cross promoting other vendors...

<p>I've been reaching out to the vendors that I meet and asking them if they are interested in cross promoting with me- through their (and my) website's "prefered vendors" page. If they post my info, I post their info, and we all benifit from a little SEO and a couple click-throughs.</p>

<p>Just wondering if this is the preferred method, or if there's anything else I need to consider. My one issue is that some vendors have numerous photographers in their preferred vendors page, and my link sometimes gets pushed down to the bottom. I was thinking about asking them to keep me at the top of their list if they want to stay on the top of mine, or perhaps only including one preferred vendor for each service (one videographer, one makeup girl, etc.) and ask that they do the same. </p>

<p>Any tips to get the most out of my cross promotion efforts would be highly appreciated. </p>

<p>I think that only have one preferred vendor per category is bad form-I'm not the perfect fit for every couple another vendor is going to work with, and likewise, not every client of mine is going to be a perfect fit for just one DJ, florist, makeup artist, etc. I have no problem being on a preferred vendor list with other photographers, particularly since most of those other photographers are friends of mine. Asking to be a vendor's only 'preferred' photographer is going to paint you in a very bad light, IMO.</p>

<p>I don't worry as much about where I'm listed on somebody's website as I do about staying front of mind with them for when couples ask them about a photographer. I do this by sending them photographs of their work every year, staying in touch on Facebook, contacting them every time before I send a lead along, and so on. </p>

<p>Google's bots don't judge based on placement, just that the link is there. To help them (and help you) ask them to put a second link into your blog (which is linked to your site), this'll give 'browsers' something other than galleries to look at also.</p>

<p>Suggest that you focus on developing a personal relationship with other vendors rather than worry about personal promotion via website links.....I suspect that you'll get more referrals from a couple of vendors that you have a relationship with rather than a dozen mutual links on websites.</p>

<p>+10 on what David Schilling said. A personal referral is worth much more than any website link. Work on developing those relationships that count, especially with wedding planners and reception site event coordinators.</p>