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The Sparkes Photography Co.

Photographer · Merivale, Christchurch

What your customers see when they look for you, and where that puts you among 194 Christchurch photography businesses.

ReportLocal marketing report
Checked13 October 2026
Your marketChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
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Executive summaryExclusive Marketbase business report

The Sparkes Photography Co.

Photographer · Merivale, Christchurch

Where you stand#78of 194 photography businesses
Overall health6.0/10across the eight areas

Going well

08Opening hours9.802Reviews8.904Listings and social8.603Map positions8.501Google listing6.9

Where we can help

05Facebook page5.307Google search and traffic0.006Your website-
How AI describes youMarketbase business report

What AI tells people about you

The Sparkes Photography Co. is a Merivale-based Christchurch photography studio that focuses on capturing scenes, moments and vibes to bring out a photo's aesthetic value. The team works on weddings, engagement shoots and event photography, and the owners emphasise a personable, easy-to-coordinate approach. Clients often note polished imagery and a relaxed on-the-day experience.

The Sparkes Photography Co. is a photography studio located in Merivale, Christchurch. The practice describes a knack for capturing a scene, a moment or a vibe to get the best aesthetic value a photo has to offer. Work is delivered across a mix of occasions and sits in a clearly visual, lifestyle-oriented style.

Services include wedding photography, engagement shoots and event coverage, with clients mentioning both photos and video in feedback. The team is presented as hands-on during shoots and attentive in planning, offering coordination and on-the-day support. Booking interactions are described as straightforward, with the studio responding to brief and logistics around special moments.

Clients commonly report feeling comfortable and well supported while being photographed. Reviews highlight a calm, accommodating presence from the photographers and note that guests often responded positively on the day. Many clients emphasise the emotional capture and overall quality of the final images, describing photos as stunning and reflective of the occasion.

Locally, The Sparkes Photography Co. is distinguished by a focus on aesthetic detail and a people-first approach to shoots. The studio is run by a small team that appears to combine planning, steady on-the-day direction and post-shoot delivery of images and video. For Christchurch clients seeking event and wedding coverage from a Merivale-based studio, the Sparkes offering centres on visual style and a reassuring client experience.

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01Google listingMarketbase business report

Your Google listing

The Sparkes Photography Co. shows an above-average Google Business health of 6.9/10, indicating the listing is generally well-optimised but with room to improve. Key strengths include claimed status, a live website link, a visible phone number, and clear open-for-business status. The primary opportunity is refining the description to stand out, while photos remain competitive and important for rankings.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Open statusYour listing shows the business as trading, so customers see accurate availability and Google treats the listing as live.
  • ✓
    ClaimedYour listing is claimed, so you control what it says, you can reply to reviews, and edits suggested by the public come to you first.
  • ✓
    NameYour business name is showing on the listing, so a customer searching for you by name finds you, and everything else on the listing hangs off it.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Description lengthYour description is far shorter than what most businesses here have written, which means a customer comparing listings gets a line from you and three paragraphs from the business beside you.
  • 2
    Photos on the listingYou have more photos on your listing than half the businesses here, so a customer arriving has enough to look at that they stay on it.
  • 3
    Category fitYour categories cover this market better than the middle of the field, so you appear in most of the searches your competitors appear in.
11 checks on your Google listing. You're seeing 6 of them.
6.9Good
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Tiles © Esri
The Sparkes Photography Co.
2
The Sparkes Photography Co.✓✓
5.0 ★★★★★ (22)
Photographer · Merivale3
Open 7 days ✓
DirectionsCall Website
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
From the business

A knack for capturing a scene, a moment or a vibe to get the best aesthetic value a photo has to offer.

1
Google listingChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #61 for your Google listing
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Google SearchGoogle MapsBusiness Profile
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02ReviewsMarketbase business report

Your reviews

The Sparkes Photography Co. shows a very high overall health on Google reviews, with a strong star rating and solid engagement. The top finding is a stellar star rating, placing the business in the top 10% for customer satisfaction. A secondary positive is the steady number of reviews indicating growing trust from clients.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Star ratingYour rating is among the highest in this market and it does its own selling - a customer sees it before they read anything else.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Review confidenceYour rating and your review count together sit ahead of half the field here, so a customer has enough to go on and no reason to hesitate.
  • 2
    Response rateYou answer more of your reviews than the middle of this market, so a customer scrolling your page mostly finds you there.
  • 3
    Review countYour review count sits above the middle of this market, which puts you in the group customers read as established rather than untested.
4 checks on your reviews. You're seeing all of them.
8.9Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
The Sparkes Photography Co.
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
5.0★★★★★22 reviews 3
5
4
3
2
1✓
wedding 14video 8feel 3camera 2meeting 2minds 2
1How far your rating and your review count together can be trusted
C
Campbell T.★★★★★ · 8 months ago

You will not regret booking Jenna for your big day. Some things we enjoyed about Jenna: Her photography is stunning. We can’t speak highly enough about the quality and how she captured every part of our day. She listened to us and what w...

Response from the owner2

Thanks so much, Campbell. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this. It was such a pleasure to be part of your day and to capture everything that made it yours. I’m so glad you felt comfor...

M
Matthew H.★★★★★ · 10 months ago

I arranged a surprise engagement photoshoot with Jenna for the day after I proposed to my now fiancée. She was so easy to communicate with and really went above and beyond with the support she provided leading up to the photoshoot. Jenna tr...

Response from the owner

Thank you so much, Matthew, for your incredibly kind words! It was such a pleasure to be part of your surprise engagement shoot – from the stunning South Canterbury backdrop to the genuine connection...

Google reviewsChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #22 for your Google reviews
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Google reviewsBusiness Profile
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03Map positionsMarketbase business report

Where you show up on the map

The Sparkes Photography Co. shows strong Maps search health with an overall health score of 8.8 out of 10, indicating very high visibility in Google Maps. The top opportunities focus on maintaining high aggregate visibility and pushing the suburb- level score into the top 10% by refining the Google Business Listing. Current top keywords show solid ranking for merivale-related queries, especially wedding and portrait work.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top two opportunities

  • 1
    Maps visibility across the city groupYou turn up across more of the surrounding suburbs than nearly everyone here, so a customer searching well outside your own patch still sees you.
  • 2
    Maps visibility in your own suburbYou show up in local Maps searches more often than nearly every business in your suburb, so a customer searching nearby sees you before most of your competition.
2 checks on your map positions. You're seeing both.
8.5Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
1234Tiles © Esri
photographer
1Top three for "photographer" in 3 suburbs, seen in 14
1
The Sparkes Photography Co.25.0 ★ (22) · Photographer
2
Photo & Video International4.7 ★ (356) · Photographer
3
David Carr Photography5.0 ★ (4) · Photographer
4
Pete Prue Photography5.0 ★ (114) · Photographer
Map positionsChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #29 for map positions
See how to fix both →
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Google Maps
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04Listings and socialMarketbase business report

Where customers find you

The Sparkes Photography Co. has an below-average health score of 2.9 out of 10 in the Citations & Social Presence health metric. The strongest completed asset is a very high trust Facebook profile, which anchors the brand and supports credibility with customers. Key opportunities lie in adding TikTok, improving Instagram trust, and enhancing directory listings to broaden reach.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Having a Facebook page at allWe found your Facebook Profile page, and the trail is strong enough that nobody would question it is yours - it is linked from something you own, or it dominates a search for your name.
  • ✓
    Instagram ProfileWe found your Instagram Profile page, and the trail between you and it is unambiguous - it is linked from something you own, or it dominates a search for your name.
  • ✓
    Wedding Guide ListingWe can see your Wedding Guide Listing listing (https://myweddingguide.co.nz/the-sparkes-photography-co) found via: Google search results.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Tiktok ProfileWe could not find an active TikTok account for your business, so anyone who looks for you there finds nothing.
  • 2
    Yellow ProfileWe could not find an active Yellow Profile listing for your business, which means anyone checking you there finds nothing and moves on to whoever is listed.
  • 3
    Neighbourly ProfileWe could not find an active Neighbourly Profile listing for your business, which means anyone checking you there finds nothing and moves on to whoever is listed.
16 checks on your listings and social. You're seeing 6 of them.
8.6Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Gthe sparkes photography co. merivale
AllImagesMapsNews
Wedding Guidethe-sparkes-photography-coThe Sparkes Photography Co. | Wedding Guide✓
FacebookthesparkesphotographycoThe Sparkes Photography Co. | Facebook✓
InstagramthesparkesphotographycoThe Sparkes Photography Co. | Instagram✓
TiktokNo account found1
YellowNo listing found2
NeighbourlyNo listing found3
Listings and socialChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #28 for listings and social
See how to fix all 3 →
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GoogleFacebookInstagramTikTokWedding GuideYellowYour website
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05Facebook pageMarketbase business report

Your Facebook page

Strengths

  • ✓
    A page address you choseThe address on your page carries your business name, so a customer told about you at a barbecue can find the page by typing what they heard.
  • ✓
    A phone numberA phone number shows on your page, so the person who found you on Facebook before they found your website can ring straight from it.
  • ✓
    An email addressCustomers can see an email address on the page, which gives the one who wants a quote in writing a route that does not depend on anyone picking up the phone.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Recommendations on your pageA couple of recommendations have landed on the page, fewer than most here.
  • 2
    People following your pageFewer people follow your page than follow half the pages here.
  • 3
    Where your page link pointsYour page points customers at a booking system or directory rather than a site of your own.
9 checks on your Facebook page. You're seeing 6 of them.
5.3Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
facebook
thesparkesphotographyco✓
300 followers 2
When I first picked up a camera, I had no idea that it would take me down a path where I get to share
FollowMessage
★ 2 reviews · recommended 1
🌐 thesparkesphotographyco.mypixieset.com3
☎ +64 27 389 8769✓
PostsAboutPhotosReviews
Facebook pageChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #92 for your Facebook page
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Facebook
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06Your websiteMarketbase business report

Your website

The Sparkes Photography Co. shows a very low on-page SEO health score, indicating the website needs foundational fixes. The most important findings are the missing meta description and missing title tag, which limit visibility and click-through potential, and the absence of a valid favicon that can affect user perception in browsers.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Domain Age ScoreWe could not read how long your domain has been registered, or it is only weeks old.
  • 2
    Domain HealthYour site answers, but something did not check out - an insecure link, a redirect chain, a domain shared with other businesses, or a listing pointing at a social page.
  • 3
    Domain UniquenessYour web address belongs to a platform rather than to you - a social page or a site builder's own domain.
3 checks on your website. You're seeing all of them.
-Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
🔒mypixieset.com132
Your websiteChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
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Your websiteGoogle Search
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07Google search and trafficMarketbase business report

How people find you on Google

The Sparkes Photography Co. shows a low overall health for Website Traffic, with limited organic and paid activity. Key findings point to near-zero earned organic traffic value and no organic traffic, alongside no measurable paid traffic. Attention should be on adding content, local optimisation, basic backlinks and targeted paid campaigns to establish a foothold.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Where we can help

Nothing to sort here.
0 checks on your search and traffic. You're seeing all of them.
0.0Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
G
AllMapsImagesShopping
No ads from you on any search
The Sparkes Photography Co.Not in these results
Google search and trafficChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #87 for Google search and traffic
See how to keep it that way →
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Google SearchGoogle Maps
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08Opening hoursMarketbase business report

Your hours against demand

The Sparkes Photography Co. shows strong timing alignment with local demand, especially mid-day on Mondays and Wednesdays, but misses several evening peaks. Open hours match high-demand windows for most weekday mid-days, while closures at 5-8pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday are notable gaps. A small amount of open time falls into low-demand slots, which could be tightened for efficiency.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Hours aligned with demandNo business here matches the demand around it more closely than you do - you are open when people are looking and shut when they are not.

Where we can help

Nothing to sort here. Your hours already line up with when people are looking.
1 check on your opening hours. You're seeing it.
9.8Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
The Sparkes Photography Co.
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
Hours ✓
Monday9am-5pm
Tuesday9am-5pm
Wednesday9am-5pm
Thursday9am-5pm
Friday9am-5pm
Saturday9am-5pm
Sunday9am-5pm
Opening hoursChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #5 for opening hours
See how to keep it that way →
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Your listed hoursWhen people search
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The next step

Your top opportunities, in one place.

These are your top 17 opportunities, from the 46 checks we run on every business. Tick any of them to see where it takes you.

01Google listing3 opportunities

02Reviews3 opportunities

03Map positions2 opportunities

04Listings and social3 opportunities

05Facebook page3 opportunities

06Your website3 opportunities

Where you'd stand#78of 194 Christchurch photography businesses
9:41
Christchurch photographyOverall · 194 businesses
You are #78 overall
Open my free 7 days →
The how for every one of these, and everything else we found, in the order that moves you fastest.
Just your name and email. No card. Or have us do it for you

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  • We don't need anything from you.No logins, no card, no setup. Built from what your customers can already see.
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  • Real New Zealand data.Every one of the 194 photography businesses in Christchurch, checked - not a guess from overseas.
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  • A real person on the phone.Call us on 0800 747 901.
Jeremy GrayFounder, Marketbase

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