All of the INTIX 2025 Inspiration Stage workshops were well attended. But the one presented by Taylor Jewell titled “First Click Wins: SEM + SEO Tips to Help Your Audience Find Your Venue First” seemed to have a particular urgency in this era where so many ticket buyers are turning to third-party sellers despite the many “buyer beware” warnings.
Let’s Talk Strategy
In today’s digital world, the first step of almost every online journey starts with a search engine. Jewell, Marketing & Ticketing Director for the University of Kentucky’s Singletary Center for the Arts, says it is “wildly important” for venues to have a strong strategy for both search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO).
“Whether you’re running a 100-seat black box or a 30,000-seat arena, your patrons are searching online first,” she says. “If you are not showing up where they’re searching, you’re losing visibility and potential ticket sales. SEM and SEO make sure your venue is part of the conversation when someone types in ‘concerts near me’ or performances in [your city here].’ Building a strong strategy helps make sure you are visible, accessible and staying top of mind in an increasingly noisy digital space.”
Taylor Jewell
So, what are a couple of the key aspects of such a strong strategy? What are the must-haves? Keyword research is number one for Jewell. She explains, “If you don’t know what people are searching for, you can’t optimize your content around it. Use free tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to get started. I’ve found that once you start digging it’s easier to come up with more and more ideas.”
She continues, “Once you have an idea of how patrons and fans are searching, make sure your pages incorporate those keywords and search terms and are relevant and readable. Internal linking on a website is a great tactic too! For example, linking back to seating or parking maps or information on accessibility in your event descriptions can keep users on your site longer, which in turn boosts your site’s rating. And, of course, don’t forget mobile optimization. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, users will bounce — and Google will notice.”
Overcoming Obstacles
Some venues simply aren’t standing out in search results. What are they doing wrong? As it turns out, a lot of the time, they are unintentionally letting third-party sellers outrank them. Jewell says, “Resale sites are spending millions on SEM and have nailed down SEO, even if it’s in a predatory way. Venues that aren’t showing up may have outdated content, lack keyword optimization or just haven’t prioritized SEO in an effective way.
“It’s also possible their site is not mobile-optimized, or it lacks clear internal links. “Both of those [shortcomings] hurt rankings,” Jewell cautions.
Then, there are those venue operators who may be intimidated by technology or lack experience in tech matters. What advice does Jewell have for them as they look to improve in this regard? “Start small and always stay curious,” she says. “You don’t need to overhaul your whole website or become an expert marketer overnight. Learn what people are searching for to find your events — or not find — and work from there. There are great free tools like Google Trends or Answer the Public to help.”
Practicing What She Preaches
Jewell speaks from personal experience. She and her staff at the Singletary Center for the Arts have certainly used SEM and SEO to optimize their venue’s online presence. They also use Etix’s analytics tools and lots of patron surveys and feedback to track how users engage with their ticketing flow and then adjust accordingly.
She states, “We’re in a unique situation where our website is tied to the University of Kentucky’s main site and optimizing the way I wish we were able to continues to be challenging. The director of my venue and I are in constant communication with the University administration to find a new way forward that will allow us to truly harness SEO and SEM in an active way. But within those restraints, we’ve made it a priority to better understand how customers are attempting to find our site through keyword research and being consistent with those terms in event titles and descriptions.”
Finally, Jewell harkened back to some advice she gave attendees at her INTIX 2025 workshop: lean heavily on your networks. “So many of us are figuring this out together,” she concludes. “Ask lots of questions and remember that progress matters more than perfection!”
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