SEO for Wedding Photographers & Videographers [Updated for 2026]

SEO Terms to Understand

“SEO” (Search Engine Optimization):
The process of ranking a wedding photography website in Google so couples can find it when searching for photographers in their area.

“On-Site SEO”

This is SEO work that is performed directly onto your website. You fully control what happens here. The better you make it the better you perform!

“Off-Site SEO”

This is SEO work that takes place OFF of your website. Simply put: ‘Off-Site SEO’ is just building backlinks! You have much less control here and there are many strategies to get links, some are reliable, some are not and some are even dangerous to your website’s performance.

“Link equity”

The authority passed between pages and websites through links, which determines ranking strength.

Let’s get into it…

What Is SEO for Wedding Photographers?

Almost everyone has heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It’s the process of helping your website rank higher in Google when couples are searching for wedding photographers with search terms like “wedding photographer in Dallas” or “elopement photographer Yosemite.”

If you’re not on the first page for your target keywords, most of those couples getting married won’t find you, because 75% of people never scroll past the first page of search results.

But SEO strategies vary A LOT depending on what industry you’re in. SEO for wedding photographers utilizes different strategies than say SEO for a nationwide clothing brand.

Better SEO for wedding photographers = more eyeballs on your photography = more inquiries and clients without spending money on ads.

Top SEO Ranking Factors for Wedding Photographers and Videographers

Google ranks websites based on three main things: your website structure, relevance, and authority.

Your “Authority” (Link Equity)

The third (and most important) factor is authority, also known as your link equity. Google wants to rank websites it trusts, and trust is earned through backlinks. These are links from other reputable websites that point to yours.

Think blogs that have featured your work, vendors who linked to you, or wedding directories you’re listed in. Backlinks are like votes of confidence, and they carry serious weight in your rankings.

So the hierarchy of ranking factors looks like this:

good structure makes your site accessible → relevant pages make your content useful → backlinks build trust and authority → all of that leads to higher rankings, inquiries and bookings.

Setup Google Search Console (Free)

Google Search Console is how Google’s robot language talks to you (kind of). It tells you what keywords you’re showing up for, which pages are indexed, and whether there are any site issues.

Set it up at search.google.com/search-console.

Once you’re verified, you don’t need to do anything other than just let it collect data. Over time, it will become one of the most valuable tools to analyze ongoing SEO for wedding photographers.

Best Keywords for Wedding Photographers & Videographers

Keyword research is all about figuring out what your dream clients are typing into Google.

Most photographers rank easily for their name or their business name, but that’s only helpful if someone already knows you, which won’t apply to new prospective clients.

You want to rank for what people are actually searching when they start looking for wedding photographers. Luckily for wedding photographers, this is pretty straight forward:

• “wedding photographer Nashville”
• “elopement photographer Moab”
• “NJ wedding photographer”
• “Sacramento Wedding Videographer”

Brainstorm keyword phrases your clients would use. Then, plug those into tools like:

• Ubersuggest
• Keywords Everywhere
• Google Keyword Planner
• Google autocomplete (just start typing and see what pops up)

Look for a balance of specific and relevant. “Photographer” is too broad. “Elopement photographer Las Vegas” is better.

How to Optimize Your Website’s Pages

Once you know your keywords, here’s where the real magic happens: optimizing your website.

Each page on your site should be focused around one main keyword.

For example:

• Homepage: “Seattle Wedding Photographer”
• Venue Page: “Weddings at [Venue Name]”

Here’s a simple on-page SEO for wedding photographers checklist:

• Title tag: Make this match your main keyword followed by your brand name.
  • Example: “Seattle Wedding Photographer | Wild Bloom Studios”
    
• Meta description: This shows up in search results.
  • Example: “Moody wedding photography for free-spirited couples in Seattle. Book your date now.”
    
• H1 heading: Each page should have one. It can match or be a variant of your title.
• Image alt text: Describe your images in plain English. Google can’t “see” photos, so just describe what’s in them with keywords where natural.
• Internal links: Link to your “money” pages (your main geographic pages) where possible

Optimizing Your Photos

Google can’t “see” your images, it relies on image file names and alt text. So be sure to rename your files before uploading (ie: saddlerock-ranch-wedding.jpg instead of IMG_2342.jpg) and write simple, descriptive alt text for each one.

Here’s an example:

• ❌ Alt text: “image123”
• ✅ Alt text: “Bride and groom kissing at Saddlerock Ranch wedding in Malibu”

Location Page(s)

For your secondary markets (locations you actually travel to), you want to target those markets with their own standalone location page that is optimized specifically for that location (and nothing else). For example, if your secondary markets. are Houston and Dallas, then you would have separate pages for those.

Just don’t overdo it. Focus only on locations people are actually searching that you actually serve.

Venue Pages (Better than Blogging)

If you want to rank in Google for searches like “[Venue Name] weddings”, you need individual landing pages for those specific wedding venues. These aren’t blog posts, they’re core pages that are built to rank.

Each page should include:

• A few photos from that venue (ideally your own)
• A short description of your experience shooting there
• A CTA (call to action) to book or inquire

Even if you haven’t shot there yet, you can still create a page. Just say something like “I serve [Venue Name].” It still helps you rank for that venue.

Is Blogging Good SEO for Wedding Photographers and Videographers?

I’m going to save you a lot of time, frustration and energy and tell you something that the “gurus” won’t tell you.

DON’T BLOG. Seriously, just stop.

Blogging is a sacred cow myth in the photographer community that has been parotted over and over since 2011 by wedding photographers who don’t have a background in SEO, but instead just regurgitate bad advice they got from other wedding photographers who got bad advice from other wedding photographers…

What happens is that all of these wedding photographers and videographers blog every shoot they do at random, esoteric locations, that nobody is searching for with the names of the couple, who nobody is searching for.

Like…

“Josh and Amber at The Barn on Diddlydoo Hill Tx 2022”

Or

“Ashley and Devin Winter Wonderland Wedding at the Snow Shack in Aspen”

After doing this dozens of times they end up with a GRAVEYARD of blog posts that don’t get traffic and are dead weight to your website.

These posts end up sucking up your link equity, which weakens your site overall, causing it to perform poorly across the board.

So what to do instead of blogging? See this…