Note: In my last post I began a conversation about your websites and the importance of location information. Here’s the second part. If you didn’t get a chance to read the first part, click here.
Hold the phone
It used to be pretty easy to look at the area code on your site or business card and get an idea where you were located. These days with so many people using their cell phones as their main or only phone, and the portability of cell phone numbers, area codes are no longer a reliable indicator of location. A few years ago my family moved almost 100 miles to a new area and yet my wife and sons still use the same cell phone numbers. Their area code would lead someone to believe they are in another state – which would make it the state of confusion!
Using a toll-free number is less common now that long distance calls usually costs no more than dialing locally. However using only a toll-free number makes your location even more obscure. Using only a toll-free number and putting no address or location information is almost like being invisible to localized search results. How would anyone know where you are, or where you do business, if you aren’t telling your prospects, or even giving them a hint?
OK, smart guy, what’s the answer?
I’m all about giving you quick and easy solutions, so here are 5 easy things you can do to help both the people and the search engines find you:
1) Spell it out:
Put a line of text prominently on your website (in the header or high up on the page) that lists where you are, or where you do business. You can even incorporate what you do. One of my clients has this line: “Catholic and interfaith wedding ceremonies anywhere in Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland.” Here’s another example: “Providing you with the finest wedding DJ, lighting and photobooths in Austin and the Texas Hill Country”
2) Say it on your Blog:
When you blog about the weddings and events you do, list the location and include the city and state/province. Take that one step further and include the city and state/province of the couple or company. I prefer to not use their last names if you do this. Let’s respect their privacy. While you can use it in the header or body copy for the search engines, I prefer to see it in the blog post header: “Debbie and Ahmed’s Wedding – Infinity Wedding Yacht, Detroit, MI”
3) Testimonials to the rescue, again:
Anyone who’s heard me speak about websites or marketing knows that I love to use testimonials on almost everything (website, business cards, brochures, ads…). When you use a testimonial include the city and state/province of the author. If you want to take this to the next level also include the name, city and state/province of the venue. That will give you two cities and states/provinces on every testimonial:
“My guests were still raving about the food weeks after our wedding” – Anna K., Peachtree City, GA – wedding reception venue: Carl House, Decatur, GA
4) Calendar listings:
Put a calendar of events, future and past, on your site. I’ve heard of several wedding & event pros who do this, and I do this on my site. This way it shows how busy you are and also gives you a good reason for listing cities, states/provinces and lots and lots of keywords. For instance you can have a listing for “Sept. 20, 2014 – Wedding: Reception Venue: Kaspar’s Catering, Seattle, WA”
5) Photo captions:
I was recently reading a post on the Pinterest for Business blog where they mentioned that longer, more descriptive captions on your Pins makes them more engaging. So why not put captions on the photos on your own site? I often ask my consulting clients what they would say to me if I were sitting next to them, looking at that same photo. Just write that and include some keywords and location info:
“What a beautiful day and location for Suzi and Steph’s wedding at the fabulous Los Willows in Fallbrook, CA”
Make it easy
If you have a physical location listed on your site, put your address in a way to make it easy for site visitors to click once to get a map. For most mobile devices you only need to list your address in real text, formatted as a conventional address (street address, city, state/province, zip/postal code). If your site is mobile-friendly (a topic for another time) most iPhones and Android devices will allow you to just click the address and they’ll open your preferred mapping program. Try listing your address higher up on the page, not just in tiny print in the footer.
I’ve often said that you don’t always get credit for doing it right, but you almost always lose points for doing it wrong. Having your location information prominently displayed won’t get most people to jump for joy, but not having it might make them jump ship.
The easiest way to move forward is to make many small changes. If you’ve read my mini-book “Don’t Paint The House” then you’re familiar with the concept of “painting a wall”. If you haven’t read it you can get a free download by signing up for my free e-newsletter (which is the fastest way to my latest articles and news about when I’m speaking near you). Take it one page at a time on your site, but start with the pages that are visited the most (your Google or other Analytics reports can show you this info). Add some location text to your homepage. Add location and venue info to the testimonials. Add captions to the photos. Each of these will have an incremental effect, which can add up to a noticeable impact on your bounce rate and conversion. As always, I look forward to hearing your stories of success.
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Want some professional help?
No, I’m not a psychiatrist (although it feels that way sometimes when I’m consulting), but I can help you see and understand the tweaks you need to make to your site. In a 90-120 minute website consultation we’ll look at yours, and other sites, and discuss specific steps you can take to make your site more friendly and navigable.
This is done virtually, so it doesn’t matter where you are. I’ve done consultations with folks just like you, all over the world (US, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Caribbean…). I can even record the entire session, what we see and what we say, so you can review it later. For more information or to schedule your website review contact me via email or call 732.422.6362. For international enquiries 001 732 422 6362.