Bad Advice Hurts Your Wedding Business

There's a lot of bad information about online marketing on the Internet. Usually, it falls into one of these categories:

Just Wrong
Vague
Misleading
Incomplete

1) Just Wrong

Almost daily I read articles that are just wrong. Yes, just wrong. The classic example is submitting your website to the search engines monthly. Another is that there are ways to optimize FLASH websites for search engines for top ranking.

If you do either of these things you are wasting time and money and you will not see the appropriate return-on-investment.

2) Vague

Many so called "online marketing experts" often talk about things just enough to pique your interest. They give you a few of the key buzzwords, but not enough information to clearly explain how it works, how you can apply it to your website, the benefits, the costs (time/money), the anticipated return on investment, and how long it might take.

A great example is search engine optimization. I hear people talk about meta-tags and keywords, but I NEVER hear anyone talk about the competitive nature of top ranking in just about any wedding category. It is almost impossible (YES, almost IMPOSSIBLE) to get top ranking at Google for positioning like: Chicago wedding photographers, Boston wedding bands, Orlando wedding ministers, Los Angeles wedding consultants...

3) Misleading

"Blogging is an effective online marketing tool..."

Sure it is, but I wouldn't put it on the top of your list of things to do. Should you do it, yes, should you drop everything else you're doing, put up a blog, add to it weekly, and expect brides to knock down your doors trying to buy from you? No. It doesn't work like that. Misleading information distracts you from what you should be doing. You end up spending a lot of time and money with little to show for it. Worse, you end up frustrated because you thought it would work.

4) Incomplete

A lot of the information I read or hear is incomplete. Do page-title tags play a role in top ranked websites, sure. But there are also 20/30 other elements.

OK "Mr. Expert" - what are those 20 other elements?

Wedding Minister Says: "I fixed my page-title tags, why is my competitor still showing up above me at Google?"

Chris Answers: "Who told you that would do anything by itself?"

5) TINSTAFL

Expertise, like in any industry, comes with a cost. You get what you pay for and there is no such thing as free lunch. Top rank in the search engines is worth thousands of dollars in new sales. A website (design) that converts the brides who find it into inquiries and sales is worth thousands and thousands of dollars in new sales. Staying ahead of your competition is priceless. To think you can do this "cheap" or do-it-yourself, in today's competitive marketplace, is most likely only wishful thinking.