Lately, we’ve been sharing blogging tips for wedding professionals including 6 reasons you should be blogging as a wedding professional. As great as blogging is for your wedding business if you don’t have a clear understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) blogging can only get you so far. That’s why we’re interviewing SEO Specialist, Sara Dunn of SaraDoesSEO to help share the importance of SEO for your wedding business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sara Dunn is a Wedding SEO Specialist for wedding planners, photographers, venues, and other wedding professionals who want their websites to rank higher on Google. 

With a knack for making SEO easy to understand, she’s created a unique Wedding SEO Framework that simplifies what it takes to get your wedding business in front of your dream clients. 

Sara has been featured by Honeybook, Special Events, and NACE. She was named a WeddingPro educator for 2022 and has presented to audiences including WeddingPro, WIPA, Wedding MBA, and Two Bright Lights.

 

Why is SEO Important for your Wedding Businesses Website?

Search Engine Optimization is all about showing up where engaged couples are already looking for you, on Google.

When people search for “Vancouver wedding planner” or “Vancouver elopement photographer” or “outdoor wedding venue near me,” I want them to find your business!

Without doing some simple SEO steps to your website, Google may not understand who you are and what you offer, which means you won’t show up in the search results.

So the power of SEO is to bring you more opportunities, more traffic, and more inquiries for your services, from people who are ready to hire you.

 

I am a busy wedding professional and don’t have time to market myself on all the social media channels and worry about my SEO, What’s your advice?

I get it!!  There are so many ways to market a wedding business, and SEO/Google is just one of them.

My advice is to take the time to learn and set up your website’s basic SEO one time.  It may take you a couple days, and then it’s done.  When you have the basics in place, Google will start to understand your business and include you in the search results.

From there, the other things you do to market your business (get online reviews, participate in styled shoots, build vendor connections) will all help your online reputation, and your SEO rankings will improve over time.

 

I have no clue where to start with my SEO, what do you recommend for a newbie?

I actually created a quick training just for newbies who need a clear “step 1” to get started with SEO, it’s called 1 Hour SEO. 

This class teaches you how to discover the keywords engaged couples actually search for using a free SEO tool. Then it walks you through exactly where Google wants to see your most important keyword on your website. It’s the perfect starting point for any wedding pro’s SEO!

 

What are some small steps that wedding professionals can take when wanting to prioritize their SEO? 

#1  Make sure on your home page, you clearly state where you’re located and what service you offer.

So many wedding pros miss this step in trying to craft more creative home page copy.  At least once on the page, clearly state that you’re a “Vancouver wedding photographer” if that’s what you do! You aren’t likely to rank on Google for a keyword you don’t use on your site.

 

#2  Make sure your home page includes at least 300 words of text.  

Text is what Google uses to fully understand your business and your services. So don’t skimp on it, and don’t create a website where your home page is just a slideshow.

Introduce yourself, your services, and your unique approach.  Include a few client testimonials too.  Use as much text as possible, and you’re more likely to rank higher on Google.

 

#3  Blog on your website.

Posting content on your website is so important if you want to prioritize SEO as a marketing tool for your business.

Blogging helps your site become a better resource for engaged couples.  It helps you show your expertise and knowledge in your market. Most importantly, it will help you rank for more keywords and show up in more searches on Google.

Be sure to check out 6 Reasons You Should Be Blogging As a Wedding Professional

 

Where should I invest my time when it comes to SEO for my wedding business?

I know you don’t have time to become a professional full-time SEO.  But you don’t need to!  I recommend a two-step approach to how you spend your time on SEO.

First, get your website’s SEO all set up (you only have to do this once!).  At a minimum, make sure your home page fully describes your business and uses your most important keyword.

Then, dive into blogging.  Nothing has more impact on your SEO than creating a few really in-depth blog posts on topics that couples near you care about.

 

How do I know if I have good SEO or not? 

There are a couple of ways you can check your rankings and your SEO results right now.

The first and easiest way to know if people find you on Google is to ask on your inquiry form!  Make sure your inquiry form includes a question for “Where did you first hear about me/us?”

Ultimately, our goal with showing up on Google is to drive more inquiries for your business, so make sure you give people the opportunity to tell you if they found you there!

 

To get in-depth information on how much traffic you get from Google, consider signing up for Google Search Console (it’s free!).

Did you know that Google offers its own free tool that will tell you the keywords you’re ranking for and getting clicks for?  It’s magical.

It’s called Google Search Console, and every website should really have it set up (check out the setup instructions in this article). This is the only tool that will tell you which keywords actually brought searchers to your website.

Find out more in my article: How to Check Your Ranking on Google – 3 Free SEO Tools

 

What are some of the top misconceptions you see when it comes to SEO?

#1 That Google changes so much that you can’t keep up with it.

While Google is always tweaking their results, you don’t need to constantly learn and re-learn how SEO works.

Google is always trying to deliver the best and most helpful results, so your job is to make sure your site is always clear, up-to-date, and follows long-term SEO best practices.

I created my SEO class for wedding pros 3 years ago and definitely haven’t had to constantly update the videos and what I teach.  The basic things you need to know will stand the test of time.

 

#2 That you have to be super technical to “get SEO.”

SEO more than anything is about understanding people.  What they’re searching for, what they’re worried about, and how you can help. You don’t have to know how to code to do SEO, and in the wedding industry, there is no need to learn the more technical aspects of it to rank on Page 1.

 

How will having good SEO help me book more clients? 

Engaged couples are searching on Google every single week for what you offer and what you’re great at. SEO brings them to you and presents you as an option.  Without SEO and ranking high enough in the results they see, they won’t find you.

While SEO can’t convince them to book with you, if your website and messaging are good, let’s make sure more local engaged couples see it!

 

Besides my website, where else can SEO help me? 

Having a basic knowledge of SEO and keywords will really help you understand what engaged couples are actually searching for.  It’s like looking into their brains! 

Beyond Google, this knowledge can help you choose better Instagram hashtags and write better Pinterest captions. It’s so powerful!

 

To learn more about the importance of SEO for your wedding business be sure to check out Sara at her website SaraDoesSEO.com and check out her signature program, Wedding SEO Bootcamp. 

Whether you are a luxury wedding planner, corporate event planner or Vancouver elopement photographer having a good understanding of SEO for your business is crucial! We hope you found this interview on wedding SEO extremely valuable! Have more questions? Pop them in the comments below and we’ll get them answered for you!