If you’re a wedding photographer who is working on your SEO, you’ve probably already started thinking about trying to rank for wedding venues.
In my experience looking at thousands of wedding photography websites, I’ve seen more search traffic come from this strategy than anything else.
Because it is such a strong content strategy, I’ve decided to lean into teaching more about this method, and the specific tactics you can use to find the most success.
This post is an introduction that talks about *why* you should be writing about wedding venues, and why optimizing your real wedding blog posts might not be enough.
Wedding venues are often the first decision when planning a wedding
When it’s time to start planning a wedding, the first step is usually to pick a date.
Sometimes the couple knows exactly when they want to get married. Could be an anniversary, a favorite season, or a specific meaningful date. Other times, it’s more flexible… “next fall” or “sometime in May.”
Often, the wedding date is dictated by the availability of the venue.
When I was a wedding photographer, I’d say that 90% of couples who inquired with me had already chosen a date and booked their venue.
There are always exceptions… but as a general rule, when a couple starts searching for a photographer, they’ve already picked their venue.
Think about how early venues show up in a couple’s search. They’re looking at venues on TikTok, saving them on Pinterest, asking for suggestions in Facebook groups… long before they’ve thought about a photographer.
And that’s exactly why writing content about wedding venues is so powerful. It gets you in front of couples before they’re looking for a photographer.
Even if they’re not ready to reach out yet, your name becomes familiar. Your voice starts to build trust and your photos start painting a picture in their head.
If they can see their wedding at a venue through your images… you become the natural choice to give them those same results.
I hear from photographers every month who tell me they’ve booked another wedding from someone who mentioned their venue guides.
While the conversion rate from traffic to venue content might be lower than traffic from people actively searching for a photographer… the opportunity is much bigger.
Let’s talk about why…
Wedding venues have more search volume than wedding photographers
In nearly every city or region I’ve researched, the search volume for “wedding venues” absolutely crushes search volume for “wedding photographers.”
In fact, it’s not even close. In many cases, it’s 5–10x higher.
Google Trends confirms that pattern.
Here are a couple of examples from Semrush to further illustrate the point.
It’s also worth noting that the competition level for keywords related to wedding venues is almost always lower than keywords related to photographers.
There are so many venues that haven’t done any real work to optimize for wedding venue keywords. Most only optimize for their venue name (and many have low-quality websites overall).
As I’ve been researching for my venue guide course, I’ve noticed there’s still a significant opportunity for photographers to rank for wedding venue terms in many areas around the world.
Some areas already have strong venue content or are saturated with wedding directories… but overall, there’s still room for easy rankings if you’re willing to write excellent content.
Your images are the best venue marketing (and they’re uniquely yours)
Directories like The Knot, Wedding Spot or Here Comes The Guide can list all the bullet points…
But they can’t tell stories from the perspective of someone who has actually attended a wedding at these venues.
You can.
You’ve been there. You’ve seen where the light hits just right. You know where people get ready, where the florist sets up, where Grandma sits during the ceremony.
And even more importantly… the photos you take are your intellectual property. Unless you give permission, nobody else can replicate that content.
So while I always recommend building great relationships with venues (and sharing your images with them when appropriate), don’t forget:
Your website is the most powerful place to publish those photos.
When someone searches “The Millstone at Adams Pond wedding” or “best places for portraits at Adams Pond,” Google can serve your guide. In many cases, it is even more relevant to a searcher than the official venue website.
And the directories? They might rank well for now… but they can’t scale real, personal insight about specific venues in your city.
That’s your unfair advantage.
Writing about wedding venues establishes you as an expert
Blogging real weddings proves experience. Writing venue guides proves expertise.
If you’ve photographed at a venue, your photos show you’ve been there.
But if you can also explain:
- The pros and cons of each ceremony location
- What to do if it rains
- How to schedule portraits for the best light
- Where to get ready if the venue only provides a small closet…
…now you’ve moved into trusted guide territory.
Sometimes a blog post about a real wedding isn’t enough.
Writing wedding venue guides is how you demonstrate that you know your stuff.
Each new wedding photographed at a venue allows you to expand on a single guide that becomes more and more valuable over time.
A venue guide becomes the “source of truth” for other venue content
Once you write a venue guide, it becomes an asset you can use everywhere.
Someone asks in a Facebook group about that venue? Drop the link (bonus points if you also put some time into answering the question directly, then reference the link as a place to dig deeper).
You’re chatting with a new lead who mentions they booked that venue? Send the guide.
You want to post on Instagram without writing a whole new caption? Use a snippet from the guide, link in bio.
The guide becomes your anchor and you can link back to it whenever the venue comes up. And when done well, it’s also one of the most authoritative pieces of content on that venue that exists online.
Venues are local entities and improve your local relevance
Every time you write about a local venue, you’re reinforcing your local relevance.
Google starts to associate your site with wedding-related searches in your area. Not just “photography” but the whole wedding experience.
In some cases, I genuinely believe Google expects wedding photographers to mention certain venues in their area. They’re that well-known.
The more your site mentions local landmarks, businesses, and event spaces, the more it signals that you’re a real business serving real people in that area.
In other words… writing about wedding venues can help improve your local rankings for wedding photography-related keywords too.
There is a proven strategy to rank for wedding venues
Writing about venues isn’t a brand new idea.
Thousands of photographers have written blog posts optimized for venue keywords.
I’ve taken the time to actually study the content that works… what ranks, what doesn’t, and why.
And I’ve turned that research into a repeatable system that gives you the best shot at ranking with your venue content.
The system is based on a “venue hub” (a roundup of venues), individual “venue guides” and then real weddings to support each individual guide.
I’ve created a course to walk you through setting up every step.
The course is made of 9 easy lessons, and plenty of tools and templates. You also get:
- A custom GPT that helps you break through writers block and create a first draft of a venue guide
- A custom GPT to help you optimize your real wedding titles so they don’t compete with your guides
- 3 content reviews (one for your first hub, guide and real wedding) by me (Corey) and unlimited reviews by our community in the content club
- Plenty of checklists, examples, and guidance on how to make your content unique so it will stand out
Whether or not you take the course, I encourage you to start writing about wedding venues.
If you want the accountability and support to take action, I can’t wait to see you in the course!
