Jumpstart Your Wedding Business With These DIY Website and SEO Strategies
by Brian Lawrence and Katherine Meikle
Now is the perfect time to invest some energy into helping your business grow into all that it can be.
16 DIY Strategies To Jumpstart Your Success
1. Interlink between your web pages
It may seem like a small step to take, but linking to other pages on your own website in relevant locations can be an impactful action for both the user experience and Google.
Often businesses may link to their service pages from the Home Page but not share links on the individual pages themselves. This then is a wasted opportunity to naturally share other beneficial information with potential customers.
Say you are a DJ offering photo booth rental. On your Weddings event page, you have strong content sharing what makes your business unique, how you approach wedding events specifically, and so on. An interested site visitor may decide to contact you based on that information, which gives you the chance to talk about your photo booth services as well.
But what if you had added a section towards the end of the page – which still keeps a good hierarchy of importance – sharing that you offer photo booth rental?
You could show an aspirational picture, list a few core benefits, and link to a photo booth or event enhancements page. When the interested customer explores more about this service and clicks that link, it is setting you up for success in the sales process, giving the site visitor another exciting entertainment option that they can use for their event, and showing Google that you offer genuine content plus a well-planned site structure which keeps visitors engaged for a longer period of time.
Have a lot of relevant add-ons you need to display and don’t want to overwhelm site visitors with a large number of additional sections? That’s not a problem. Photos can serve as great internal linking anchors.
2. Look into ADA compliance on your website
When you hear the Americans with Disabilities Act mentioned, you may first think about aspects such as wheelchair accessibility or accommodations in the workplace. Many people do not know that the ADA also applies to website accessibility to ensure that access to information is not limited for site visitors with disabilities. Having descriptive alt tags on all images is a key example of effective compliance, and there are other elements as well, such as good color contrast in your site design. This is a colleague who has already added to their website.
Remember, ADA compliance is a legal requirement, not a suggestion, and lawsuits can be filed against sites which are not in order.
3. Be purposeful in how you ask for reviews
Reviews from other platforms are one of the most powerful motivators that drive traffic to your website. It is important for you to analyze how many reviews you have on each platform in comparison to your competition. You want to exceed them or at least be comparable in order to get more clicks to your website, and if possible will even incorporate some SEO terms for added impact.
Think about these aspects when you request reviews:
- Ask for reviews on the platforms you need them most. For example, if you have 100 reviews on wedding wire and only 10 on google, I would hyperfocus on getting more reviews on Google. Going from 100 to 110 reviews barely moves the needle. Going from 10 to 20 can make a big difference.
- A unique way to get reviews is to ask other vendors. Having another business you’ve done an event with write you an authentic testimonial can share a lot of valuable information about the quality of your work and professionalism through a different lens while simultaneously increasing your review numbers.
- Ask some clients to include keyword phrases, particularly on your Google profile. A good example to share is starting off the review with “When I was searching for Chicago DJs I found (your business name)”.
4. Look at your reviews and add the best testimonials
Your testimonials communicate so much about who you are and what sets your business apart. Strong reviews can be a fantastic tool to help convince a site visitor to pursue your services.
- Compile reviews across your different platforms (for example: GBP, WeddingWire, The Knot, and Yelp) in a document and then take some time to evaluate ones that stand out. Ideally, it’s most beneficial to find a variation which speaks to different services/events you do.
- Then, edit the testimonials for length and grammar. You must not change the wording or intent of the review whatsoever, but fixing a clear typo is a helpful step, as well as isolating the most powerful content so that a site visitor will not get overwhelmed by having to read multiple large paragraphs.
- Finally, add the reviews to your website. There are multiple ways to feature testimonials – placing one in its own individual section, having a row of several smaller ones, etc. Whatever you choose, you should thoughtfully place each one throughout your site on relevant pages. For example, on this DJ’s Special Effects page, we included a testimonial which directly spoke to the excellent ambiance created through the “special blend of music, lighting, and entertainment”.
5. Join Industry Facebook and Linked in Groups to network, get exposure and help your SEO
This list of over 350 local/national wedding industry social media groups will give you an easy, useful way to get greater insight into current trends, increase your exposure across the web, and enjoy more opportunities to connect with potential clients as well as fellow industry professionals.
6. Strengthen your Home Page
Your Home Page is the most visited (and the most important) page on your website. It should act like a virtual lobby, welcoming potential clients and guiding them to what they seek. You should continually evaluate it to see if it is serving you as well as it can.
Here are a few items that you may need to consider improvements for:
- Stronger headlines which immediately grab attention
- Core benefits which make it apparent that you are the top choice
- Add a venue panel to share partnerships
- Use more calls to action with varied phrasing
- Authentic photos which are aspirational
Visit these sites for a few examples of Home Pages which communicate effectively and feature strong design choices:
7. Build more backlinks and take advantage of free exposure
A backlink is created when you have a link directed to your website from someone else’s.
In addition to sending traffic your way, a backlink is desirable because it shows Google that your site has something good to offer. This is especially impactful when the link comes from a trustworthy site with a good rating score. Below, you’ll find lists with hundreds of wedding blogs and directories you can use to set up backlinks for your website – and the evaluation is already done for you. Each item has an analysis of the monthly traffic rate and the domain authority as well as information about what purpose the site serves
- Just want 100% free backlink opportunities? We’ve gathered 80+.
- Looking for a thorough list of all the wedding blogs and directories out there? Explore them here.
8. Check if you have duplicate listings or inconsistencies with how you are listed online
Did you know that online directory listings can be created on your behalf? Some sites automatically create unclaimed profiles for you while many directories allow anyone to fill out a profile on behalf of a business. This means that you can have outdated or even incorrect information spread across different platforms without your knowledge. You could also have duplicate listings created when the platform does not recognize that a profile has already been made.
Even if you are careful to ensure your business is only represented by profiles you’ve created yourself, are you taking the time to go through and update each and every one when something changes?
Consistency and accuracy are vital when it comes to your online presence. Google must see the same business name, phone number, and address for you across the web in order to confirm that your business is legitimate. Without realizing it, you could have mismatched or missing information on different directories which will lower your Google estimation/trust and possibly cause confusion for would-be customers. See this example of just how surprisingly varied things can be for one company.
To check to see what is going on with your business’ listings, you can run a free report with my link here.
9. Update your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is undoubtedly one of the absolute most important factors to your local SEO success. From your reviews to your photos, everything plays a part in Google’s perception of your business and their decision to put you forward in the search results. There is almost always more that you can fill out to strengthen your listing, and Google wants to see constant engagement from you with review responses, photo uploads, and more.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to your GBP approach:
- Photos and posts should be added weekly
- You should also ask clients or vendors to upload relevant images to your profile
- Complete seemingly “minor” fields like Holiday Hours and your opening date
- Double check your categories to see if there is something you may have missed
- For example, you may have already added “DJ”, but what about “photo booth rental”?
- Take the opportunity to thoroughly fill out elements like your service area to help rank for local SEO
You can check out this real example of a complete GBP as well as these additional tips and tools for your GBP plus ranking factors you should know about.
10. Register your domain name for at least five years
Renewing your domain name registration annually is often the default that many businesses go with. However, taking the action step to register your domain for at least five years is a surprising SEO tip. Essentially it shows Google that you are a quality business with longevity and are here to stay. You will be much less likely to be possibly flagged as spam and of course will also be less likely to have a temporary shutdown if you forget to do your annual renewal.
In case you do not remember who your registrar is you can find out here.
11. Show Google you are connected to your local area by adding content
A 2020 study showed that 93% of consumers used the internet to find a local business – and when they do, we know that Google prioritizes the “3-pack” above organic search results. The 3-pack is a curated selection of local SEO results created by Google, utilizing not only Google Business Profile information but of course your website value as well.
Besides taking general SEO and website optimization steps to help your chances at being in the 3-pack, adding content about your city, town, or county is a prime way to show Google that you are an authority on the area and provide useful information to site visitors. You can also use the opportunity to naturally work in keywords directly using the area name.
If you want to get a better understanding of the concept, take a look at these examples, like local special events for party guests to check out and a variety of fun places to visit in the area.
12. Start SEO content strategies
If you use the right approach, your content topics can act as SEO hubs to increase site traffic and boost Google’s perception of your business. This is particularly true for wedding vendors posting about venues as there are multiple ways to encourage couples searching for venues to get helpful guidance from your website. Utilizing this strategy means your business is at the forefront of couples’ minds and that you can build up your domain score.
- Ranking for venue search terms – create a venue directory like this one, which is at the top of the search results and getting thousands of visitors
- Ranking for venue by name – create a venue landing page for different venues. You could also use this page during the sales process if applicable to show your expertise with the venue.
13. Look at how you display pricing
Whether you have pricing information publicly available on your website or have a hidden pricing page you keep just for the sales process, the way you display it can make or break your chance at booking success.
Evaluate your pricing display and ask yourself questions like:
- Is my pricing clear?
- Are there any opportunities for confusion between package offerings?
- Are any add-on services displayed?
- Have I thoughtfully highlighted the unique benefits of each item?
- Do I make it easy for potential customers to choose the best option for their needs?
- Is everything up-to-date?
- Are there miscellaneous items I may wish to clarify, like travel rates?
- Is there a pricing policy or statement I want to share, like the option for a custom package?
Check out this communicative and colorful pricing page we built, which shows key packages, a la carte options, service fee information, and an easy way to get in touch with the business.
14. Reconsider who is hosting your site
The right host can make things a lot easier for you with responsiveness, regular site back-ups, maintaining security and improving your speed which is a very important ranking factor. I steer my clients to Overhaulics for all of those above reasons.
15. Do an SEO audit of your website or website review from another set of eyes
How long has it been since you’ve done a deep dive into your website’s SEO? Do you know all the things you need to have done to set your site up well in terms of your online presence? Are you confident in your website’s content and design?
Even if your website is newer, there may be items which were missed during the process.
Whether your website was built several years ago or made live last week, there may be items that need to be fixed, changed, updated, added, or removed.
Here is a checklist of things you or your website consultant should be looking for.
16. Get Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console
When it comes to understanding what’s going on with your website’s SEO, there are simply no tools more valuable than those Google themselves offer. Having Google Search Console and the latest version of Google Analytics installed on your website is an absolute MUST.
It is not possible to collect data after the fact, so important information like the number of site visitors you have, how many people are finding you on mobile vs desktop, and more will not be available until you enable the programs on your website.