The Basics of SEO For Event Planners

Understanding SEO for event planners is crucial both for generating new clients and for marketing your events. But let’s start at the beginning and take it from there.

This article is about the basics. Some of it will feel a little bit technical, but I’ll do my best to make even those aspects accessible and doable. The key thing is that you should walk away feeling confident about your understanding of SEO for event planners.

And since it’s all about the basics, let’s start with the very first step.

Or read the other articles in this series:

What is SEO?

Google indexes pages on the world wide web. This means that Google’s bots crawl your event business website and make a note of what each page on your website is about. Then, someone searches the web for something like “event planner in my town.” Google looks at its massive index, ranks the websites by relevance and quality, and presents the results. All in the blink of an eye.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, simply gives Google the information it needs to know the searches for which you’d be a relevant result. According to Search Engine Land, it means the process of improving your site to increase its visibility for relevant searches.

So when that person searches for an event planner in their town, SEO is about letting Google know you’re in that same town, you’re an event planner, and you’d be an excellent fit for their needs.

The optimization part comes in when you make it easy for Google to grasp your web content. Then they can rank your website for relevant searches.

SEO Basics For Event Planners

I break down the basics of SEO for event planners into two buckets. One is creative, the other technical.

1. Writing web content that helps people find answers

Copywriting is a creative art form, but you might not be able to hire an artist for your website. So my advice is to keep your website copy clear, simple, and a little bit blunt.

It’s tempting to say you’re a “curator of memorable experiences.” But when a potential client turns to Google and searches for someone to execute an event, they’re probably going to type in “event planner.” They might search for a conference planner, event coordinator, or event manager too.

So your website copy needs to keep that in mind. In a later article, we’ll dedicate much more time to how to write website copy that’s both creative and search engine optimized, but for now, just know this:

Save the creative flare for later paragraphs. Headings, subheadings, and first sentences should describe what you do clearly and unambiguously. Then, both Google’s robots and potential clients will know what it is you offer.

2. Using semantic HTML for a better page structure

Sorry, but SEO for event planners does have to include some technical stuff but don’t worry. Semantic HTML isn’t actually very complicated.

Every website on the web is written in HTML. When you hit publish on Wix or WordPress, those platforms take your design and add all the code behind the scenes. Semantic HTML means using specific HTML tags to communicate the purpose of the text. Let’s look at an example.

You could design a stunning website using HTML code that designates all text as paragraphs (with a paragraph tag). You could, but you wouldn’t. Instead, you’d use heading tags for headings, section tags for sections, and paragraph tags for paragraphs, and so on.

It’s all behind the scenes, so why do it?

Well, because it helps Google understand the importance of your web copy. You put the most important text in headings, right? So if your page heading says, “Vermont Event Planner,” then Google assumes that’s critical information about you.

I’ll get way more into technical SEO in later articles but for now, just do this:

Put your most descriptive words in headings. If you plan conferences, say it in a heading on your page.

Also, consider implementing these 4 steps to great on-page SEO for event planners.

If you’re using any website builder and designate text as a header, they’ll use the correct HTML tags in the background. You don’t so much need to know the code aspect of technical SEO. Just keep in mind that Google relies on your HTML to understand what matters on your page.

3 Steps To Take To Own Local SEO

Many event planners and most event professionals have local-based businesses. It might be a town, county, state, or a radius, but odds are most of your business occurs where you’re based. And so, you’ll need to consider local SEO.

That means you should let Google know where you’re based and what your service area is. Luckily this is pretty easy. Here are the 3 steps to take to rock your local SEO for event planners.

1. Add your service area in your website copy

If you’re based in Chicago, you should say “Chicago Event Planner” on your website. Use it in a title tag (see the On-page SEO article linked above), a heading or two, or include an “areas served” section on your site.

2. Google My Business

Google My Business is an infallibly great way to teach Google about your business. You can build a profile for your business, set your service area, and list all your services with Google. In fact, you should do this even if your business is national.

Read Google My Business For Event Planners for more tips.

3. Use 3rd Party Sites

Listings websites, whether The Knot or Yelp, have absolutely amazing search engine authority. And they’re optimized to show up for local results. I’m talking about event vendor directories!

Wedding planners have sites like:

But there are also non-wedding listing sites like:

Also, don’t neglect the local listings or niche directories. There are destination wedding listing sites, LGBT-focused listings, state-centric listings (like this one), and other niches. Get listed on them all!

They not only rank highly for location-based searches, but they teach Google about you too. Link your listing profile to your website and vice versa, and Google will cross-index them. It’s a little hack for improved local SEO.

Related: SEO Hacks For Wedding Planners

Where To Start?

Okay, so you’re sold on improving your SEO. Great, but where should you actually start? Here are the steps I’d recommend:

Decide on the top 10 keywords you’d like to rank for.
Pepper your website with those keywords, but keep it readable
Set up a profile on Google My Business
Get your business listed on other listing websites.
Explore the SEO tools on your website builder if you use Wix, GoDaddy, Squarespace, or WordPress. For WordPress, I recommend using Yoast’s free SEO plug-in.

And while ThymeBase can’t do much for your SEO, we can make your event planning more manageable for you and your whole team.