Evaluating a Festival/Event

Gary McWilliams
aka "The Festival Nomad"
Co-Owner of Ontario Visited

As I mentioned in my previous Blog, one of the ways Judi and I occupy our time on the long trips home from a visited event, is to complete an informal evaluation of the event. This series will explore some of the events aspects that we discuss.

Event Promotion
Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Websites (Part Two)

The best websites are simple. Search Engines rate websites based on such things as relevant up-to-date content, opening speed and “back links”. They also want a website to be “optimized”. There are plenty of articles about all of the above, but here are a few ideas to consider. The first is “Relevant Content” - that is, up-to-date (current) content! It means that your website needs to contain information pertinent to your event. The information must also be accurate. I think one of my biggest "pet peeves" is when contact information is not included. There is nothing more frustrating to have a question about an event and not being able to contact someone to ask it. The same goes for event day contacting. I know many people who decide not to attend an event because they can’t get information on event day! Putting contact information is so simple. If you are running a public event, let the public contact you! “Opening Speed” is how quickly your website opens. Search Engines don’t like slow opening websites and most website visitors don’t either. Things like "large photos" and "flash" can really slow your website down! Visitors get frustrated and in some cases don’t wait for the website to open. (remember, we all are accustomed to instant gratification!) “Back Links” are other websites linking to your website. It’s important to remember that not all “Back Links” are desirable. The best kind are ones that are relative to your event. Finally, “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”, is what helps bring your website to the top of the list on Search Engine pages for your event or your type of event.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, you want people to find your website. You can spend thousands of dollars on a website and it can be the most beautiful ever, but, if people can’t find you, it’s money wasted!