The Wedding Planners Winning Local Search Have These Three Things in Common

Couples don't open a browser and type 'best wedding planner.' They type 'wedding planner in [their city]' or 'wedding coordinator near [venue name].' That search intent is geographic from the first keystroke, and Google responds by showing three local results — the Map Pack — above everything else on the page.

If your business isn't in those three spots, most couples never see you, regardless of how polished your website is or how many weddings you've planned.

Local SEO is the discipline of making Google confident enough in your relevance and authority to show you for those location-anchored searches. For wedding planners specifically, it breaks down into three interconnected areas:

• Google Business Profile (GBP): Your listing in Google's local index — the source of your Map Pack presence
• On-site local signals: Location-specific pages, schema markup, and city-name keyword targeting on your website
• Off-site authority: Reviews, citations, and links from local venues, photographers, and florists

The good news: most wedding planners haven't optimized any of these well. The competition floor is lower than it looks in many markets, which means a focused effort over three to six months can move the needle meaningfully. Results vary by market density and how established your competitors are, but in our experience, planners who execute all three areas consistently outperform those who focus on just one.

Your GBP listing is not a one-time setup task. It's an active marketing channel that Google rewards when you treat it that way. Here's what full optimization looks like for a wedding planning business:

1. Choose the right primary category

Set your primary category to 'Wedding Planner' — not 'Event Planner' or 'Party Planner.' Google uses this to match you to relevant searches. Add secondary categories like 'Wedding Service' as applicable, but don't dilute your primary.

2. Write a description that uses your target keywords naturally

Your business description has 750 characters. Use the first two sentences to include your city name and primary service — 'full-service wedding planner in [City]' — because Google reads this. The rest can speak to couples about your style and experience.

3. Upload real photos consistently

Listings with photos receive significantly more direction requests and website clicks than those without, according to Google's own data. Upload real wedding photos, detail shots, and planning process images. Aim to add at least two to four new images per month — consistency signals an active business.

4. Set your service area accurately

If you travel to weddings across multiple counties or suburbs, define those areas in GBP. Don't overreach — listing a service area of an entire state when you primarily serve one metro will dilute your relevance signal.

5. Use GBP Posts weekly

GBP Posts appear directly in your listing and act as a soft engagement signal. Share recent weddings, seasonal availability notes, or planning tips. One post per week is manageable and keeps your listing appearing active to both Google and prospects.

6. Answer every question in the Q&A section

Couples (and sometimes competitors) can post questions on your GBP listing. Monitor it and answer promptly. You can also seed it with questions you commonly get — and answer them yourself — to pre-empt common objections.

Reviews do two things simultaneously: they improve your Map Pack ranking and they convert undecided couples into booked clients. Most wedding planners get reviews sporadically — a grateful couple leaves one without being asked, then nothing for months. That pattern hurts you.

Google's algorithm considers review recency. A listing with 40 reviews and the most recent one from 18 months ago is treated differently than a listing with 25 reviews and one from last week. Consistent velocity matters more than a single surge.

Build the ask into your offboarding process

The highest-conversion moment to request a review is immediately after the wedding — within 48 to 72 hours while the experience is fresh and emotions are high. Send a personal message (not a mass email) to the couple, thank them by name, and include a direct link to your GBP review form.

A direct link removes friction. Couples who have to search for where to leave a review often don't.

Make it easy, not automated

Automated review request sequences feel impersonal and often arrive at the wrong time. A personal text or email from you, referencing a specific moment from their wedding day, performs better than any templated drip sequence.

Respond to every review

Google sees your response behavior. Responding to reviews — positive and critical ones — signals engagement and professionalism. For positive reviews, a brief, specific response (mention the venue or something personal) is more authentic than a generic 'Thank you so much!' For critical reviews, stay calm, acknowledge the concern, and take the conversation offline.

Don't ask for reviews on platforms where couples aren't already active

Focus your ask on Google first. Once you have a healthy Google review base, you can direct couples toward WeddingWire or The Knot. Splitting attention too early dilutes your most important listing.

Your website needs to tell Google — explicitly — where you work and what you do there. Many wedding planner websites are beautiful but geographically vague. They say 'I'm based in Nashville' once in the About page and nowhere else. That's not enough for Google to confidently rank you for location-specific searches.

The core page structure for local SEO

Build your website around this framework:

• Homepage: Targets your primary city — 'wedding planner in [City]' in the H1, first paragraph, and page title
• Location pages: One page per suburb, county, or metro area you actively serve — each with unique content about weddings in that area
• Venue-specific pages: Pages targeting '[Venue Name] wedding planner' searches, which have strong commercial intent and low competition in most markets

What goes on a location page

A location page isn't a copy-paste of your homepage with the city name swapped. Google recognizes thin, duplicated content and won't rank it. A useful location page includes:

• Your specific experience planning weddings in that area
• References to local venues, caterers, or photographers you've worked with
• Any unique considerations for weddings in that location (venue permit requirements, outdoor season windows, etc.)
• A testimonial or brief case reference from a couple who married there, if available

Schema markup for local businesses

Add LocalBusiness schema to your website's code — specifically the WeddingVenueCoordinator or EventPlanner type. This structured data helps Google parse your business information directly and can enhance how your listing appears in search results. Most website platforms (Squarespace, Showit, WordPress) support schema plugins that don't require custom coding.

The venues you work with regularly are one of your most underused SEO assets. Here's the dynamic: venues rank well for 'weddings at [venue name]' searches. Couples who find the venue then search for planners familiar with it. If your name appears on the venue's preferred vendor list — with a link back to your website — you capture that intent at exactly the right moment.

How to build venue-based link equity

Reach out to venues where you've planned multiple weddings and ask to be added to their preferred vendor page. A link from a venue's website to yours carries real local SEO value because venues typically have strong domain authority in your geographic area.

Take this further by offering to co-create content. A venue that publishes a 'Real Wedding at [Venue Name]' blog post featuring your work — with a credit and link to your site — earns you a relevant, local backlink and exposes you to the venue's own audience of couples in active planning mode.

Photographer and florist cross-linking

Vendors you collaborate with frequently can participate in the same model. If a photographer you work with regularly links to you as their preferred planner (and you link back to them), both parties benefit. Keep these exchanges genuine — Google's link quality evaluation rewards relevance and context, not volume.

Local business citations beyond the obvious directories

Beyond Google, Yelp, and The Knot, look for local citation opportunities specific to your market: your city's chamber of commerce directory, local wedding association membership pages, and regional lifestyle publications that maintain vendor directories. Each consistent listing — with your exact business name, address, and phone number — reinforces your local presence to Google's crawlers.