The online portfolio is one of the most important assets for any web designer or web developer (not to mention other professions like photographers). A good portfolio site is capable of being the leading source of new clients, which is the lifeblood of any service-related business.
Although online portfolios are critical to the success of designers and developers, getting exposure for a portfolio site is difficult because there are simply so many of them. With so much competition it is critical that you consider how you will market your portfolio, rather than simply putting it up and waiting for people to come see it.
Here we will go over several tips that can help you to get more out of your portfolio site by increasing its exposure to potential clients.
1. Consider Search Engines
Search engine optimization is a very large topic that involves a lot of different aspects. The structure of the site itself is just one aspect, but it is an important foundation. You can give your portfolio site a chance to get decent rankings by making it easy for search engines to crawl the site and determine what it is about.
To make your site search friendly, use valid code that is clean and well-organized. This includes proper use of headings, and choosing not to do anything that will trick search engines or make it difficult for them to crawl your site.
2. Use Effective Page Title that Include Your Keywords
One of the most important factors for search engine rankings is the page title, so give plenty of attention to the titles that you use. Think about what people will be searching for and what will help them to find you.
Since there are so many sites out there already that are about web design-related topics, it's best to pick more specific phrases that can narrow down the amount of competition you have and increase your chances of ranking high.
A good strategy is to use specific keywords and phrases that will have less people searching for them, but also much less competition. You could use a phrase like "Drupal web development" and have a better chance to come up in the rankings for a specific search, and your site will be more relevant to those searchers.
3. Consider Localization
One method of significantly narrowing down the competition is to optimize your site for local searches. For example, if your page title is "Miami web design" you will have a much better chance of ranking high for similar searches, and the amount of competition will be far less than with a term like "web design."
4. Link Building
Along with the page title, links from other websites are as influential to search engine rankings as any other factor. In a way, search engine rankings are a bit of a popularity contest. Google views a link as basically a vote. When you link to another website you are essentially endorsing it.
If you want to dominate the search engines you will need to focus your efforts on getting links from other websites. There are any number of approaches you could take for a portfolio site, but here are a few:
Add a blog - Blogging is a great way to attract links as bloggers often link out to other blogs. Of course, it will also take work to write the content.
Market your site and blog via social media - SMM is a great way to get links. Articles that draw a lot of attention from social media users will generally get a lot of links.
Link exchanges - Exchanging links with other designers and bloggers can also help.
Web design galleries - There are tons of sites out there that exist for the purpose of displaying the best web design work from various designers. If your site is good enough you can get featured in a lot of galleries and build links this way.
5. Make it Attractive
If you want your site to be featured in the best website galleries you will need to design something that is truly special. Be sure not to rush, give yourself enough time to do the very best work that you can. If it is good enough it will make the rounds through design galleries and bring a lot of exposure for you and your portfolio.
6. Use Freebies to Draw People In
One popular way for designers and design bloggers to gain exposure and links is to give things away for free. You could give away a free template or theme that you designed, an icon pack, Photoshop brushes, or just about anything thing else that will be useful to others.
Although online portfolios are critical to the success of designers and developers, getting exposure for a portfolio site is difficult because there are simply so many of them. With so much competition it is critical that you consider how you will market your portfolio, rather than simply putting it up and waiting for people to come see it.
Here we will go over several tips that can help you to get more out of your portfolio site by increasing its exposure to potential clients.
1. Consider Search Engines
Search engine optimization is a very large topic that involves a lot of different aspects. The structure of the site itself is just one aspect, but it is an important foundation. You can give your portfolio site a chance to get decent rankings by making it easy for search engines to crawl the site and determine what it is about.
To make your site search friendly, use valid code that is clean and well-organized. This includes proper use of headings, and choosing not to do anything that will trick search engines or make it difficult for them to crawl your site.
2. Use Effective Page Title that Include Your Keywords
One of the most important factors for search engine rankings is the page title, so give plenty of attention to the titles that you use. Think about what people will be searching for and what will help them to find you.
Since there are so many sites out there already that are about web design-related topics, it's best to pick more specific phrases that can narrow down the amount of competition you have and increase your chances of ranking high.
A good strategy is to use specific keywords and phrases that will have less people searching for them, but also much less competition. You could use a phrase like "Drupal web development" and have a better chance to come up in the rankings for a specific search, and your site will be more relevant to those searchers.
3. Consider Localization
One method of significantly narrowing down the competition is to optimize your site for local searches. For example, if your page title is "Miami web design" you will have a much better chance of ranking high for similar searches, and the amount of competition will be far less than with a term like "web design."
4. Link Building
Along with the page title, links from other websites are as influential to search engine rankings as any other factor. In a way, search engine rankings are a bit of a popularity contest. Google views a link as basically a vote. When you link to another website you are essentially endorsing it.
If you want to dominate the search engines you will need to focus your efforts on getting links from other websites. There are any number of approaches you could take for a portfolio site, but here are a few:
Add a blog - Blogging is a great way to attract links as bloggers often link out to other blogs. Of course, it will also take work to write the content.
Market your site and blog via social media - SMM is a great way to get links. Articles that draw a lot of attention from social media users will generally get a lot of links.
Link exchanges - Exchanging links with other designers and bloggers can also help.
Web design galleries - There are tons of sites out there that exist for the purpose of displaying the best web design work from various designers. If your site is good enough you can get featured in a lot of galleries and build links this way.
5. Make it Attractive
If you want your site to be featured in the best website galleries you will need to design something that is truly special. Be sure not to rush, give yourself enough time to do the very best work that you can. If it is good enough it will make the rounds through design galleries and bring a lot of exposure for you and your portfolio.
6. Use Freebies to Draw People In
One popular way for designers and design bloggers to gain exposure and links is to give things away for free. You could give away a free template or theme that you designed, an icon pack, Photoshop brushes, or just about anything thing else that will be useful to others.
About the Author:
Steven Snell is a web designer and freelance blogger. He maintains a gallery of portolio websites and a gallery of e-commerce websites.
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