Most of these case studies come from emails my readers send me. With their permission, I share them with the names changed. I do this so that others can learn from what worked and what didn't. Have a story of your own? Share it with me.
- 3.4xmore visits from Google
- 5Google inquiries a month, up from 1
- 12blog posts written in 8 weeks
“I had 60 blog posts, and nobody new was reading them.”
That’s how Hannah, a wedding photographer in Leeds, England, sums up her old website.
Her wedding photographer blog results were slow at first, then hard to ignore.
Hannah shoots about 25 weddings a year, mostly barns and country houses around Yorkshire. Nearly all her bookings came from word of mouth.
She didn’t hire a writer. She didn’t buy ads. She wrote 12 posts herself, in eight busy weeks.
Six months later, Google was sending her 3.4 times more visitors.
The first two months looked like nothing was happening. That part matters, so I’ll show it too.
Here’s the whole story, month by month, with the numbers.
The problem
Every post on Hannah’s blog was a gallery. Forty photos, two first names, and one line, “Such a lovely day!”
Galleries feel like the natural thing to post. But Google reads words, not photos.
So her pages could only show up for one search, her own name.
That’s fine for people who already know you. It’s no help for couples who don’t.
Couples, on the other hand, type full questions into Google.
- “How much does a wedding photographer cost in Leeds?”
- “What happens if it rains at a barn wedding?”
- “Is a first look worth it?”
Hannah had answered these by email dozens of times. None of those answers lived on her website.
Her starting numbers, as a three-month average.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Google visits a month | 410 |
| Top search that found her | Her own name |
| Google inquiries a month | 1 |
| Time on a blog post | 38 seconds |
That last line says it all. People glanced at the photos and left.
The solution
Hannah kept her galleries. But every new post would answer one real question a couple asks.
Her own weddings would be the proof inside each answer.
She set herself three rules.
- 12 posts, no more. A list she could finish, not a calendar that never ends.
- Three posts every two weeks. Steady, even in wedding season.
- One next step in every post. “Check if your date is open.”
Her prices, packages and photos stayed exactly the same. Only the blog changed.
This matches what Google asks for, too. Its guide on helpful, people-first content says to write for real readers’ questions.
The process that worked
The plan ran in three stages. Each one had its own job.
Month 1. Pick the questions, then write
Hannah went through a long list of wedding photographer blog ideas. She kept only the 12 that matched her inbox.
| Weeks | Posts |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Rain plan for barn weddings · Photographer cost in Leeds · Meet Hannah |
| 3-4 | Yorkshire barn venue guide · Wedding day timeline · Emma and Josh’s wedding |
| 5-6 | Is a first look worth it? · Harrogate photo spots · Engagement photo outfits |
| 7-8 | Winter weddings · Ruth and Ade’s wedding · Questions to ask your photographer |
Money and planning questions came first. Those are what couples ask right before they book.
“I’m a photographer, not a writer,” she told me. So she dodged the blank page.
- Talk first. She recorded voice notes on the drive home, then typed them up.
- Raid old emails. Three long replies to couples became three first drafts.
- Work in short bursts. 45 minutes, one section, then stop.
Every post followed one shape. The question as the title, a short answer up top, then details with her photos.
Each took about three hours, spread across two or three sittings.
Month 2. Stretch one wedding into five posts
A single barn wedding near Harrogate gave her five posts.
- The wedding story, this time with words
- A guide to the barn as a venue
- The rain plan (it poured at 4 pm)
- The day’s full timeline
- A thank-you post for the florist, caterer and band
The suppliers shared that thank-you post with their own followers. Free visitors, no chasing.
Each new post also got a 20-minute push on launch day.
- An Instagram carousel with five photos and the main tip
- A short note to past couples on her email list
- An update on her Google Business Profile
Even so, traffic barely moved. Month one brought 410 visits. Month two brought 430.
That’s normal. Google needs time to find new pages and trust them.
Months 3 to 6. Wedding photographer blog results climb
From month three, the posts began to rank.
| Month | Google visits | Google inquiries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 410 | 1 |
| 2 | 430 | 1 |
| 3 | 520 | 2 |
| 4 | 760 | 3 |
| 5 | 1,050 | 4 |
| 6 | 1,390 | 5 |
Inquiries grew a little slower than visits. Most couples read for weeks before they write.
Four posts brought in about two-thirds of her visits by month six.
| Post | Share of visits |
|---|---|
| Photographer cost in Leeds | 31% |
| Rain plan for barn weddings | 14% |
| Yorkshire barn venue guide | 12% |
| Wedding day timeline | 9% |
| Other 8 new posts | 22% |
| Old galleries and home page | 12% |
The top post is the one she nearly skipped. Sharing her price online felt risky.
Instead, it filtered her inbox. Couples who wrote already knew her price.
Over six months, she got 16 Google inquiries and booked 3 weddings. At £1,850 each, that’s about £5,550.
Time on a post rose from 38 seconds to 2 minutes 40 seconds. People were finally reading.
What we learned from here
Answer real questions, then wait long enough to see it work. Good wedding photographer blog results are slow before they are fast.
Her first eight weeks looked flat. If she’d quit in month two, she’d have missed the climb.
Here’s what she’d keep and what she’d drop next time.
| Keep doing | Stop doing |
|---|---|
| Answer questions couples type into Google | Post photo-only galleries |
| Pick 12 topics you can finish | Plan 50 posts you’ll never write |
| Write the price post early | Hide your starting price |
| Squeeze five posts from one wedding | Treat each wedding as one post |
| Share each post on launch day | Wait for Google to notice |
Some things flopped. Her winter weddings post went live in late summer, when nobody searched for winter.
She plans to reshare it in October.
Adding a few lines to five old galleries did almost nothing. Fresh posts built on real questions did far better.
Weekly posting didn’t last either. She missed week four. Three posts every two weeks was the pace she could keep.
Her next step is a second batch of 12 posts, this time on venues across Yorkshire.
The best sign came in her inbox. “We read your rain plan post three times. We’re booking a barn in October, so we need you.”
More case studies
A Plain Cost Post Gave Brand Photographer Yvette 5 Inquiries a Month
- 140 to 1,150blog visits a month
- 5inquiries a month from the blog
- 2booked shoots
Joelle’s Newborn Photographer Blog Books 13 Sessions Once It Answers Questions
- 14xmore visits from Google a month
- 9blog inquiries in the last month, up from 0
- 13newborn sessions booked from the blog in 5 months
Headshot Photographer Hollis Stops Posting Galleries and Books 3 Team Days From His Blog
- 60 to 910blog visits a month
- 8inquiries a month from the blog
- 3full team days booked
A Post About Rain Changed Personal Branding Photographer Marisa’s Whole Blog
- 90 to 1,300blog visits a month
- 6discovery calls a month from the blog
- 2past clients who rebooked
Helpful Blog Posts Bring Maternity Photographer Leigh 12 Bookings
- 60 to 740blog visits a month
- 9inquiries a month from the blog
- 12sessions booked from blog readers
Greta Wrote Fewer Blog Posts and Went From 90 to 640 Visits a Month as a Portrait Photographer
- 90 to 640Google visits a month
- 0 to 9inquiries a month from the blog
- 7sessions booked
Brand Photographer Bertrand Fixed 3 Hot Spots on His Website and Got 11 Messages a Month
- 3 to 11form messages a month
- 5shoots booked
- 14 to 5form fields
Brand Photographer Calla Filmed Her Intro in a Taqueria and Kept 58% of Viewers
- 9% to 58%watched to the end
- 6owners mentioned the video
- 3shoots booked