When another website, webpage, or web directory (the referrer) links to your website (the referent) or vice versa, this is known as a Backlink. Backlink building is all about developing web links with other pertinent wedding-related companies. So, let’s get backlinking to share more wedding love and improve our Google rankings!

Backlinks are essential as they help with your website rankings.  Essentially, they help potential clients find your business on search engines.  Inevitably, suppose your wedding website has many backlinks to other wedding-related suppliers or local vendors. In that case, your website will rank higher on search engines like Google.  However, your backlinks must be ‘relevant’ to your business and of ‘quality’.

 

What are the advantages of using backlinks for your wedding business?

You can add backlinks anywhere on your website. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer and a recommended supplier at a venue in France, linking to the venue’s website is a smart move, especially if you want more work there.

Instead of just listing venue links, consider writing a blog post about a wedding you shot at the venue. This allows you to share the post with the venue and on social media, boosting your visibility. When couples search for wedding venues, your listing could rank higher than other photographers.

If the venue adds your link to its recommended suppliers page, you’ll be more visible to potential clients. This backlinking also helps search engines connect your site with the venue, improving your overall SEO and making it easier for warm leads to find you.

Takeaway – List companies you can contact to improve your backlinking.

How important are backlinks to Google and our SEO rankings?

When a potential client searches on Google, links between sites help them navigate and find the most relevant information quickly. The easier the navigation, the better the user experience. Google rewards websites with strong backlinks by ranking them higher in search results.

Understanding the importance of backlinks highlights why having fewer of them makes it harder for search engine bots to find your site. Bots discover new websites by following backlinks from established sites. Only after discovering your site can they effectively crawl and index it.

What can I do, as a new wedding business, to improve my SEO rankings?

As a new wedding business, you need to prioritise getting listed on relevant websites as part of your launch strategy. Focus on becoming a recommended supplier at established wedding venues. One practical approach is to collaborate with other vendors on a styled shoot. This can lead to the venue crediting you on their website and social media. If the shoot is successful, it could even gain exposure on a site with thousands of followers.

Takeaway – If you would like to know more about what’s involved in a styled shoot, follow the link to  https://theweddingowl.com/faux-weddings-i-do-styled-shoots/

How do you foster quality backlinks to improve your SEO?

When planning their wedding, couples often click on links to make their next purchase. For example, they might look for catering or a photographer after booking a venue. They’re more likely to stay on your page if the backlink leads to photos of other weddings at their chosen venue, building trust and confidence in your services.

Takeaway: – If you become a recommended supplier, request a backlink on the venue’s website and return the favor by adding their link to yours.

Are there other ways to acquire quality backlinks?

Backlinks should be relevant and make sense on your website. For example, if you offer bridal hair services and specialise in hair extensions, provide a link to the extension company you use.  Then, ask the company to list you as a supplier. However, avoid adding unrelated links, like your partner’s plumbing business, as it can confuse potential clients.

Here are nine more ways to get more backlinks to improve your SEO

1. Write awesome wedding blogs, and don’t forget to credit with Backlinks all of the other contributors and then share the blog, promote the blog on social media and ask the other contributors to add your details on their website
2. Research your competitors’ Backlinks and approach the listed companies to see if they would consider including your website link – but don’t forget to convey the advantages of adding you
3. Approach companies and ask if they would like you to write a guest blog to appear on their website, and if published, makes for a great social media story for you and them
4. Join free wedding web directories and, importantly set up a free business listing account in this order (but do be prepared for Yell to call you):

5. Join the major wedding web directories that target recently engaged couples to generate leads – of course, this will depend on your marketing budget – for instance, https://www.hitched.co.uk/and/ or https://bridebook.co.uk/home and/ or https://www.confetti.co.uk  These are quality Backlinks and should give you a ‘badge’ to make this even easier for you
6. Set yourself up on LinkedIn – here’s my profile in case you want to check out my journey to becoming The Wedding Owl https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-lloyd-52170742/
7. Enter into competitions such as http://kentweddingawards.co.uk/ If your application is successful, and you become a finalist, you will be sent a ‘badge’, which should come with an automatic Backlink that will last around 12 months and needs adding to your website.
8. Get featured in a digital Bridal Magazine by focusing on styled shoots, real weddings, or product placements. Once you’re in, share the news in as many ways as possible.
9. If you use a free online tool why not thank the company by adding a Backlink? For instance, I like to use https://www.canva.com/

Takeaway: Remember that the quality of your Backlinks is far more important than the quantity, so think of them as two-way conversations. Potential clients see a website with many links from other pages on similar topics as more respected and valuable.

If you work in the wedding industry and would like a natural backlink, I’m all up for sharing the wedding love.

If you are in the wedding industry and would like a backlink:

1. Please email me and introduce yourself by sending me a sentence about you with your website link to theweddingowl1@gmail.com
2. Agree to add me to your website.  Here is my link: www.theweddingowl.com  I’m a multi-award-winning wedding business consultant supporting wedding venues and suppliers to achieve better results in the challenging and competitive wedding industry
3.  Keep in touch.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sharing the wedding love

https://www.singersindisguise.co.uk/  Singers in Disguise Superb Singing Waiters and Wonderful Wedding Breakfast Entertainment.

Drumroll

Photos are a blast from my past by the fabulous https://mattebbage.com/ and makeup by his adorable wife https://www.jessicahawkinsmakeup.com/ taken at Livingstone Cottage (now known as Giraffe Cottage). https://www.aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne/short-breaks/giraffe-cottage/?_ga=2.111833409.453798312.1574438917-410197791.1573231105

Birds of Prey by Fleur Challis photography