SEO on a Budget
SEO, also known as Search Engine Optimization, is a process where you optimize your sites to rank well in the search engines. When you do it well, the rewards can be very attractive. However, there are some challenges ahead that you may need to overcome.
For example, it’s no secret that SEO consists of two important components – in-page optimization, and off-page optimization. In-page optimization means that you can make tweaks to your web page to ensure that your web pages are friendly to the search engines. Being friendly to the search engines help the bots to index and categorize your website, thus boosting its rankings. If the search bots have problems “deciding” the theme of your web page, you are in trouble.
Off-page optimization is more difficult to execute. It involves building as many inbound links as you possible can. But since you don’t own thousands of websites, you can’t possibly just snap your fingers and get all the other webmasters to link to you.
That is the basics of SEO. It’s that simple. You can outsource all your SEO activities if you like, but be forewarned that SEO services don’t come cheap. That’s because a lot of time and effort is required to build links. It’s not uncommon to find SEO packages costing thousands of dollars.
So what happens if you don’t have that kind of budget to spare? You can, of course, try to build links using various link building services. Your first challenge, is to locate these service providers.
Here is an example. Let’s say you have done your homework and you know that you need at least 2000 back links to beat the competition and rank well in the search engines. If you are going to outsource your link building activities, how much will that cost you? At $1 per link, you will need to spend $2000 before you can see the results that you want.
Or, you can try to save money by using article submission or web directory submission services. Suppose you buy a web directory submission package at $20, and your service provider submits your website to 500 directories. At 50% approvals, you will get 250 links. That works out to be just $0.08 per link. That’s quite a substantial saving compared to links that cost $1 or more.
When you use a combination of article submission and web directory submission services, you get very good results, at a fraction of the cost. So never just sign up for an SEO package if you are on a tight budget. As for a breakdown of the services to see what is being done to build links to your site. That will help you save money, and instead of spending thousands of dollars, you’ll probably just end up spending several hundred dollars.
Gen Wright
http://www.articlesbase.com/international-marketing-articles/seo-on-a-budget-745622.html
Budget?????
i’ve tried a million times and i dont get how i should start a budget.. im thinking about everything that goes along with a wedding and i cant think of one thing at a time. where do i begin to begin a budget? do i write down everything and put how much they’re gonna cost more? after that though.. what if i cant afford it all and who’s supposed to contribute and what items do i assign to who?
well if you want a serious fancy big wedding, your gonna need at least $10,000. i would never have a huge expensive wedding unless ive been dating that person for at least 4 years.
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Go visit The Knot’s website. They have a great budget program that’ll give you a head start.
References :
http://www.theknot.com
yes write everything down in a note book. the cost and how much will be left over, that will determine what you can and can’t afford. do it all the time it really helps.
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Breathe!
Next start writing down everything you want to get for the wedding DON’T put prices down yet!
Next put the above list in order for the MUST HAVE things on top and the not so important things on bottom.
Then decide on how much you want to spend. Start purchasing items from the top of the list and STOP when you run out of money!
KEEP BREATHING!
Also the wedding is one day the marriage is forever so concentrate on the marriage!
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You need to talk to your parents or who ever is going to be contributing and see how much you are going to have before you can start trying to price items. If you know what your limit is it will be 100 times easier than starting with nothing. I mean you could plan a wedding for $25,000 and then have them say " we only have $5,000 for you"
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what you should figure out first is how much you have to spend therefore you can set a realistic budget.
start getting quotes from things like dj’s, photographers, wedding halls, flowers (if you know the kind you want) that way once you have a realistic idea of cost you can decide what you may need to cut back on so you can have other things (for example if you’re flowers are expensive, maybe have smaller bouquets or cheaper flowers so you have more towards your dj).
best of luck and congrats
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I used the budget on The Knot, like the above posters said. I went in first and put in how much money I thought I had to spend. Then, as I started getting quotes and ideas of the price range of the things I wanted, I started plugging in some possible prices, just to see how things added up. It starts to give you a rough idea of what price range different things (photographer, florist) will have to fall into to make them feasible.
In regards to other people’s contributions, just wait and see what people offer, then add it to your total that you have available. I put all of my wedding money into my savings account and then transfer it to my checking account as I need to pay for things so that I have it all separated.
I don’t know if this will work for you but it works for me. Hope it helps.
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BTB 8/21/08
First you have to establish how much you can afford to spend. If either family is helping to pay for anything add that to the amount of money you can use.
Next write down the things you will need, like the wedding site, gowns, suits, etc. Start researching before buying anything. Use friends and family who have been married in the area you’re getting married at. Talk to people like photographers, look at gown shops to get prices. Then set up a max amount of money you feel you can spend on each thing. AIm to stay in each amount set for each item, or service that will be provided.
Try set aside some money for extras or anything that may come up. That way you can avoid being in the situation of "Oopps I can’t afford this"
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Unless you have unlimited funds, you shouldn’t build the budget from what you want, like others have suggested. You first need to figure out how much money you’ll have to spend: how much, if anything, are each set of parents contributing? of your savings, how much are you and your fiance willing to put towards a wedding? how much money can you realistically expect to save between now and the wedding date? are you willing and able to borrow any money (I personally don’t recommend this)?. Once you know how much money you have to work with, then you decide how much to spend on a venue, food, drinks, dress, tuxes, transportation, decorations, bouquets, music, photographer, etc.. An earlier poster suggested http://www.theknot.com. Their budget planner will give you some idea of what proportion of your budget generally goes to each of these categories. Based on what’s important to you, you can then decide how to actually allocate your own funds. How much money you have available to spend will also help determine how many guests and what kind of reception. If you decide those things before you know the money, you’re going to be disappointed.
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Your first step is to figure out how much TOTAL money you have to work with on this wedding. You can spend as little as $100, and it can go on up to over a million bucks if you’d like, so budgets are all over the place. Figure out how much you and your fiance can contribute to wedding expenses, then go to each set of parents, and find out what (if anything) they can contribute. Some parents may feel more comfortable simply writing you a check, and saying "use this for wedding expenses," and others may feel better about paying for the catering, or the flowers, photography, etc. If either parents want to simply pay for one part of the wedding–get a total figure from them on how much they want to spend–remember, you can spend as much or as little on each aspect of the wedding as you’d like.
You don’t assign anything to anyone, you simply ask if people would like to help with your wedding expenses. And you only ask parents, maybe grandparents. However, if Uncle Bob is a great photographer, ask if he’d be willing to take the photos either as his wedding gift, or give you a discount as his wedding gift. Same if Aunt Sally is a fantastic baker, see if she’d be willing to donate a wedding cake as her gift.
Once you know the total amount of $$ you have to work with, then you can simply start assigning percentages on each part of the wedding expenses. http://www.theknot.com has a great wedding budgeter worksheet that works great for this purpose.
Good luck!
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You first need to figure out how much you HAVE to spend. If the parents are going to help, talk to both sets and ask how much they’re going to contribute and then figure out how much you and your fiance can spend. Once you have know how much you have to spend, then you can start planning accordingly. By figuring how much you have to spend, you’ll know what your limits are.
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All good answers. Yes, there are many websites with budget spreadsheets and tips. http://www.frugalbride.com also has some great worksheets.
The first thing you need to do is to assess YOUR financial situtation.
Ask yourself:
-How much savings do I/we have for this wedding? $200? $2000? $20,000, $200,000?
-What other expenses will I have from here until the wedding? Will I be in school? Working full-time? Buying a house?
-Can I get an extra job to help earn extra income for the wedding? This may be the only option if you want a wedding but can only afford the courthouse.
-I do NOT suggest getting a loan or credit card for your wedding. I know some will do this anyway. Have what you can afford.
Next, (if you feel comfortable or have the desire to), ask your FAMILY to see if they will be planning on helping. In most families, you can get away with asking for money here…it IS your wedding, after all. Most families with the financial means WANT to help, expect to help, and may even have a savings account just waiting for just that purpose. Even $500 is better than $0. Note that I do understand that not everyone has the opportunity to ask their family for money. But if you do…
Once you have a rough guess about your general funds, you can see what kind of wedding you can have (i.e. large, small, formal, casual, hotel ballroom, catered, backyard bash, etc.)
The start breaking down each individual component, spending x% of the total money you have on each item. Those budget spreadsheets online will help you here and tell you how much to spend on each item. Then you will know exactly what you can afford.
Now all you have to do is find a venue, ceremony site, dress, etc. within your price range (% of total budget) and stick to your budget!
Easier said than done, I know.
If you are one of those brides with an unlimited budget, you can pick whatever you want and work backwards to keep track of spending.
Good luck!
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First of all, I would go to the knot.com they have budget thing, I wouldnt use their prices, but at least you can get an idea of what you need and write it down for yourself.
personally I used an excel spreadsheet for all of my wedding planning. and dont feel like you need to get it all done in one day. if you are detail oriented like me, it will take a while to figure out everything you need.
traditionally the grooms parents pay for the rehearsal dinner and the brides parents pay for the rest, but in todays society I think its more common for the couple to pay for most of it themselves. You should just ask what each family can contribute (they most likely already have an idea of what they can help with)
if you find out you cant afford something, try finding an alternative, like instead of live flowers, silk flowers. Or instead of a limo, borrow someones nice car, stuff like that!
Dont go into debt over your wedding-your marriage will be alot easier if you start out on the right foot.
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The first thing to do before creating a wedding budget is to decide on a guest list. Without a proper head count, it is virtually impossible to plan any further on costs, etc. If your guest list numbers 400, for example, it will be a lot different to budget for than a 50-guest wedding. Once you have the guest list hammered out, you need to decide on the feel of your wedding- informal, semi-formal, ultra-formal? Will you be getting married in your church or outdoors in a field somewhere? These questions not only shape the picture of your wedding in your mind, but they also help you determine how much you can spend on everything else. Once you have a feel for the number of guests you’re inviting, as well as the overall "vibe" of your ceremony and reception, everything else, such as catering, your dress, the cake, etc. will all fall into place. Congrats!
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Expenses will look like Dress, Wed Location for Ceremony and for Reception, Photographer, Minister or Civil Celebrant, florist, # of guests to invite (you can’t book a hall unless you know how many guests u want), and Caterer (book all of these 1.5 years to 8 months in advance, Entertainment (DJ or Live music, I am biased as I am a DJ), Videographer 6-8 months in advance, Choose your cake and mode of transportation 4-6 months ahead, Order Tuxes, and finalize your guest list (how many will play a huge roll on how expensive your reception will be) 3 months ahead, Wedding announcement, marriage license, honeymoon finalization 1 – 2 months ahead. Ok, this is your 1st step (there is more or less that you can add to the list, talk to all of your wedding professionals to give you insights along the way, they will be a great asset to you.) Right now there will be Bridal Expos going on everywhere, this will give you a good jump-start on finding prices. Start plugging numbers into the equation when you talk to each professional wedding specialist. When you talk to the location ask if they will supply tables and chairs or if that is extra. This will establish your budget by seeing how much everything costs, then after talking with the professionals, and maybe after doing a little research with Modern Bride (or go to the library or bookstore and look at the book "The Best Wedding Reception Ever") figure out what is most important to you (palatial location, artistic photographer, amazing food, rip-roaring party, or a garden of eden worth of flowers, lots and lots of alcohol, or all of the above.) Start adjusting your prices according to you and your fiance` value on each. Maybe you don’t care if the location looks like it came out of a Cinderalla book, save $5000 spend $1200 on a Elks Lodge or community center. Maybe you want the occasion to be more like an open house, have it in the back yard, get a BBQ caterer (a lot cheeper), put an ipod out there with speakers, get cousin Earl to take the pictures, fill a ice chest full of Budweiser, and get your mom’s minister to do the ceremony (prolly save more than $10k). The important thing is, make this event personal. Don’t spend $12000 dollars on food just trying to please your mom by inviting all her friends (unless she’s flipping the bill of course
kidding.). The more you add your personality and your fiance`s the more fun your guests will have, and that will inspire people. If you don’t handle stress well add wedding planner to the equation, or if you take this one step at a time, and you trust your photographer or DJ… ask them questions, s/he will know his or her environment. The average price of a wedding here in US is $27,000 in 2006.
References :
http://www.TheDJEdge.com
Average price for reception:
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2006/02/12/average_price_of_weddings_about_27000/
The first thing you should always consider first is your guest list. ONLY invite people who mean the most to you and leave off shirt tale friends and relatives. Second is your budget. Third… and foremost. Do you want a casual, semi-casual or formal venue and ceremony. I hope I’ve helped you. Good luck.
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Hi. Well a budget is the first place to start! However, you have it a little backwards I think. Here is what you should do.
Write down your dollar amount….what you and your fiance have to contribute to the wedding and any other dollar amount that you know your parents and/or his parents will contribute. (Note: not all parents can afford to contribute! It’s not the the "old days" when the brides parents paid for the wedding. It is your responsibility to pay for the wedding, reception and honeymoon).
So….write down the total….Say, $10,000
Then write down all your "must haves" (things you absolutely HAVE to have….like a venue, dress, rings, etc.) Then write down all the "wishes"….things that you might spend money on if you have something leftover (like favors, etc.)
So….things you need:
~ Venue for the ceremony
~ Venue for the reception
~ Rings
~ Dress
~ Brides accessories (veil, jewelry, etc.)
~ Groom’s tux or suit
~ Marriage license
~ Cost of someone performing the ceremony
~ Invitations
~ Photographer
~ Food and beverages for reception
~ Cake
~ Flowers
~ Centerpieces for reception
~ Decorations for ceremony site (if needed or wanted)
~ DJ?
~ Gifts for attendants
~ Rehearsal dinner
There may be more that I am forgetting. Go to theknot.com
Now for "extras"
~ Favors?
~ Limo?
Are you getting things for FREE? If I remember correctly, you are getting married in your mom’s backyard? So…in that case, cross off venue for ceremony & reception because you will not need to pay for that. Keep going down the list. If your budget is, for example, $10,000 and you want a $1,000 dress, well then you need to adjust other things.
Hope this helps!
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Personally i think having a strict budget that says you will only spend this much on catering, this much on flowers, this much on the cake, this much on the venue etc causes more stress than it’s worth.
I would advise that you determine a total amount that you want to spend on your wedding and keep under that.
That way if you say at the end of the day i want the total bill to come in under say $20,000 then you won’t create stress if the caterer you like is $100 more expensive than you hoped if you get a bargain on your cake and flowers.
When you have a goal in mind then you can work around it.
Find out the things that matter the most to you and try to secure those details first. There might be a church you loved as a child and it costs x then lock it in.
You might find that when it comes to something that doesn’t matter so much to you you can save money there. EG if you wanted pink and purple flowers in your bouqet and wanted orchids but don’t particularly mind as long as the colours were right you might have to change from orchids to roses but the church you absolutely love is still in your budget.
For every detail that isn’t an absolute must shop around. Your dream wedding gown could have a $100 cheaper price tag in the next boutique and even if it doesn’t you know that you have found the right gown and that the price is what it’s worth.
Also if you ask for certain people to pay for certain things you can run into problems when they change their mind if they don’t like your choice. If you want others to contribute ask them to put the amount that they wish to contribute into a bank account for you and wait to see what you and your fiance can do with it.
Good luck!
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Good post, thanks