Content SEO for interior designers starts with an awkward truth: most design studio websites are gorgeous and almost silent. Large images, a few words per project and a contact form give Google very little to rank. I help designers add the words, structure and project stories that let their work be found by people planning a renovation, without spoiling the look of the site.
Why image-led portfolios struggle in search
Search engines can interpret images to a degree, but they rank pages mainly on text and context. A project page titled “Hampstead” with twelve photos and one caption tells Google almost nothing about what you did, for whom, in what style or at what scale. Meanwhile, the people who might hire you are searching phrases like “interior designer for a Victorian terrace”, “kitchen extension interior design”, “how much does an interior designer cost” or “boutique hotel interior design studio”.
Pinterest, Instagram and Houzz-style directories pick up a lot of inspiration browsing. Your own site has to capture the moment someone moves from browsing to hiring, and that moment is mostly text searches.
Turning one finished project into a page that ranks
The highest-value content most studios already have is their completed work. Here is the structure I use to rewrite a project page so it reads well and ranks:
- A descriptive title. “A family kitchen and garden room in a 1930s semi” says far more than a street name.
- The brief. What the client wanted, how they lived, and what did not work in the space before.
- Constraints. Listed-building rules, budget, awkward light, a tight timeline, a rented property. Constraints show expertise more convincingly than adjectives.
- Design decisions. Why you chose that layout, palette, lighting plan or joinery, written in your own voice.
- Materials and makers. Named suppliers and craftspeople where they are happy to be credited. These are useful long-tail terms and natural link opportunities.
- Scope and services. Full design, concept only, project management, FF&E sourcing. This links to the matching service page.
- Images with real alt text and captions. “Bespoke oak banquette with storage in a bay window”, not “IMG_4021.
- A client quote, only if the client genuinely gave one and agreed to its use.
Four hundred to seven hundred words per project is usually enough. It does not need to sit above the photographs; a well-designed text section below the gallery works fine.
Service pages for how people actually hire designers
Many studios have a single “Services” page listing everything. Clients search far more specifically, and each distinct way of working deserves its own page:
| Service | Typical search wording | What the page must answer |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service residential design | “interior designer for whole house renovation” | Stages, timeline ranges, how fees are structured |
| E-design or online consultation | “online interior design service”, “virtual interior designer” | What the client receives, what they must measure, revisions |
| Single-room projects | “bedroom interior designer”, “living room design help” | Minimum scope, sample deliverables |
| Commercial and hospitality | “restaurant interior design”, “office fit-out designer” | Working with contractors, brand alignment, compliance with building regulations |
| Styling for sale or let | “home staging”, “styling a rental property” | Turnaround, furniture hire, outcomes you can honestly describe |
Only build the pages for services you actually offer. An empty commercial page written to chase a keyword will not convince a restaurant owner.
The fee question nobody wants to answer
“How much does an interior designer cost” is one of the most searched questions in the sector, and most studios avoid it entirely. You do not have to publish a price list. A page explaining how you charge (fixed fee, percentage of project, hourly, or a mix), what affects the cost, what is included and what is not, and roughly when the fee is paid will attract serious enquirers and filter out mismatched ones. Even a “projects typically start from” line, if you are comfortable with it, helps both search and conversations.
Local content for a business that visits homes
Unless you work entirely online, location matters. Your Google Business Profile should list the areas you serve and the categories that fit (interior designer, and others only if accurate), with project photos added regularly. On the site, a page for each area where you genuinely have completed work and local knowledge, featuring projects from there and notes on typical housing stock, is legitimate. A page for every postcode with swapped place names is not, and is exactly the kind of thin doorway content Google filters out.
Schema and technical details for a visual site
- LocalBusiness markup (or ProfessionalService) with your service area, linked to your Business Profile and social accounts.
- CreativeWork or Article markup on project pages, with image references.
- Compressed, correctly sized images. Heavy galleries are the main reason designer sites load slowly on phones.
- Descriptive image file names and alt text so image search can surface your work.
- Avoiding page builders that render all text inside sliders or scripts Google struggles to read.
More detail on the technical and content work I do is on my services page, and you can read how projects are documented in my case studies.
Questions interior designers ask me
Will adding text ruin the minimal look of my site?
It does not have to. Text can sit below galleries, in expandable sections or on separate “about this project” panels. I work with your designer or developer to keep the visual hierarchy intact while giving search engines something to read.
Should I blog about design trends?
Trend posts attract inspiration readers who rarely hire. Better topics answer planning questions: how long a renovation design stage takes, how to brief a designer, choosing between a kitchen designer and an interior designer. These bring readers closer to commissioning.
Can I show projects if the client wants privacy?
Yes, with their permission and without identifying details. Describe the property type and area in general terms and leave out anything that could locate the home.
If your portfolio looks beautiful but enquiries from search are thin, ask me for a free review. I will look at your project pages, service pages and Business Profile and tell you which changes would matter most.