How to Structure Your Website for SEO (3 Tips)

How to Structure Your Website for SEO | The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast Episode #144

Note: This article was originally published alongside a 2024 podcast episode featuring Michelle Pontvert. The core SEO website-structure strategies remain relevant and have been updated for accuracy.

🎙️Listen to the full podcast episode below or scroll down to read the blog post ⬇️

Your website is live. You spent hours picking fonts, swapping colors, and writing your about page three times. But here is the part that might sting a little: if your website is not structured well, search engines have no idea what to do with it. And if Google does not understand your site, your ideal clients will not find you through search.

Good news? Structuring your website for SEO is not as complicated as it sounds, and you do not need expensive tools or a developer on retainer to make it happen. In this post, I am breaking down three practical tips for building a website that works for both real humans and search engines. These tips come straight from a conversation I had with business strategist Michelle Pontvert on the Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast, and they apply whether you are building your first site or giving your current one a long-overdue refresh.

If you want to go deeper on SEO strategy for your photography business, grab my Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report for a birds-eye view of what is working right now.

Why Does Website Structure Matter for SEO?

A well-structured website helps search engines crawl, index, and rank your pages more accurately, which means your ideal clients are more likely to find you through Google.

Think of your website like a physical shop. If someone walks into a store and cannot find what they need, they leave. Google works the same way. If your site layout is confusing, search engines will struggle to understand what your business is about and which pages are most important. That means you are leaving visibility (and potential bookings) on the table.

A clean site structure also helps your pages share what Michelle calls “SEO juice.” When your pages are logically connected through internal links, the ranking strength of one page benefits the others. That is a win across the board.

If you are a solo family photographer running your own website (and let’s be real, most of us are), this is one of the highest-impact things you can do in a single afternoon to improve your search visibility. And once it is set up? It keeps working in the background while you are editing sessions, wrangling toddlers, or, you know, living your actual life.

How Should You Structure Your Website Layout for SEO?

The most effective website layout includes a clear homepage, about page, sales or services pages, a blog or podcast page, a contact page, and legal pages, all connected through simple navigation with five to seven links.

Here is where a lot of photographers trip up. You are multi-passionate (same), you offer multiple session types, you have a podcast AND a blog AND a shop, and you want to link to everything in your header navigation. But cramming 15 tabs into your menu is not doing you any favors. It confuses your visitors and it confuses Google.

Michelle recommends keeping your top navigation to five to seven links, max. Those links are telling Google, “These are the most important pages on this website.” And your visitors? They are getting a clear signal about where to go next instead of freezing in a sea of options.

Here is a strategic navigation structure that works well for most family photographers:

• Homepage (skip listing it in the nav since your logo click already goes there, freeing up a spot)
• About Page
• Services or Sales Pages (tailored to what you are selling, whether that is sessions, mini sessions, or digital products)
• Blog or Podcast Page (this is your content engine for ongoing SEO)
• Contact Page
• Shop (if applicable)

Pro tip from Michelle: Make one of those navigation links a button. Humans love buttons. Whatever you put in that button position will naturally get the most clicks. So if you want families to book sessions, make your contact page or booking link the button. If you sell digital products, make your shop the button. That button is prime real estate for your most important call to action.

And do not forget your legal pages. Your privacy policy and terms and conditions belong in your footer. They are not directly related to SEO, but they signal to both Google and your visitors that your business is legitimate and trustworthy. You can grab legal templates from providers like The Legal Paige (get 10% off with code DOLLY10) and have those pages set up in under an hour.

I learned this the hard way, by the way. For years, I kept both my photography business and my education business on the same website. It confused everyone, including my own husband. Once I separated them into Dolly DeLong Photography and Systems and Workflow Magic, my inquiries started making sense. The right people were finding the right business. Michelle put it perfectly: if you have two different people trying to solve two different problems, you need two different websites.

How Do You Choose an SEO-Friendly Website Template?

An SEO-friendly website template should have a logical page layout, clean heading structure, and fast load times, not just a pretty design.

Templates are a smart shortcut, especially if web design is not your thing. But not all templates are created equal, and this is where many photographers get stuck. You fall in love with a gorgeous template (guilty as charged), buy it on impulse, and then realize it is all style and no substance when it comes to search performance.

When evaluating a template, look for these things:

• Clear heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3 tags used correctly and in order)
• Built-in spots for your core pages (homepage, about, services, blog, contact)
• Fast loading speed (heavy animations and oversized images slow things down)
• Mobile responsiveness (over 60% of searches happen on mobile devices)
• Sales page layouts that match what you are actually selling (a low-ticket digital product page looks very different from a high-ticket service page)

If you are on Showit, you are already in a great spot. Many Showit template designers build with both design and SEO in mind, which is exactly the combo you want. I use Showit for both of my websites and can vouch for how much easier it makes the SEO side when the structure is baked into the template.

Michelle’s advice? Save your creative design energy for pages that do not need to rank, like a freebie landing page or a thank-you page. Your homepage, about page, services pages, and blog are the pages where structure matters most. Keep those clean and structurally sound, and have your design fun on the pages where SEO is less of a priority.

If you want a full system for creating blog content that actually ranks, check out my Blogging and Organic Visibility System for Family Photographers. It walks you through the entire process from keyword research to publishing.

How Should You Use Keywords on Your Website for SEO?

Choose one primary keyword per page and place it in your main heading (H1), at least one subheading (H2), your image alt text, and naturally throughout your body copy.

Keywords are simply the words and phrases your ideal clients type into Google when they are looking for someone like you. If you are a newborn photographer in Nashville, your potential clients might be searching “newborn photographer Nashville” or “best baby photos near me.” Your job is to make sure those words appear on the right pages of your website, so Google knows to show your site in those results.

Here is how to place keywords without making your copy sound robotic:

1. Pick one primary keyword per page. Your homepage might target “Nashville family photographer.” Your blog post might target “what to wear for family photos.” Each page gets its own focus.

2. Put it in your H1 heading. This is the main title of the page and it carries the most weight with search engines. Make it count.

3. Use it in at least one H2 subheading. This reinforces the topic for Google and helps organize your content for readers.

4. Sprinkle it naturally into your body paragraphs. If you are writing about what to wear for family photos, the phrase should come up a few times in the text. But if it sounds forced or repetitive when you read it out loud, scale it back.

5. Add it to your image descriptions and file names. Instead of uploading “IMG_4532.jpg,” rename it to “nashville-family-photographer-session.jpg” and write descriptive alt text that includes your keyword.

Michelle made a great point: if your keyword placement feels natural when you read it out loud, you are on the right track. Google’s algorithm has gotten very good at rewarding content that is written for humans first and search engines second. So you do not need to stuff keywords into every other sentence. Just be intentional and strategic about where they appear.

If you want help figuring out which keywords to target for your specific photography business, I have several podcast episodes where I go deep on keyword research. I will link those below so you can binge them all. You can also check out my Business Tools page for my recommended SEO and marketing tools.

What About Internal Linking for SEO?

Internal links connect your pages to each other, helping search engines understand the relationship between your content and boosting your overall site authority.

This is something Michelle emphasized that often gets overlooked. When you link from your blog post to your services page, from your about page to your contact page, and from one blog post to another related post, you are creating a web of connections that helps Google understand your site as a whole.

A few internal linking tips to put into practice:

• Link from every blog post to at least one services page or product page
• Link between related blog posts (if you wrote about mini session prep, link to your post about what to wear for photos)
• Use descriptive anchor text (the clickable words in a link). Instead of “click here,” write something like “learn more about structuring your mini session workflow“
• Make sure no pages on your site are “orphaned,” meaning they have zero links pointing to them

The more intentionally you connect your pages, the stronger your overall SEO becomes. Think of it as giving Google a clear map of your business.

Your Next Steps

You do not need to overhaul your entire website in one weekend. Start with one thing from this list:

1. Audit your navigation. Can you trim it down to five to seven links? Is your most important CTA in a button?
2. Check your template. Does it have a clean heading structure and fast load times? If not, it might be time to upgrade.
3. Pick one keyword per page and make sure it appears in your H1, at least one H2, and your image alt text.

If you want ongoing support with your marketing strategy, including SEO, content planning, and building systems that actually stick, the Family Photographer’s Marketing Society is where I help photographers do exactly that every month.

And if you want to get organized behind the scenes before you touch your SEO, grab the Backend Organization System for just $7. It is a Trello board that helps you get your entire business operations sorted so you can actually focus on marketing with a clear head.

Frequently Asked Questions About Website Structure and SEO

What is the best website platform for SEO as a photographer? Most website platforms can work for SEO, but Showit, WordPress, and Squarespace tend to offer the most flexibility for photographers. Showit pairs beautifully with WordPress blogging, which gives you strong SEO capabilities right out of the box. The platform matters less than how you structure and optimize your content.

How many pages should my photography website have? At minimum, you need a homepage, about page, services or sales pages, a contact page, and legal pages (privacy policy and terms). Adding a blog or podcast page gives you a content engine for ongoing SEO growth. Beyond that, only add pages that serve a clear purpose for your visitors.

Do I need to hire someone to do SEO for my website? No. You can absolutely handle foundational SEO yourself, especially the structural and keyword strategies covered in this post. SEO does not have to be complicated or expensive. If you want guided support, my Blogging and Organic Visibility System walks you through the process step by step.

How often should I update my website structure? Review your navigation and page structure at least once a year, or whenever you add a new offer or shift your business focus. Your blog content should be added to consistently (even once or twice a month makes a difference), and older posts should be refreshed with updated information and links as needed.

Can a pretty website template hurt my SEO? It can if the design comes at the expense of structure. Heavy animations, oversized images, and confusing navigation can slow down your site and make it harder for search engines to crawl. Always prioritize structure and speed alongside aesthetics.

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Meet Your Favorite Marketing Strategist and Business Coach for Family Photographers (Dolly DeLong Education)

Hi, I’m Dolly DeLong, a Nashville-based family photographer, marketing strategist, and systems educator for family photographers who want structure, clarity, and consistency in their marketing.

My photography journey began in 2006, and over the years, I built a sustainable family photography business while navigating motherhood, client work, and the realities of running a solo creative business. Along the way, I discovered something unexpected: I loved the backend just as much as the creative side.

What started as organizing my own workflows turned into helping other family photographers simplify their marketing, build repeatable systems, and stop relying on last-minute posting or panic marketing.

Today, I focus exclusively on helping family photographers intentionally market their businesses (not with trends but with consistently showing up).

I offer two ways to work with me:

• The Family Photographer’s Marketing Society: a systems-first membership that provides a clear weekly marketing cadence for Instagram and email, so you always know what to focus on without starting over.

• 1:1 Strategic Marketing Support for established family photographers who want hands-on guidance in building a sustainable, SEO-supported marketing system.

Through my blog, podcast, and YouTube channel, I teach family photographers how to think like marketers, plan ahead, and create marketing rhythms that support both their business and their family life.

I still photograph families around Nashville because it’s one of my greatest joys. But helping family photographers build calm, consistent marketing systems that actually fit real life is a close second.

I’m so glad you are here, reading this blog, listening to the podcast, or watching the embedded YouTube video. I hope this educational content was helpful. Please let me know what future systems content you would like me to create!