Have you made website updates for 2021? Look, the event industry has changed, and you need to update your website. But it doesn’t need to be a daunting, costly project. You can make these simple changes in minutes and stay on-trend and up to date.
Even if clients discover your event business through WeddingWire or via a personal referral, they’ll stop by your website. They will. And they’ll want to know that you get “it.” The problem is that “it” changes all the time.
Related Update Your Marketing For The 2021 Engagement Season
Why Updating Your Website Matters
In 2021, the event industry buzzwords are virtual events, hybrid events, backyard weddings, and postponements. Your potential clients are thinking about these things, and you are too. But does your website communicate that to visitors? It should. Otherwise, they’ll go with someone who they feel understands their needs.
Clients have updated expectations. They need an event professional who demonstrates an understanding of virtual events or sustainable events. Or a wedding planner who will help them with rescheduling disasters and venue insurance in the COVID era.
And if a competitor took the time to feature their up-to-date understanding of 2021’s concerns, then they’ll have a headstart in the trust department.
Related: A Practical Guide To An Effective Website For Your Event Business
Update Your Website For Better SEO
But there’s a little more to it. Clients are looking for new services as the world changes, and they use new words to describe it. And that means they’re using new keywords when looking for someone to provide those services. Clients are googling for someone who understands the subtleties of a micro-wedding. Google relies on keywords to find that client the best match to their query. Updating your website to include those keywords will help Google help you.
And lastly, on the subject of SEO, Google simply likes websites that are updated from time to time. It’s worth a few minutes each year to make website updates for 2021.
Related: 4 Steps To Great On-Page SEO for Event Planners
Making Website Updates For 2021 Is Super Easy
It’s barely an inconvenience. At least, in most cases. If you’re open to making website updates for 2021, then it should be something that takes minutes, not hours.
It’s easy to over-think this stuff, so please follow this process:
First, make tiny updates. Get the keywords on your website as simply and quickly as possible. If your website is built on WordPress, Wix, GoDaddy, Squarespace, or any other platform, then it really will be a breeze.
Later, if you have time, you can get into the other actions that take a little more effort and time. Even so, nothing I’m talking about should take you more than 15 minutes here and there. Heck, you can do most of these changes while watching TV.
Add New Keywords In Minutes
Okay, let’s get into it. You already know all the critical buzzwords. If you’re in the MICE space, you’ve heard about digital conferences, virtual events, and hybrid events. If you’re a wedding professional, you’ve seen the wedding trends around micro-weddings, backyard weddings, elopements, and rescheduling issues.
Pop into your website platform like Wix and head over to where you list your services. The same place you name the types of events you execute is where you’ll add these new keywords. Just pop them into any lists or paragraphs, and you’re done.
In a few minutes, you’ll have updated your website meaningfully. It’s really that simple.
Update Other Pages On Your Website
The following small task is to go through any other content. If you’ve written about your work on old blog posts, or on your contact page, or wherever, then simply make some minor tweaks there too.
Just throw in the new keywords, assuming it still reads nicely. You’ll have given Google some positive signals about your work and relevance to 2021 event search queries.
Additionally, if clients explore your website broadly, they’ll see that you provide the modern services they’re looking for.
Update Your Portfolio For 2021
When it comes to website updates, you’re probably already happy to keep your portfolio current. But it’s still worth looking it over with an eye to 2021’s trends. Do you have examples of outdoor events, virtual events, or elopements? Can you highlight “green” aspects of your events in your portfolio?
Updating a portfolio isn’t only about adding in gorgeous new photographs. It’s also about highlighting the nods to trends. For example, can you showcase how you integrate sustainability into your events? Are you able to find a picture of a micro-wedding where streaming is also incorporated to make it hybrid? You can add visual examples of 2021’s new event landscape into your portfolio.
Blogging For 2021
Writing blog posts isn’t something you can do in minutes, but it also doesn’t have to take hours. But just try this: pick a focused topic like hybrid events and write up a simple 5 paragraphs with one picture. Think 4 sentences per paragraph. That’s a mere 20 sentences – nothing to it.
Blog posts, especially for “local” businesses, can be powerful. If someone in your area is looking for an event pro who grasps hybrid weddings, then you’ll likely have a good lead in the search results. Google loves showcasing local results!
And don’t forget internal linking. That means linking to the blog post from other pages on your site. It doesn’t take long, but it’s super effective.
Related: Blogging Tips For Event Planners: Search Engine Optimization
Landing Pages
If you want to over-achieve, then I’d recommend standalone landing pages for the 2021 trends. A page on your website all about your virtual event services or elopements is powerful. It will rank well in search engines, but also it will wow on-the-fence clients.
This takes more effort, but you don’t need a lot of content. 2 short paragraphs are often enough. Or even 1 paragraph and a bullet-point list. Landing pages are powerful tools when it comes to showing expertise.
Let me give you an example from the wedding planning world. I’ve heard from tons of couples about how stressed they are about postponements and rescheduling. There’s so much uncertainty that they’re afraid to commit to a date. Having a page on your website dedicated to how you’ll handle postponements and protect their investment will be a massive deal-closer.
This applies to services too. People want to hire you for your expertise, especially regarding the new facets of the event industry.
Don’t Forget Google Business Profile And Elsewhere
I’m assuming you’ve already got a Google Business Profile account set up. If not, here’s how to set it up. Your GMB profile is extraordinarily powerful when it comes to search engine rankings, but it’s easy to forget about too. So please do pop over there and update your services and offerings there too.
And the same goes for every other listing. While making your website updates For 2021, update those profiles too!
We’ve Got It Covered
And while we’re on the topic of 2021, if you need a virtual event template, take a look here. We can add that template to your ThymeBase event planning software account for you if you need it. We also have event planning templates for micro-weddings, hybrid events, and more.