Attract More Wine Connoisseurs With Highly Targeted
Winery SEO
This Winery SEO Guide Has Been Comprehensively Updated for 2023
Due to consistent algorithm updates, the relatively recent Helpful Content Update in late 2022, we’ve updated the written content that already existed on the page. We’ve written new content. And we’ve filmed new video content. Everything is up-to-date, fresh, and helpful for your winery business to dominate Google for 2023.
Free SEO Audit For Your Winery or Vineyard
This isn’t some automated audit where a random tool will spit out a report. This is myself (yep, Joey Randazzo, the owner) or one of our 2 SEO strategists (Carley or Britt) manually analyzing your winery SEO and providing a customized report.
No strings attached.
Step 2
Check Your Email
In less than 48 hours, one of our talented SEO specialists will send you a 3-7 minute customized video analysis. It will explain opportunities for you to outperform competitors
Here's What You Want To See With Your Winery Website & SEO
When Someone Types into Google "Wineries Near Me", You Show Up Here...
When Someone Types into Google "Wineries Near Me", You Show Up Here...
Think about the way people search for wineries. They’re probably sipping on their favorite Pinot Noir, watching some Netflix or out to dinner, and pull out their smartphone.
They go to Google and type in something like “Wineries Near Me” – the FIRST thing to show up is the Maps area of Google called the Google Local Pack. The wineries that show up here “win” and get the most phone calls.
When Someone Types into Google "Best Wineries in [City]", You Show Up Here...
When wine enthusiasts are looking for wineries, they often use the language of “best winery near me” or “best wineries in [city]”.
The wineries that rank in the Maps area for these keywords get the most phone calls and website visitors.
When Someone Types Queries into Google like "Types of Oregon Pinot Noir", You Show Up Here..
When Someone Types Queries into Google like "Types of Oregon Pinot Noir", You Show Up Here..
Wine lovers ask tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of questions into Google each day. Questions like…
- “What types of wine should be chilled?”
- “What are the biggest wineries in Oregon?”
- “How to get the most out of a wine tour”
Ranking for these keywords in Google proves that your website is an “authority” and can be trusted.
People Are Searching Differently For Wineries Than They Used To
Just take a look and see the increase in people searching for “winery near me” over the last five years.
This screenshot above comes from a tool called Google Trends (a tool created by Google itself). You can see the steady increase in the number of people searching for “winery near me.”
See The Common Theme? You Want To Increase Your Winery's Digital Presence Online To Be Found By Motivated Wine Connoisseurs.
What it all boils down to is, you want more wine lovers in your city to know that you exist. Whenever they do a Google search online around wineries, you want to show up over your competitors.
How Do You Get Tangible Results With Winery SEO Services?
Step 1: Comprehensive SEO Audit
Most SEO companies miss this step. And, this is the most important step of all.
How can you get your SEO where you want it to be if you don’t know where you are now?
We recommend doing a comprehensive SEO audit to determine your:
- Current SEO performance
- Current SEO errors
- What your local competitors are doing
- Technical SEO performance
- And more
Step 2: Local SEO Visibility Audit
The goal for winery SEO is to increase your “local visibility,” as we call it.
We use robust and powerful third party tools to run a “SEO visibility test” on your business. This allows us to see how visible your business is on Google.
The report looks like this:
Step 3: Create a Roadmap Based on Data
We now have a lot of data from the SEO audit and the local SEO visibility audit.
SEO for wineries should be strategized based on data. Most other SEO companies fail to do this and, instead, go off of a “hunch” that something will work.
We recommend creating a comprehensive roadmap based on the data. If the data shows that your website is loading very slowly (which is negatively impacting performance), you should probably focus on fixing that first!
Step 4: Implement Highest Priority Changes First
Here’s where it gets interesting:
Not all SEO activities are created equal.
Adding internal links on a blog post from 2017 won’t be as impactful as improving the content on your homepage.
So, according to the data, you should be targeting the “low hanging fruit” opportunities first.
You don’t have a Google Business Profile set up for your winery? You should probably create one! You don’t have an Events page? You should probably build that first before worrying about the images on your About Us page.
Step 5: Local SEO Best Practices & Content Creation at Scale
Local SEO for wineries comes down to the following:
- Consistent information that Google trusts
- Authority
- Accurate information
If your business has a different phone number on your website than what’s on your Facebook page, that’s a red flag for Google.
If Google chooses to rank your business, they can’t trust that a user will actually get through to you if they try to call.
Having consistent NAPs on high-authority directories across the internet is critical.
Now, in regards to “authority,” that’s where content comes in clutch. If you create content that answers your target audience’s questions, Google will see your business as more authoritative than a winery that doesn’t have much content on their site.
Step 6: Meticulously Track Data
The goal of SEO is to have a tangible impact on your winery. To increase website visitors. To increase your phone calls. And to ultimately have those activities lead to increased revenue.
To ensure your SEO campaign is performing successfully, you have to track data. Build a comprehensive dashboard that gives insights into your:
- keyword rankings
- website visitors
- phone calls
- and other important KPIs
Winery SEO Services Shouldn't Be 
Cutter - Everything Is 100% Customized To Your Business
Winery SEO isn’t the same as other types of SEO. Unfortunately, many other SEO companies fail to make the distinction. They use the same “tips and tricks” that they use in other industries, thinking that it’ll work with wineries. That’s not the best strategy.
We treat your business as unique. We take an individualized approach to each individual industry (such as wineries), to your specific city (Chicago might be different than a smaller town in Nebraska), and your specific website (is your website built on WordPress or Squarespace).
5 Tactical Local SEO Strategies for Wineries
Strategy 1: Google Business Profile Optimizations
This is an example of a winery’s Google Business Profile:
Well, this is an example of the front-end of a Google Business Profile. The part that someone who is searching on Google can see.
Actually, let’s take step back for a minute:
Why do Google Business Profiles matter for wineries? Google Business Profiles are relevant and important ranking factors in order to rank in the Google Local Pack. If you forgot what the Google Local Pack is, take a look below:
Optimizing your Google Business Profile helps you get found there ☝️
And, when you show up in the Google Local Pack, you’re a WINNER. You get more phone calls and website visitors than your competitors.
So, how do you properly optimize your Google Business Profile so you get found in the Google Local Pack?
You have to be comprehensive.
The best way to optimize your Google Business Profile is to provide as comprehensive information as possible.
There are many sections that you can provide comprehensive information, such as:
- Your categories
- Your main description
- Your services
- Your products
- Your photos
Here’s an example illustrating the difference between being comprehensive and not being comprehensive:
For your main description, you may think just to write a sentence like… “We are a top-rated winery that’s dedicated to making your next event enjoyable, relaxing, and memorable.”
That sounds great and all, but it’s just one sentence… Google allows 750 characters for the main description. Use them to your advantage! Do you offer event packages? Do you have different wine tasting tours to choose from? Do you serve types of wine that are unique to the area?
Answering EVERY possible question is how you can be more comprehensive.
Strategy 2: On-Page SEO for Your Homepage and Location Pages
On-page SEO for wineries is simply referring to the content on your website.
It includes things like:
- Your title tags
- Your meta description
- Your header tags (H1, H2, H3)
- Internal and external links
- Your images
- And basically anything that you can put on a website page
Why does on-page SEO for wineries matter? Well, Google cares about it.
For single-location wineries, the most important page on your website, from a local SEO perspective, is the homepage. For multi-location wineries, the most important pages on your website are your location pages.
When doing on-page SEO for these pages, you want to implement SEO-friendliness through keywords while also providing as comprehensive information as possible to the user (and Google).
For example, instead of a title tag like “The Vine Winery – 503.555.5555” you can provide more context to Google by writing something like “Top-Rated Winery in Portland – The Vine Winery.”
Strategy 3: Website Architecture Best Practices
This SEO strategy for wineries is underrated. Your website architecture and your sitemap are intimately connected.
Google crawls your sitemap to gain information about your website architecture, which allows Google to better understand what your website is about.
Here’s what a sitemap might look like to Google:
Looks a little confusing, right? Don’t worry too much about it. Just know that when Google looks at a sitemap like this, it’s putting together what your website is about (which is really important for local SEO).
What we’re getting at is that your website structure should make sense hierarchically. For example, wineries are a great place to host events. Let’s use two common events that wineries offer – 1) cooking classes and 2) tours.
Where should these pages live on your site? First, you should probably have an “events” page that has the URL structure similar to .com/events/
Now, any events that you offer (such as cooking classes and winery tours) should live UNDER this main events page. See below:
- .com/events/cooking-classes
- .com/events/tours
This seems obvious, but many websites do this wrong. There’s no vertical architecture. Instead, every page lives directly under the homepage. See below:
- .com/events/
- .com/cooking-classes/
- .com/tours/
- .com/featured-wine-night/
With this structure, it’s not clear to Google that “Cooking Classes” is an event that you host. It’s just another page on your site!
Strategy 4: Content Creation at Scale
This is where the magic happens. Wine enthusiasts search for thousands of questions into Google every day.
Some are very local:
- Best wineries in Portland
- best wine tasting events near Portland
Some are generic:
- Should pinot noir be chilled?
- How to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew?
- How long is wine good after opening?
- What wine goes with salmon?
If you answer these types of questions through comprehensive blog articles on your website, it will do 2 things:
- You may rank in Google for these keywords that people are searching and therefore drive traffic.
- Google will take notice and see your website as an authority over your competitors. Google will think, “Wow, they’re answering all of these wine-related questions that users are searching. Therefore, their website is more valuable than local competitors who haven’t answered any of these questions.”
Strategy 5: User Experience is a Bigger Deal Than You Think - Stop the Keyword Stuffing!
Old SEO strategies are gone. Keyword stuffing… PBN link building… all the stuff that used to work.
Google’s getting smarter. And Google’s starting to put emphasis on the importance of a user’s experience on a website.
What does this mean for your winery?
- Make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for. They shouldn’t have to spend 5 minutes figuring out if they can schedule a winery tour or not.
- Make it easy for users to contact you. Your phone number should be clickable on a mobile device. You should consider an online schedule so someone can easily schedule an event. Anything to make the user’s experience SUPER easy.
You should actually offer value to the reader when writing content. Gone are the days of outsourcing writers who produce vague, keyword-stuffed articles. Your content needs to thoroughly answer the user’s questions and add value to them.
On Average, Our Winery SEO Services Cost
31% Less Than Other SEO Companies
Compared to Other SEO Companies That Average Between $1.5k and $3k Per Month.
FAQs About Winery SEO Services
Here are the most common questions we’ve heard.
What is Winery SEO?
Winery SEO is a form of digital marketing that helps wineries increase their visibility in search engines, particularly Google.
The specific SEO strategies that are used for wineries vary greatly (which is why all winery SEO is NOT created equal).
Strategies include:
- keyword research
- on-page SEO
- off-page SEO
- Google Maps optimizations
- local SEO
- content creation
- landing page creation
- PR
- and more
Why is Winery SEO Important?
Winery SEO is important because it allows you to get in front of your target audience (the wine enthusiasts looking RIGHT NOW to find a winery for their next outing).
Think about how social media marketing for wineries work: People are scrolling through Instagram or Facebook and stumble upon an advertisement for a winery in their city. They might be actively looking for a winery, but it’s fairly unlikely.
On the other hand, SEO puts you in front of motivated buyers looking for what you have to offer:
SEO for wineries allows you to show up in Google for people actively looking for a winery. People searching for “best winery near me” or “winery in Willamette Valley.” Ranking for those keywords has a MUCH higher conversion than people scrolling on Instagram.
How Long Does SEO for Wineries Take To Work?
Winery SEO can take 1 week – 6 months for you to start seeing results. It depends on a variety of factors:
- How big of a city you’re in
- How long your website has been around for
- How high your website’s “domain authority” is
- How your current SEO is performing
- And much more
Some of our clients have seen 2x – 3x the phone calls within a month after starting their SEO campaign. Other clients don’t see noticeable increases in phone calls for 2-3 months.
Think about this, though:
If everyone could make a couple of tweaks on their website and rank overnight for the HIGHEST value keywords out there, like “best winery in New Orleans” then the internet would be chaotic.
These things take time. Google built their algorithms that way on purpose.
What Winery SEO KPIs Should We Track?
Winery SEO should be meticulously tracked.
You want to know, with absolute certainty, that the money you’re investing in SEO is working for your winery.
Because of that, you need to track certain metrics to ensure that the campaign is working:
- Keyword rankings: Are your ranking on Page 1 of Google for your most important keywords? How are your keyword rankings changing from week over week? Month over month?
- Organic website traffic: Is your organic website traffic from Google going up or down? Which keywords are driving the most traffic to your site?
- Online lead submissions: Are you seeing more online leads? How are they changing month over month?
- Phone calls: Are you getting more phone calls from people searching on Google? How are phone calls changing over time?
What Type of Content Should Winery Websites Have?
Winery SEO should include content that your target audience is searching for on Google:
How do we know what keywords/content your target audience is searching for? We use advanced software and tools that give us insider information and data. We, for example, know that 390 people per month (on average) search for “appetizers for wine tasting”.
So, with that being said, we do extensive keyword research to find the topics/questions that wine lovers have.
Questions like:
- “What to wear to a winery?”
- “Must visit wineries in Portland”
- “What is a wine taster called?”
If you create content that answers these questions, then you can potentially rank in Google when people search for these.
Also, Google will favor your site more than competitors because Google will have more trust in your site.
What are the Most Valuable Winery Keywords for SEO?
How To Work With Us
First of all – we don’t work with all wineries.
We only work with wineries that:
- Are ambitious about growing their business
- Have the bandwidth to take the growth that will come from working with us
- Treat their employees and their customers well
Step 2
Check Your Email
In less than 24 hours, one of our talented SEO specialists will send you a 3-5 minute customized video analysis. It will explain opportunities for you to outperform competitors.
Step 3
Sit Back And Watch Your SEO Skyrocket
Just look at our case studies of the success that other Portland businesses have seen. You can have the same results.
If you’re looking for Portland SEO services, we can help. Give us a call today to learn more about our pricing and availability.
Let's Take Your Winery From the "best kept secret" to the "most sought after brand"
