Weddingwire, talk me down

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Might want to look into renting a tilt-shift lens. Architecture or room shots look better with an identified horizontal or vertical point of reference. The top and bottom inside shots and the exterior look tilted. Artistic poses when people are included or when the focus isn't walls and ceilings are OK with skewed shots .. not so much buildings. Fisheye or extreme wide angle tend to overemphasize that .. just my opinion.

Yea, I've looked at them. The lens correction in Lightroom did (I thought) a respectable job on these. Our fisheye is a Tamron, so it's not what I'd consider as high-end. This whole photo thing is going to be an on-going process. The right side along the roofline is next up. I tried hanging drapery, like sis did it on the left-hand side, and failed miserably. She's going to finish hanging in the next couple of weeks and I'm back down there the weekend of the 19th so will try again on some more shots.
 
Rick,

I have to say that I really think your little venue is cool! You have to have a better "PARTY LIGHTING SET UP" than the competition in the area! The possibilities of various activities on property are a big potential as well. Did you think of offering additional ideas to prospects such as Outdoor games could be set up for your guests during cocktail hour as an idea? I am thinking like Ring Toss, Corn Hole (Bean Bag Toss), ...Maybe even Horse Shoe throwing. Games like that would add to the outdoor experience. ...Also, I know it is more money, but adding the option for outside cocktail area WITH A TIKI BAR set up would heighten the experience for the weddings and events held there! ANother tool to help sell. ...A "CUTE" clean looking Tiki Bar is what would make a big impact on sales.

Also, I know it will take time, but if you really put together a sweet Garden area, there would be a eye catching place for wedding day pictures, and that will help sell the property as well.

What does the outside ceremony area look like right now? I know you mentioned benches will be used.
 
It matters why the price is suddenly 50% off.
If we're in a pandemic you could be the top listing on Google for EVERY word in the English language and it won't improve your event bookings. There are two kinds of restrictions. First, is the government shutting things down. Second, is the lingering economic impact.

Advertising rates are driven by impressions/exposure. The price went down because the site is promoting events that in many locations aren't happening in any large measure. You won't be saving money - just getting less effective results in a market that is under performing.
 
Rick,

I have to say that I really think your little venue is cool! You have to have a better "PARTY LIGHTING SET UP" than the competition in the area! The possibilities of various activities on property are a big potential as well. Did you think of offering additional ideas to prospects such as Outdoor games could be set up for your guests during cocktail hour as an idea? I am thinking like Ring Toss, Corn Hole (Bean Bag Toss), ...Maybe even Horse Shoe throwing. Games like that would add to the outdoor experience. ...Also, I know it is more money, but adding the option for outside cocktail area WITH A TIKI BAR set up would heighten the experience for the weddings and events held there! ANother tool to help sell. ...A "CUTE" clean looking Tiki Bar is what would make a big impact on sales.

Also, I know it will take time, but if you really put together a sweet Garden area, there would be a eye catching place for wedding day pictures, and that will help sell the property as well.

What does the outside ceremony area look like right now? I know you mentioned benches will be used.

Yea, I'm planning on yard games as there's a nice, flat spot next to the venue. For now, the only pics I have are at https://www.ryanacres.com/gallery. I have 4 ceremony sites laid out and I'm just about settled on pouring a concrete pad, about 50 feet outside the back door. My next big project is extending the lean-to on the backside
 
Might I suggest getting rid of that tacky "LOVE" sign on the left wall, next to the air conditioner. It looks like it came from Walmart.
 
Might I suggest getting rid of that tacky "LOVE" sign on the left wall, next to the air conditioner. It looks like it came from Walmart.

There's that, and why is there a Leiko aimed at the chandelier?
Then again, why is there a chandelier in a room with no ceiling?

You've gotta stay consistent if you want the room or these photos to be truly compelling. Right now you're throwing all kinds of things together and it's starting to look like a rummage sale.

Simple is better. Simple is elegant. Simple is chic..
 
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Bob made a great point. There's something to WW making their price half price. That screams desperate. You can advertise with them all you want. Not saying your website isn't nice at all so don't take this the wrong way. Once you attract people to your site it has to say to potential clients this is a must have for me. If it doesn't no matter how much money you spend with WW or something like that if your website doesn't catch people's attention right away. Once you get them to your site it has to say to them I need to contact this venue owner and find out more. By the way your site looks great.
 
Done. Good catch. I nuked some of the gallery shots and have added a few ones that I got from this weekend. I used a fisheye lens on these and it seemed to help make the room look a bit bigger.

I picked out a few SEO scraps that you could fix if you're interested I'll take a quick look and see if there's anything obvious there
 
Might I suggest getting rid of that tacky "LOVE" sign on the left wall, next to the air conditioner. It looks like it came from Walmart.

I'll have you know, that I bought that from another venue, who likely bought it from Wal-Mart. ;)
 
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I picked out a few SEO scraps that you could fix if you're interested I'll take a quick look and see if there's anything obvious there

I'll take any assistance you care to give. I went back this morning and tagged all the photos (both landing and gallery) with major keywords. SEO has just always been hard for me for some reason.
 
I think the WW rep. just knocked it down. I asked her how many leads a specific competitor had gotten, about 20 per month (the past 3 months). She then let it slip that this competitor was a tier #2 advertiser and that she was quoting me tier #3. Oh, but it would only run another $125/month to be tier #2 ($350/mth). Of course, that means that next year it would jump to $700/month. Don't think so, sista.
 
As long as they have guarantees of "qualified leads" as opposed to random ones ...
 
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As long as they have guarantees of "qualified leads" as opposed to random ones ...

They don't guarantee anything, except to make you pay for a full year..........I'm guessing that if my friend sees 20 a month, then what they're offering me MIGHT produce 3-5 leads. I'm getting a lot of bounce off the shots I got this weekend. Guess I need to just slow down, concentrate on continuing to make improvements and to get better pics. I have a lady that's wanting to do a baptism (hispanic) in a few weeks. That's my only weekend sitting open in June so I shot her a crazy cheap price and she's asked to come view the property.
 
My experience with WeddingWire is that it's worth it to pay for at a minimum first page placement. Think about how often you get to the 2nd page of Google results... most of us it's never.

Depending on how crowded your market is, that might be a tier 3. But I'd pay for any upgrade to ensure first page, or I wouldn't do it at all.

I'd rather invest $5,000 for a reliable return than spend $1,000 on lottery tickets that likely won't produce anything. Granted it's a bigger risk, but it's much more likely to be a winner if you have decent placement. Spotlight isn't required, but first page should be.
 
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The other way to do this is to create a website that consistently outranks WW for specific organic search results. Position your site for very specific language rather than the generic terms like "Wedding DJ."
Think about how often you get to the 2nd page of Google results... most of us it's never.

That's no longer true because most people have caught on to the first page of Google results showing almost entirely paid advertisements. Just type in a search for "Wipe my A**" and most of the first page will be:
  • Find Wipe My A** on eBay
  • Amazon has Wipe My A** and free delivery with Prime
  • Get low prices on Wipe My A**
  • CNN investigates Wipe My A**
  • Find reviews for Wipe My A**
With WW the position you pay for is one surrounded by ALL of your competition. The WW proposition is to enter a bidding war rather than benefit from true quality lead generation.
 
My experience with WeddingWire is that it's worth it to pay for at a minimum first page placement. Think about how often you get to the 2nd page of Google results... most of us it's never.

Depending on how crowded your market is, that might be a tier 3. But I'd pay for any upgrade to ensure first page, or I wouldn't do it at all.

I'd rather invest $5,000 for a reliable return than spend $1,000 on lottery tickets that likely won't produce anything. Granted it's a bigger risk, but it's much more likely to be a winner if you have decent placement. Spotlight isn't required, but first page should be.

You can't get a spotlight (first 3 slots) and featured goes on for multiple pages. I have no idea where this 3rd tier would even begin to show up. They screwed up their search mechanism so now Oneonta gets lumped in with Birmingham. The rep. says that all the brides know how to filter, but I guess I was too stupid to figure it out.
 
I'll take any assistance you care to give. I went back this morning and tagged all the photos (both landing and gallery) with major keywords. SEO has just always been hard for me for some reason.

I was going to do this by PM but maybe someone else will find use in it

For the most part it looks OK. I love the multiple social media links throughout the site especially on the FAQ

The downside:

Update your blog...If you are going to have one use it often at the very minimum once a week. Even if you post related articles with a small blurb and your website address and a couple of keywords. You went almost a year that's a long dry spell. If you can't commit to it axe it old content is bringing you down

Internal back links...Use internal back links on every page linking to something relevant on your site. For example on your floor plans page link back to your contact page. A good portion of your pages have no links at all on them. At the very minimum contact and home should be there. Also link your keywords to a page in your paragraphs

External Back links...Link everywhere you can. Take out free ads and use them as a link back. Post often on social media and use the link back. You have 3 or 4 of your own sites you can exchange links with. Update your preferred vendors there are a couple of dead links there (anyreasontoplan.com and flowersbyamanda.com) and see if anyone could return the favour

Update the text on your site more often and include your keywords at every opportunity
 
The other way to do this is to create a website that consistently outranks WW for specific organic search results. Position your site for very specific language rather than the generic terms like "Wedding DJ."


That's no longer true because most people have caught on to the first page of Google results showing almost entirely paid advertisements. Just type in a search for "Wipe my A**" and most of the first page will be:
  • Find Wipe My A** on eBay
  • Amazon has Wipe My A** and free delivery with Prime
  • Get low prices on Wipe My A**
  • CNN investigates Wipe My A**
  • Find reviews for Wipe My A**
With WW the position you pay for is one surrounded by ALL of your competition. The WW proposition is to enter a bidding war rather than benefit from true quality lead generation.

Most people know how to identify an ad versus a search result on Google. I still don't think many people are spending a lot of time on page 2 and beyond.

And outranking WeddingWire is going to be exceptionally difficult. Not impossible, but SEO is just not as easy as posting blogs with a few keywords.

If I'm not mistaken, Rick will do pretty well in that bidding war. He pricing his venue pretty low relative to competition. So getting in the mix might be enough to drive some traffic and conversions for him.

It's not right for me, so I'm not paying them for it. But I'm trying to answer his question through the lens of the business he's running.