A couple just got engaged. They are on the couch with a laptop, and one of them already has a picture in their head. A barn with string lights. A beach at sunset. A ballroom with a big staircase. They do not type “wedding venue.” They type the picture: “rustic barn wedding venue near Tampa,” “waterfront wedding venue Florida,” “wedding venue for 150 guests [city].”
Most venue websites have one page called “Weddings” that tries to be all of those at once. Google cannot tell what the venue looks like from that page, so it shows a directory like The Knot instead. The couple ends up comparing you to twenty other venues on someone else's site. That is the problem this guide fixes.
Three kinds of search, three things to answer
Almost every venue search has one of three words in it, and often two.
- Style. Rustic, barn, garden, waterfront, beach, modern, historic, industrial, estate. The couple is searching the feel.
- Size. “For 50 guests,” “for 200 guests,” “small wedding venue,” “intimate.” They have a rough guest count and they want to know if you fit.
- Setting and place. “Near [city],” “in [county],” “outdoor,” “indoor and outdoor,” “all-inclusive.”
Your job is to say, plainly and early, which of those you are. Not in a poem. In words a couple would type.
Build the main weddings page around your real style
Your weddings page title should name your style and your area: Rustic Barn Wedding Venue in [County], or Waterfront Wedding Venue near [City]. The first sentence says it again in plain words, with your capacity: “A restored barn on ten acres, thirty minutes from Tampa, for weddings of 50 to 200 guests.” That one sentence answers style, size and setting, and Google reads it as the answer to all three searches.
Then, in order: eight to twelve photos from real weddings there, your spaces (ceremony spot, reception space, getting-ready rooms), capacity for each, what is included, a starting price, and a button to book a tour. The website pages guide covers the full set of pages.
Give each space its own section or page
If you have a garden ceremony site and a ballroom reception, those are two settings, and couples search for each. “Garden wedding ceremony [city]” and “ballroom wedding reception [city]” can both find you if each space has a clear heading, a few photos, a capacity number and a short description. Name the spaces the way couples would, not the way your floor plan does. “The Oak Lawn” is nice. “The Oak Lawn, our outdoor ceremony site for up to 200” is what ranks.
Write the size in numbers
Couples search guest counts, and Google matches numbers. Put your capacity in plain digits, in more than one place: seated dinner, ceremony, cocktail-style. If you are a small venue, say “intimate” and “small wedding” too, because that is how couples search for under-50 weddings. If you are big, say “large.” Do not make a couple email to ask if you fit. Most will not.
Say what you are not
This sounds backwards, but it works. If you are a barn, say you are a barn, and say you are not a ballroom. A couple who wants a ballroom leaves fast, which is fine. A couple who wants a barn trusts you more, because you are not pretending. It also keeps the words on the page honest, which is what Google rewards.
The “near me” and map piece
When a couple adds “near me” or a city, Google leans on the map box and your Google Business Profile, the free listing that shows on the map. The style and size words on your site help, but the listing decides who is in the three pins. That is covered in the Google Business Profile guide.
How to check where you stand
Type your own style plus your area into Google. “Barn wedding venue [county].” “Waterfront wedding venue [city].” Then your capacity: “wedding venue for 150 [city].” If The Knot and WeddingWire fill the first page and you are not there, your pages are not saying what you are. Fix the words first. It is usually an afternoon of work, and it is the start of everything else.
Want this done for you?
I run a wedding venue site in Tampa Bay myself, and naming the style and size plainly was the first thing I did. If you want me to check how your site describes you to Google, the audit is free and I send it the same business day.