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.

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.

Creating a search-friendly site is all about making it easy for search engines to crawl through your site and determine what it is about. This involves things like using heading tags and opting against any questionable tactics that may trick or confuse search engines.

2. Include Keywords and Phrases in Your Page Titles

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.

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.

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 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. Build Links

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.

Anyone that aspires to build a site that gets lots of search traffic will need to focus on link building. Here are a few ideas of ways to get links to your portfolio site:

Put a blog on your site – Portfolio sites and blogs are popular combinations, and part of the reason is that blogs attract links from other blogs. It will take some work to maintain the blog and publish new content, but it is one of the best things you can do for search traffic.

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.

Get your site featured in design galleries – There are hundreds (maybe even thousands) of web design and CSS gallery sites that showcase excellent work from various designers. You can submit your site and if it is good enough you can build a lot of links this way.

5. Design a Beautiful Site

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. 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.

Steven Snell is a web designer and freelance blogger. He maintains a gallery of portfolio sites and a gallery of e-commerce websites.

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Tags: internet, internet marketing, link building, marketing, portfolio websites, portfolios, SEO, Social Media, Web Design, web design services, website design, websites

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