MY STORY

If you’re like many wedding professionals, you’re all too familiar with the glut of new wedding pros entering the marketplace each year. If you’re a wedding venue or caterer or even florist, you may not be feeling it as much. But if you’re a wedding photographer, then I don’t have to tell you that there are a lot more people vying for a piece of the pie.

Let me tell you a bit about my story and what I’ve seen happen in the photography industry over the last 10 years generally and in Denver, CO specifically.

When my wife, Julie Harris, started her wedding photography business in 2003, I made it my business to find out who the major players were in the marketplace at that time. I researched the competition and did my homework. Thankfully, I discovered that I had a knack for SEO. In Julie’s very first wedding season, she booked over 30 weddings (granted, she was only charging $1200 per wedding). Even so, Julie and I quickly discovered that being at the top of Google had its rewards. She also did quite well with her portrait business too due to search engine traffic. Since 2003, Julie has become one of the most successful and prominent wedding and portrait photographers in the state of Colorado. Her search traffic is awesome and we have both been very thankful for the success that she has enjoyed. She shoots around 25 weddings a year as well as quite a few portrait sessions.

How many inquiries does Julie receive per year? She averages at least 2 inquiries a day for either wedding or portrait photography. So more than 700 inquiries a year.

I started SEO for Wedding Pros because I've experienced firsthand the amazing effectiviness of SEO. From our personal experience, it has become more than apparent that obtaining 1st page results can have a big impact on the success of your wedding business. With the glut of new photographers entering the marketplace, how are you going to get the business and bookings you need and want? In Colorado alone, there are literally hundreds of photographers vying for a piece of the pie. And speaking with various friends in the industry, I have learned that even established photographers who have been in business since 2000 are struggling to book weddings. These trends are holding up nationwide. Let's face it, there are just too many photographers vying for the same clients. It's simple economics, a healthy but static demand and too much supply. Throw a stone into a crowd and you'll probably hit a wedding photographer! There's just that many of them now.

And if you’re a wedding florist, cake shop, bridal dress store, caterer or venue, you need to pay attention to this too. People use search engines now to find EVERYTHING! And showing up in the organic, natural search results (as opposed to paying for AdWords), can make or break your business! 1st page rankings in Google are a huge competitive advantage for your business.

If you’re a Colorado wedding photographer, I’m sorry to inform you that I am not available to SEO your website. Sorry, but keeping Julie at the top is my number one priority. But if you’re not in Colorado, then definitely drop me a line! I only accept a few vendors per region per industry.

Contact me to learn more about my services... I'd love to hear from you.

All the best,

Jesse Chatham