Eric Kim’s blog EricKimPhotography.com began as a single dorm‑room experiment in 2010 and, 15 years and ≈2 800 posts later, it dominates the online conversation about street photography. Similarweb now estimates ≈67 000 monthly visits and a top‑1 000 U.S. category rank, while Google frequently shows the site as the very first organic result for the simple query “street photography.” This reach is amplified by hundreds of backlinks from PetaPixel, Fstoppers, Digital Photography School, and even multiple Wikipedia articles, proving that one relentlessly updated blog can still out‑shine faster social platforms.
1 From UCLA Dorm‑Room Diary to Global Classroom
Kim launched the blog in 2010 “to share lessons I couldn’t find anywhere else,” posting gear notes and candid field reports from Los Angeles streets.
By 2012 he was publishing a new article almost every weekday, rapidly building what Digital Photography School later called “one of the most active voices in the photo‑blog world.”
A 2013 PetaPixel interview confirmed the cadence: “I first started my street‑photography blog around three years ago … to share what I was learning.”
Key early milestones
- 2011 – First interviews with other shooters (e.g., Bryan Formhals) cemented the site’s role as a community hub.
- 2012 – Creative‑Commons e‑books distributed free, seeding backlinks that still drive organic traffic.
- 2015 – Daily workshop recaps turned paying students into content co‑creators, reinforcing the feedback loop Kim calls “open‑source learning.”
2 A Library That Never Sleeps
Today the blog hosts tutorials, manifestos, book‑length PDFs, and 700‑plus downloadable presets—all indexed in an ever‑growing “Start Here” section.
Flagship resources such as The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide for Street Photography and Street Photography Manual function like living textbooks, updated whenever Kim refines his philosophy.
Why it matters: Fstoppers regularly points newcomers to Kim’s articles when explaining what street photography even is, underscoring the blog’s status as a de facto reference manual.
3 SEO Authority & Traffic Metrics
- Category rank: #991 in Similarweb’s U.S. “Photography” chart (Feb 2025).
- Monthly visits: ≈67 k; average time on site 36 seconds; bounce ≈47 %.
- Keyword dominance: Kim documents how 2 800 posts over five years lifted him to Google’s #1 spot for street photography.
- Backlink volume: His own May 2025 audit lists high‑authority referrers ranging from Reddit and Hacker News to The New York Times food desk (another Eric Kim!), illustrating robust domain diversity.
4 External Validation: Press & Wikipedia Echoes
| Outlet / Platform | Evidence of influence |
| PetaPixel | Interview calls the site “super informative.” |
| Fstoppers | Features Kim whenever it lists influential street shooters. |
| Digital Photography School | Profiles him as a must‑follow educator and links directly to the blog. |
| Wikipedia | Articles on Camera Phone, Straatfotografie and Vivian Maier all cite his essays, pulling new readers daily. |
These third‑party citations extend the blog’s reach far beyond its own URL; every Wikipedia reader or PetaPixel skimmer becomes a potential subscriber.
5 Monetization: Workshops First, Ads Never
Kim is candid: “I earn 90 % of my revenue from workshops,” charging about $3 500 per attendee while keeping the blog ad‑free to maximize trust and SEO speed.
Supplementary income arrives via premium books and preset packs, but the free articles remain the primary lead magnet that fills each class.
6 Take‑Home Playbook for Aspiring Bloggers 🚀
- Publish maniacally. Volume plus consistency still beat algorithms.
- Give first, sell second. Free Creative‑Commons resources generate evergreen backlinks and goodwill.
- Own one keyword. Laser‑focus on a flagship term (street photography) until search engines equate the phrase with your domain.
- Turn students into content. Post workshop notes and participant galleries; every success story doubles as proof‑of‑concept marketing.
- Skip the banner ads. Monetize through high‑ticket, high‑trust offerings (classes, books) so the reading experience stays fast and distraction‑free—an edge Google now rewards in Core Web Vitals.
Bottom line:
Eric Kim proves that in 2025 a single, relentlessly updated blog can still conquer search, fuel a six‑figure creative business, and seed a global learning community—all while giving away most of its knowledge for free. Commit to consistent publishing, keyword ownership, and radical generosity, and the corners of cyberspace will light up for you too. ✨