Google and Your Grand Rapids Wedding Venue Search

I’m in a quandary.

As a wedding venue in Grand Rapids wanting to connect with couples that would truly love our space, is it more important for us to be SEEN or to be KNOWN?  I mean, if you don’t find us, you’ll never get to know us. Facts. But if I do the SEO dance the way Google would have me do it, more people may see us, but it would be a version of us we wouldn’t recognize.

No joke, I’ve been torn for days.  Should I suck it up and create pages I don’t find valuable, scattering unnatural keywords and phrases to the point where we’ve lost our natural voice ….  just for the sake of page rank?  This feels like using an AI picture in a dating app to get more looks, then hoping they like the real you when you meet for a drink. I choose the unfiltered selfie of our Grand Rapids wedding venue.  See what I did there?!  Sure, we’re a wedding venue in Grand Rapids, but somehow we became a different kind of one when we talk like that.  I’d rather be who we really are and settle for second page on a google search return.

How to Actually Find Your Grand Rapids Wedding Venue:

1. Explore the map:   If you truly just want to browse wedding venues in your area,  search “Grand Rapids wedding venues”… then click on the map that shows up near the top of your Google search return. It will show a list of all the venues in that area, and not just the ones doing the dance! It’s nice having a clean and truly comprehensive list of venues instead of having to click through ten plus pages of google to actually find most of the venues in that area.
2. The big players: The first page of your search return will be filled with national players like Zola, The Knot, WeddingWire, etc because they exist to help you find wedding venues that are willing to pay.  And they’re good at it!  A lot of businesses do pay, so it can help to take a gander.  These pages are also a great source of reviews.  But it’s also good to know that many wedding venues opt out because of the super high cost and choose to focus on social media and google instead.
3. Know your adjectives:  Use keywords that are important to you: Search with the adjectives that mean the most to you:  “Affordable wedding venues in Grand Rapids” will be a game-changer for your search if that’s truly what you’re looking for.  Or maybe “Industrial”.  Waterfront.  Urban.  Greenhouse.  Sure, wedding venues still have to do the dance a bit for this to work … but it’s so much better when they’re dancing to a tune you love.
4. A wedding insider you trust:  If there’s a wedding photographer, caterer, or wedding planner you know and trust … ask them!  There’s no algorithm that can compete with someone who knows you and gets your quirky vibe.  Email me ben@thecheneyplace.com if I can help with some referrals for you.  I promise I’ll only mention our venues if they might actually be a good fit for you.

My conscience is clear!  Except now after all that tech talk, I’m going to wonder all day if  you think I sound more like my web developer than  an “industrial affordable Grand Rapids wedding venue with super friendly staff” venue owner. Dangit.   Another quandary.