How One Backlink From a Major Site Changed My Photography Business
I almost missed it.
The email came through with the subject line "Photo credit added." I get these occasionally when sites respond to my attribution requests. Usually it's a small blog, maybe a few hundred monthly visitors.
This one was different.
The link came from a major marketing publication—one you've definitely heard of if you work in content or advertising. Domain authority over 80. Millions of monthly readers.
They'd used my photo in an article about visual content strategy. And now, thanks to a polite email I'd sent three weeks earlier, they'd added "Photo by [my name]" with a link to my portfolio.
Here's what happened next.
The Immediate Effect
Within days, I noticed something unusual in Google Search Console.
My portfolio's average position for "commercial photographer [my city]" jumped from position 47 to position 22. That's moving from page 5 to page 3.
Still not great. But for one backlink? That's significant movement.
The Ripple Effects
Over the following weeks:
My domain authority increased. Tools like Moz showed a measurable uptick. One high-quality backlink can move the needle more than dozens of low-quality ones.
Other rankings improved. It wasn't just one keyword. Multiple related terms saw position improvements. The rising tide lifted several boats.
Referral traffic trickled in. The article itself sent visitors. Not massive numbers, but real people clicking through to see my portfolio.
My other backlinks became more valuable. Here's something non-obvious: when your domain authority increases, the links you already have pass more value. It's compounding.
Why This One Link Mattered
Not all backlinks are equal. This one was valuable because:
High domain authority. The site had been around for years, with thousands of other sites linking to it. That authority flows through their outbound links.
Relevant content. The article was about visual content and photography. Google sees relevance between the linking page and my photography portfolio.
Natural anchor text. "Photo by [my name]" is exactly what a photo credit should look like. It doesn't look like spam or manipulation.
Editorial context. The link was placed by a human editor making a conscious choice, not by some automated system. Google can tell the difference.
What I Did Differently
This backlink didn't happen by accident. Here's the context:
I uploaded the photo to Unsplash two years earlier. It had accumulated about 800 downloads—decent, but not exceptional.
When I decided to get serious about attribution, I started tracking where my most-downloaded photos appeared. This particular photo showed up on several high-profile sites.
Most of those sites ignored my outreach. A few said they couldn't add credits for policy reasons. But this one publication responded with a simple "Done, thanks for the great photo."
That's it. One email. One response. One backlink. Real results.
The Email That Made It Happen
A lot of photographers ask what the actual outreach looks like. It's simpler than you'd think. No legal threats. No lengthy explanations. Just a brief, genuine note.
The version I sent that day was roughly three sentences long:
Hi [Name], I'm the photographer behind the image you used in your [article title] piece — it was a great article. I'd love a small photo credit if you're open to it. No pressure either way, and thanks for the feature!
That's it. No aggressive phrasing about "rightful credit" or "license compliance." Friendly, low-stakes, and easy to say yes to.
The key elements: - Personalize it. Reference the specific article so they know you're not blasting templates. - Make it easy. Phrase it as a request, not a demand. - Give them an out. "No pressure" disarms defensiveness. Ironically it makes people more likely to say yes. - Be brief. Editors are busy. Five sentences is better than fifteen.
For more templates and examples across different scenarios, the email outreach guide for photographers goes deeper on this.
Which Photos Are Worth Pursuing?
Not every photo in your portfolio is equally valuable to chase. Before you invest time in outreach, it helps to think about which of your images are most likely to land on high-authority sites.
A few signals worth prioritizing:
Generic business / lifestyle shots. Photos of laptops, people in meetings, coffee and notebooks, city streets — these are catnip for content marketers. They need them constantly, and they grab them from wherever is convenient. Pexels and Unsplash are often that place.
High-download photos. If a photo has been downloaded thousands of times, more of those downloads probably ended up on significant sites. Volume is a proxy for placement.
Photos with broad appeal. Niche specialty shots are used less. A beautifully composed photo of a handshake or a team meeting shows up everywhere.
Photos in popular categories. Marketing, technology, business, health, and lifestyle articles have enormous content output from major publications. If your photos fit these themes, you're more likely to land on sites that matter.
Focusing your outreach energy on photos with these characteristics increases your return on the time you invest.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Here's what nobody tells you about SEO: it often comes down to a handful of high-value backlinks.
You can chase hundreds of small links from low-authority sites. Or you can land a few links from sites that actually move the needle.
Stock photo attribution is one of the rare ways photographers can access high-authority sites. Major publications use stock photos constantly. If they're using yours, you have a legitimate reason to reach out.
What Happens When You Build a Pattern
That first major backlink changed how I think about photography as a business asset — but the real insight came a few months later when I landed a second high-DA link, then a third.
The cumulative effect wasn't linear. It was more like a threshold.
After the first link, I climbed from page 5 to page 3 for my main keyword. After the second and third, I broke into the top 10. That's when the inbound inquiries started. Clients finding me through Google instead of referrals. A tangible shift in how the business felt.
SEO is often described as a long game, which is true — but it undersells how nonlinear the payoff is. Positions 1-3 capture the vast majority of clicks on any keyword. Everything below is scraps. So those last few position jumps, the ones that put you on page one, are disproportionately valuable.
High-authority backlinks are often what bridges that gap. You can do everything else right — solid site structure, good content, fast load times — and still stall in positions 15-30 without meaningful links from credible sources.
That's why this matters. Not as a neat trick, but as a core part of a long-term photography SEO strategy.
The Reality of Response Rates
I want to be honest about the numbers here, because inflated expectations lead to burnout.
In a given month, I might identify 40-60 sites that are using my photos without credit. Of those:
- ~50% won't respond at all
- ~30% will respond with "we can't add credits due to our policy" or similar
- ~15% will add the credit but without a link
- ~5% will add a proper linked credit
That 5% doesn't sound like much. But spread across a year of consistent outreach, it adds up to real links from real sites. And because I'm prioritizing higher-authority targets, those links carry weight.
The photographers who give up on this approach usually quit after the first wave of silence or polite rejections. The ones who stick with it understand they're playing a volume game aimed at quality outcomes, not a high-conversion sales pitch.
My Approach Now
After that experience, I changed my strategy:
Quality over quantity. I focus outreach on higher-authority sites, even if the response rate is lower.
Patience over speed. Some sites take months to respond. I keep records and occasionally follow up.
Photography over link building. I still spend most of my time shooting. But I carve out a few hours monthly for outreach.
Tracking everything. I know which photos are getting used, where, and whether I've contacted those sites.
The single backlink from that major publication was worth more than the 50+ smaller backlinks I'd accumulated before it. That realization changed how I spend my time.
What One Backlink Can Do
If you're skeptical about whether this matters, consider what one high-authority backlink can trigger:
- Jump 20-30 positions in search rankings
- Increase your domain authority by 2-5 points
- Make all your other backlinks more powerful
- Send direct referral traffic
- Boost credibility (you were featured on a major site)
Now multiply that by getting 5-10 high-authority links over a year. The cumulative effect on your photography business can be significant.
The Catch
The catch is that high-authority sites are harder to reach. They get more email. They have stricter editorial policies. Many won't add credits regardless of how nicely you ask.
You need volume to land these wins. For every major publication that adds your credit, you might contact 20 that don't respond.
That's why I initially thought this kind of outreach wasn't worth my time. Too much effort for too few responses.
But the math changes when you realize that one big win outweighs dozens of small ones. You're not trying to get credits from everyone. You're trying to land a few that actually matter.
Your Turn
If you have photos on stock platforms, you probably have opportunities like this waiting.
Somewhere out there, a high-authority site is using your photo without credit. One email could change that. And that one backlink could meaningfully impact your business.
The question is whether you're willing to find those opportunities and act on them.
Finding high-value backlink opportunities from your stock photos takes work. That's what we're building Backlink Harvest to solve. Join the waitlist to be first in line.