benefit others of a similar interest.  The knock on effect of this is that you are doing the other site a favour (which might be returned!) and also getting traffic yourself.

Share your experiences whether that is mistakes you have made or stories regarding the subject where you have learned something.

Unless you are posting a quick link to another site as well as some decent content don’t simply place a link on your site to someone else.  What I like to do is post a collection of links/resources all relevant to each other.  This provides a great resource library for readers that won’t be anywhere else.

Always give credit to work that is not yours, you wouldn’t want someone claiming that they were responsible for your efforts would you?!

Google Alerts

Set up loads of Google Alerts.  Google will then email you a selection of new content from around the web based on your criteria.  You can then simply follow the links for the content and inspiration.  This often leads to a bit of ‘Google Drift’ and you will stumble across sites, galleries etc that you never would have found normally!

Speak to Friends

Ask your friends what they think of the site.  More often than not they will comment on things that may require ‘tweeking’, whether that be that certain navigation is not as user friendly as it could be or that the content could do with a new twist, it’s all good for improving the site!

RSS

Most WordPress themes come with an RSS feed that readers can follow.  DO NOT underestimate this!  If a reader subscribes to this then they will be reminded daily (if you update the site daily!) that you are there and that there is something new to read.

Galleries

I use Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, DeviantArt etc to post my photos.  This is not only great for sharing your work and getting comments or critique but is also a great way of advertising your website (most galleries allow a website address submission).

Analytics

Use Google Analytics.  I have been using this since day one.  It’s FREE and gives you information such as;

Webmaster Tools

In a similar way Google Webmaster Tools lets you know how you rank on Google for specific phrases or words.  For example FPRranks well for “Camera Filters Explained”.  You can also see how these terms rank for certain countries or in general.

Google Keywords

Google Keywords allows you to enter a keyword relevant to your site and see how this and similar phrases/words rank in terms of searches on Google.  This is great when writing new posts as you can include content directly relevant to the highest searches.  Google Keywords will also suggest other search terms that you may not have considered previously!

Forums

If you post on forums already then you can place the link to your site in your signature.  Please DO NOT just join forums to post links as they will ban you and it is not fair on the other users, only place a link in the signature if you make regular contributions to the site anyway.

Forums are also a great place for inspiration as the content is often random (Photography) and unique.

Plugins/Add-ons

Use the numerous plugins/add-ons available for WordPress or similar to enhance your readers experience.  I have an RSS feed of camera reviews, this ensures that these are always up to date and also means that I can concentrate on other areas (I cant afford to review all of the new DSLR’s on the market!).   You can also let the readers know what the most popular posts are, translate your site into most other languages, automatically post to sites such asTwitter and Facebook or link to your Google Gallery.  WordPress plugins can be ‘browsed’ here.

DNScoop

DNScoop is a great site that evaluates your site, tells you your page rank, traffic and ultimately gives an estimate of value, great to know that you have a nest egg to fall back on!

Alexa

Alexa ranks your website based on relevance, traffic page rank etc and gives you a ‘score’ based on these criteria.  I started off with a rank of about 3 million and FPR is currently about 550,000 and moving up.

Stumbled!

Place icons to enable readers to ‘stumble’ your posts to various bookmarking websites such as;

This increases exposure, usually provides valuable feedback via comments and ultimately increases traffic.

The top 30 bookmarking sites can be found here.

Encourage User Interaction

Encourage readers to comment on posts.  This increases user interaction and makes your readers feel more of a part of the website which will in turn encourage them to return and hopefully tell others about it.