Easy-To-Use Meta-Tag Generator

Every now and then I run into an online tool that is ACTUALLY useful. This one will help you code your meta-tags.

Meta-tags, particularly your page-title tags, are an important part of an overall search engine optimization strategy.

There's more to writing these effectively than just throwing in some keywords, but this tool helps you get the code you'll use quickly and easily. If nothing else, it's a great start.

http://vancouver-webpages.com/META/mk-metas.html

First Impressions

I visit too many websites that create a poor first impression. Most of these are just poorly designed or do-it-yourself type stuff.

But it's even worse when a company doesn't have a solid "identity." Specifically today, I'm talking about a logo.

Come on, we're in the wedding business! It's all about look, right? The perfect day, the perfect look, the perfect life.

I've recommended Logo Works to many people who have used them to get great new logos.

Ray Klein at Kleins Catering used them for his Jersey Barbeque website. He told me it's one of the best investments he's ever made in his business. He also had them do his Jersey Party Rentals site, a new site we're working on.

Their Gold Package is $400 and a great way to get a professionally designed logo that leaves a good first impression about your business when a bride lands at your website.

http://www.logoworks.com

Should You Submit Your Website To Search Engines Every Month

A Wedding Minister called me the other day and asked if he should be submitting his website to the search engines regularly. He even had been approached by one firm saying they would do this for him each month for only $19.95.

Here's one topic almost everyone who does online marketing agrees on.

The question:

Should you submit your website to search engines each month (or pay to have someone do it?).

The answer:

No.

There is no concrete evidence that this works and most of the search engine gurus who work behind the scenes at Google or Yahoo! will tell you it's of no value.

It's not recommended in any of the guidelines, again at Google, Yahoo!, or MSN.

So how do you get INTO the search engines (if you have a new website)?

(1) Get a link from a website that already has good search engine positioning.

(2) Get a link from ANY website that is already listed with Google, Yahoo! or MSN.

That's the best way.

I just finished a new domain, website, the whole-show-bang for a client and put their link on the home page at my Wedding Planning Links (.com) website - which Google crawls almost daily.

Within 48 hours their site was in Google.

I know what you're thinking now...

"How do you get top rank and positioning for my website?"

With a rock-solid, comprehensive search engine optimization program.

It's going to take some time, and it takes a lot of expertise, but if you get everything in order (page-title tags, keywords, keyword density, crawler-friendly, inbound link development, etc...) you'll be in the game.

Keep in mind, the competition for top positions in all wedding related categories is unbelievably tough. Chances are you won't "climb" into a top 5 or 10 position until someone else falls out.

If you're concerned about search engine optimization drop me a line. I'd be glad to set up a time to talk about it on the phone with you.

Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com

Should You Put Your Prices Online?

Jean Phelan from Strings Attached, provides string quartets and ensembles for wedding ceremonies in the Tampa Bay area. She's a new member of my ADVANTAGE program and asked:

"We are wondering if it's better list all our rates on our website, or have the bride to contact us to get a quote. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to listing your rates. Our business is providing string quartets, etc. for weddings."


My answer is available to members of my ADVANTAGE program: Should You Put Prices On Your Website?.

Follow this link to learn more about my ADVANTAGE program and how it will help you beat your online competition, get better results from your website, and book more weddings.

Why Should I Register More Than One Domain Name?

If you're thinking about registering more than one domain name, you've got the right idea.

But.

First... the good news:

Registering and using multiple domains names is great for building your business and can help you create more visibility or "real estate" as I call it, on the Internet.

When you register multiple domain names, you can:

Keep your competition from registering a domain name that draws customers to them instead of you.

Promote the different products and services you offer.

Drive more traffic to your Web site.

Enjoy more opportunities to market to--and be listed in--search engines.

Create distinct advertising strategies that reach different target markets.

Provide customers more ways to find you when searching the Internet.

Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page.

Protect your brand and online identity from those who may have unsavory purposes.

Now... all that said (and found being promoted at Go Daddy), there are a couple things to understand:

Just putting up empty websites isn't going to create any value for you.

Repointing domain names to one website won't improve your search engine positioning. No, no way, no how!

Having a domain with good keywords in it *probably* isn't going to by itself get you top ranked. I have seen it work, but I don't think it is a long-term, effective strategy.

If you have multiple domains, and you build out each domain for a specific purpose, registering AND DEVELOPING multiple domains is an effective part of your overall online marketing strategy.

Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
Online Marketing to Brides
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com
(978) 283-8295

Link Basics

There are three types of links that you need to be aware of, each with it's own unique value.

Outbound Links

These are links away from your website to other websites or blogs.

Value: Some say search engiens see this and view it favorably. It's very unclear and unmeasurable although their does appear as though there might be a connection. The risk is that it takes people away from your website. I could make an argument that if they want to leave you haven't done a good enough job of keeping them interested in staying at your website.

Inbound Links

These are links to your website from other websites (or blogs).

They come "in" to your website and there is no link from your website back. When inbound links come from other well ranked websites, with the same theme, and the link uses the keywords specific to your products/services (i.e Marketing To Online Brides), you score BIG.

Value: Traffic, inbound link/link popularity value.

Link Exchanges

"You link to my website and I'll link to yours."

Value: Traffic, online visibility, perhaps some search engine value (link popularity) although it's easy for search engines to see the "two way" exchange. This could be interpreted as trying to build links for the sake of link value, so it may actually mean nothing.

Quality vs. Quantity

Most of the experts agree the quality of links is more important than quantity. That said, a lot of quality links will probably give you tremendous competitive advantage.

Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com

How Do You Get A Top Position With Google?

For the last few months I’ve telling readers of my Internet Marketing for Wedding Professionals newsletter that it’s getting harder and harder to get top positions with Google.

It’s also taking longer. What I once could do in 30 to 90 days is now taking six months or longer.

It’s also getting more challenging to KEEP good positioning once you get it.

I figure there are 50 to 100 people trying to get the top 10 positions for any wedding related keywords and phrases.

Boston wedding bands
Los Angeles wedding ministers
Denver wedding consultants
Wedding favors

... the list goes on...

And keep in mind. You’re not only competing with your “local competition” – the guy
down the street. You’re also competing with sites like Party Pop, Gathering Guide, even my two sites Wedding Planning Links and Smart Wedding Planning.

So… how much is a “top position” worth?

It’s hard to say exactly. Most of the clients I have in the top ten get three to six or more inquiries a day. That’s 90 to 200+ inquiries a month – particularly if it’s a popular keyword/phrase.

Convert just 10% of those into sales and you’ll end up with between 10 and 20 new weddings a month.

Ecommerce sites with this type of positioning should benefit with a similar number of sales, if not more.

Good search engine positioning is VERY valuable.

And… CONVERSION is very important (i.e. converting the brides who find your website into inquiries and sales).

So why is it getting top position and rank so difficult? There are a lot of reasons. To start out, get a feel for your Google Love.

Then, get an expert working for you and your website. Waiting only will make it more difficult and take longer.

What are the key factors?

1. Search Engine Friendliness
2. Page Title Tags/Keywords
3. Inbound Link Popularity
4. Text Used for Inbound Links
5. On Page Copy/Keywords
6. Site Maturity (Age and Frequency of Crawls)
7. Topical Relevance (of Inbound Links)
8. Inbound Link Development (Quality, Rate)

Counting Hits Is A Waste of Time

Webmaster: We had 5,000 hits last month!

Site Owner: Wow, that's great. I wonder why we didn't get any inquiries or book any weddings?

"Hits" is a term casually thrown around and creates confusion implying that hits are real people.

Hits are not real people.

They are not real brides and grooms and hits can't make inquiries or buy your products and services. So, for all intents and purposes, hits are useless.

A hit is a technical term that describes the processing activity of your hosting server. If you have a web page with ten images on it, a bride visiting that page will create 11 hits: one when the page is requested and one for each image. As you can see, and this is just one page, one visitor can create a lot of hits very fast.

Hits are created when images are loaded, when scripts are loaded, when the page code is loaded, and when a variety of other services are provided by your hosting server.

If your webmaster talks about hits, ask them do they mean visitor sessions. Ask them if they mean real people. Webmasters love talking about hits because it's always a number higher than visitor sessions - and that mistakenly implies your traffic is better than it actually is.

What You Should Do: Change your mindset and think "visitor sessions" and not hits. If you're webmaster doesnt know the difference, it's time to find a new webmaster. Don't be concerned with the total hits, a number that is found in your website statistics. Instead, monitor and track visitor sessions and unique visitor sessions. These are real brides and grooms and what you should be concerned with.

Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
Marketing To Brides
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com

The Bumpy Road Ahead

Every now and then I get out my Magic 8 ball and ask it questions.

I asked it "Will I ever see the sun again and will it ever warm up?".

It said: "Ask Again Later."

So I changed the topic: I asked it "what are the biggest challenges ahead for my customers?"

Here's what it said today:

COMPETITION
QUALIFIED TRAFFIC WILL BE HARDER TO GET
BAD ADVICE

COMPETITION

By far, the biggest challenge to your website and overall online marketing strategy in the next 12 to 24 months is COMPETITION.

Pretty much everyone who doesn't live under a rock has figured out that the Internet works.

Personally, I think it's the most effective way to promote your business.

It beats print, it beats bridal shows, it's measurable, it's cost-effective - it beats just about any form of traditional marketing.

I'm not saying don't use traditional advertising and marketing and certainly those should be part of your overall advertising and marketing strategy.

I'm talking about overall most cost-effective and dollar-for-dollar return-on-investment.

If you don't agree, chances are there is a problem with your strategy or execution.

Many of my clients are telling me 75%, 80%, even up to 90% of their new business is coming from the Internet, but to get these type of results you have to do everything, and I mean everything, right. Don't think it will be free. The Internet isn't "free" anymore. Those days are long over.

Three key points here:

(1) Probably 50 to 100 competitors want the same top ten position you're looking for in the search engines - where 80% of brides start an Internet session. 10 to 20 of these competitors will have expertise or expertise behind them.

(2) You won't beat your competition by standing on the sidelines waiting. You'll have to get in the game - and don't wait. Like the Superbowl, it's always harder to win when you're behind.

(3) It won't be free. To effectively compete, you'll have to make an investment. There's no such thing as free lunch (anymore) on the Internet.

QUALIFIED TRAFFIC WILL BE HARDER TO GET

The trickle down impact of competition is that it's going to be harder and harder to get qualified traffic to your website; to reach the brides and grooms you want to.

Remember, "hits" are not visitor sessions. "Hits" are not real brides and grooms. If you're webmaster still talks about hits.... you should find a new webmaster.

Probably 1/2 of your traffic is not qualified for your products or services. That's right. 1/2 of your total visitor sessions are worthless. They are not brides. They are your competitiors, they are web designers doing research, they are people doing searches for something else who accidentally landed at your website.

Qualified traffic will be harder to get because companies with big budgets, like Target, eBay, JC Penny, are competing for the same brides and grooms you are. They have more money to spend and they are reaching into what once was your "safe haven" - brides and grooms your local market. There's too much at stake and don't expect these companies to stay on the sidelines.

How will these companies and your other competition beat you? They'll out bid you in PPC, they'll out-optimize you for organic search positioning, they'll cobrand their website with their TV advertising, they'll use viral marketing and enewsletter marketing to build their brand and traffic. The result is dilution of your traffic. I call it "more noise" on the Internet.

When your traffic falls off you get fewer inquiries. Fewer inquiries means fewer sales.

BAD ADVICE

After competition, and attracting qualified traffic, the biggest challenge I see today, and into the future, is simply: BAD ADVICE.

An all FLASH website is simply a bad strategy.

Not understanding how to identify and use keywords and keyword phrases is why your brides are finding your competition before you.

Not writing great page copy that drives home your unique value proposition, discusses the benefits vs. features of your services, kills your website.

Should you be using a Blog?

Should you be advertising at The Knot?

What should you be looking at in your stats and how often do you have to review them?

Why isn't your website showing up where you want it at Google? How's your Google Love?

... and 10 Other Reasons A Bride Will Leave Your Website.

Next week... more from my Magic 8 Ball.

Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com

Learn more about my Book More Wedding ADVANTAGE program and how it can help you stay ahead of your competition, get better results from your website, and book more weddings.

Here's a link for your own fun with the Magic 8 Ball.