Web designers and web developers can benefit greatly from having an outstanding portfolio site. The portfolio is often a primary method of finding new business (or maybe more accurately, letting new business find you). Additionally, it is the best way for potential clients to observe your work and see what you have to offer.
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.
This article will cover some basic things that you can do to market your online portfolio and make a bigger impact on a higher number of potential clients.
1. Build a Search Engine-Friendly Site
There are almost infinite topics that we could discuss about Search Engine Optimization, but one of the most important is simply building a search-friendly site. This doesn't mean that your site will rank high, but it does mean that search engines will have no problems crawling your site to find all of you pages and to know what phrases it is targeting.
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. Include Keywords and Phrases in Your Page Titles
Page titles are critical for search engine rankings, more so than any other on-page factor. Give lots of thought to the titles that you choose for your pages and try to match them up with the same words and phrases that people are likely to use in a search to find that page.
There are already millions of sites and pages that cover topics related to web design, so going after general keywords like "website design" is not likely to result in high search engine rankings. Instead, focus of phrases that are more specific and likely to have less competition, that will give you a better chance to earn high rankings.
Consider specific words and phrases such as "e-commerce web design." This is descriptive of the services provided but will eliminate a lot of competition as compared to more general keywords, meaning you will have a better chance for a good ranking.
3. Localization is an Option
One way to make your website stand out is to optimize it for local searches. For example, instead of targeting the phrase "web designer," try targeting "Philadelphia web designer." This will drastically decrease the competition that you have for search rankings and it is something that local clients would actually search for.
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.
Use social media - Social media marketing can be an extremely successful way to build links as popular items often attract links from all kinds of sites.
Reciprocal links - You can exchange links with other websites, just don't go overboard and do this with hundreds of sites or it will put up red flags for search engines.
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
One of the best things you can do to promote your site is to simply make it special. A great portfolio design will market itself quite well. Take your time and make something that is reflective of your best work.
6. Consider Giving Away Freebies
Giving to get is a popular method of promoting a website. People love free stuff, so if you can give something of quality that people will want, you will increase the number of people that come to your portfolio site. You could give away free website templates, code snippets, or anything else that will attract links and visitors.
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