Sell More Weddings - http://www.sellmoreweddings.com

(6) Tuesday - October 4, 2005

+ + Five Things You Can Do To Get Better Results From Your Website !

1) Optimize Your Home Page for Search Engine Spiders

Forget the "Enter Here" page technique and forget the concept of "Gateway" pages, neither one of them will compete against a well written and search engine optimized home page that has real information on it. Keep in mind that search engine "spiders" visiting your site are there on a mission: to figure out what your site is about and then appropriately index it among billions of other pages. The better job you do at helping them, and giving them good information (i.e. keywords), the further from the bottom of the pile you'll be. "Enter Here" pages just make it harder for them to do their job (plus I rarely see "Enter Here" type pages top ranked, if you find one let me know, would you?). 

If you're a wedding photographer in Detroit and the appropriate keywords and keyword phrases don't appear as readable text to a search engine spider on your home page, don't be discouraged if it's almost impossible to find your site when you search for "Detroit wedding photographers" or "wedding photographers in Detroit". For the best results, combine a carefully thought out selection of keywords, keyword phrases, and a solid value/benefit statement that totals between 200 to 400 words of spider-readable text. 

2) Improve Your "What's In It For Me" Message To Brides

Make sure you communicate the answer to the "What's in it for me?" question at your web site. Too many sites focus on trying to impress a bride/groom and it simply doesn't work. Communicate the value and benefit of doing business with your company on the first screen that a bride/groom sees (prior to scrolling). Answer these type of questions:

What makes you different?

Why do most brides/grooms choose your company (link to your testimonials page)? 

What can you do for me (the bride/groom)?

What have you done for others? 

Why should a bride choose you over the last six web sites she just visited?

3) Personalization

It's important to add a "personal" element to your web site and I recommend introducing yourself and your staff. Personalization is proven to increase attention and action. Adding a page at your site about yourself, maybe your partner(s), qualifications of your staff, and how you started your business will help you improve your conversion significantly. Integrate crisp and attractive pictures but be careful not to over do it. Be sure to add a link within the content of this page to your online inquiry form, something like: "Tell us how we can help you have the wedding of your dreams?" 

Here's a great example: http://www.mbbride.com/staff.html 

* Note the "Free" offer at the bottom of the page.

4) Promote Your Professionalism (Associations)

Telling potential customers about membership(s) in professional associations is fantastic information at any web site. It might be the difference a bride/groom is looking for when making that most important decision: an inquiry for more information or an appointment - yes/no? 

Maybe you're a member of the Local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, or and industry specific association (Association of Bridal Consultants, Association for Wedding Professionals International, Wedding & Event Videographers Association). A carefully designed page with good keywords, and ideally links from those associations from your web site, will deliver great results. 

5) Offer A Freebie and Draw Attention To It

Brides, like most everyone else, love something for free and if you offer a free initial consultation make sure you communicate that effectively at your web site. It can be the difference between an inquiry or no inquiry (or a sale and losing a sale!). Coupons work offline and work online too. Some business owners/managers think coupons are "cheap", but I disagree - and they certainly don't have to be designed that way. Consider creating a page with a coupon that is redeemable at a bride/grooms initial appointment (or with their initial deposit). If you see three of four of these come in you'll know immediately that this technique is working. I also like the idea of having a contest and allowing people to enter more than once, but only once per day. This is an effective technique to build repeat visits. A $20.00 DVD giveaway (maybe "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") can be a powerful tool for generating leads and closing otherwise "clicked-away" brides and grooms.

Next Week: More ideas you can use to get better results from your website and turn more of the brides and grooms who visit into inquiries and sales.

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+ + Now Online (Inner Circle Member Access Required)

Keywords Forum: http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=5
Full Meta-Tag Suite: http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=21
Need Great Website Stats (for free!): http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=10
Glossary of Internet Terms (that you have to know!): http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=24
How To Add Your Website to the new MSN Search Engine: http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=27
Keyword Tools: http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=28
More Tips, Techniques, and Great Information are in Toolbox area: http://www.jimedia.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=4

+ + More Traffic, More Inquiries

Conversion is important but if you don't have traffic you never get the chance to get an inquiry, phone call, or close a new sale. Advertise and link your website with WEDDINGPLANNINGLINKS.COM and I'll send you great traffic for a full year for less than .69 cents per day. 95% of my advertisers renew because WEDDINGPLANNINGLINKS.COM works. More information is here: http://www.weddingplanninglinks.com/inquiry.html 

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Best wishes,

Chris Jaeger
Sell More Weddings
195 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930
(978) 283-8295