Looks like you’re on the US site. Choose another location to see content specific to your location

Allseated has become Prismm

Read More

What Google Really Wants From Event Professionals

Blog

In the early days of search engines, there were definitely a lot of “tricks” that worked to get websites bumped up in search engine results, such as using your keywords as much as possible and putting them in nearly invisible text. For a short time, this strategy did actually move websites to the top, but only briefly. 

Today, Google is much smarter and learning every day what searchers want.

In 2018, getting to the top of Google is all about satisfying the searcher, so let’s talk about 3 major things Google wants to see from you as an event professional. 

Create A Great User Experience

If you want to satisfy the searcher, the number one thing you need to focus on is making sure users have a great experience using your website.

  • Does your website load quickly? (hopefully under 3 seconds)
  • Is your text large enough and easy to read?
  • Can users easily navigate and find what they’re looking for?
  • Does your website encourage them to stay longer with related posts and other internal links?

When visitors click on your website in search results and then quickly click “back,” that’s bad news.  Google is able to track that behavior, and it shows them that this person wasn’t satisfied by your website.  If this happens often, Google is likely to drop your position in the rankings.

Instead, do all you can to create a helpful, easy experience using your website.  

Pro Tip:  Large images are the biggest problem I see with slow-loading websites.  Compress images so they load quickly by aiming for images under 150kb in size.

Show You’re An Authority On Your Topic

Search engines want to rank websites that have the best information about their topic.  For you, that may be events or event planning.  If you’re struggling to rank, this is where blogging comes in.

Offering helpful content about events on your website shows Google what your topic and expertise is.  Don’t just blog past events, but offer helpful articles.  Here are a few ideas:

  • Start a Q&A series, answering questions your prospective clients often have
  • Write about your favorite venues in your area
  • Write about trends of the past season or upcoming season

Pro Tip: On each post, link to another post the reader might be interested in.  This keeps users on your site and helps them to get to know you.

Get Links from Other Websites

You can say how great you are all day long, but Google wants to see that other people trust you too.  They do this by tracking your backlinks, the links to your site from other websites.

When other websites link to yours, they’re giving a vote of confidence for your website’s quality.  The number and quality of the links to your website are huge factors in how high you’ll rank in search results.

Here are a few ideas for getting links:

  • Sign up for free directories and listing sites for your profession
  • Ask other vendors to link to you as a vendor credit if they post an event you’ve worked on
  • Get your events published by blogs and publications
  • Offer to write guest posts on other industry websites

This is truly the trickiest part of search engine optimization, but it is so valuable.  Keep link building in mind over time and slowly build up links to your website.

In the end, what Google really wants is a great experience for their searchers.  Focus on this above any crazy SEO tricks you hear about, and you will continue to gain authority and rankings that last for the long term.

Sara Dunn is a wedding SEO consultant at SaraDoesSEO.comhelping wedding planners, photographers, venues, florists, and more reach rockstar status on Google.

Of Possible Interest: 

How To Make Your Content SEO Friendly

Using Google Analytics For Your Event Business

Learn more about Prismm

Share