​THOUGHT PROCESS:
Word of mouth and online search are the two primary conduits for new client attraction.
 
ACTION STEPS:
Improve your knowledge of basic search-optimization and update your website and social media pages to attract new clients who want to find a salon online.
 
Along with word of mouth referrals, getting found in online search tops the list of the most common ways people discover local hairdressers and salons. Here are five things you can do if you can make it more likely that your web pages and social profiles will come up first when local consumers want to find a salon online. 
 
The debate is long over. When people want to find just about any type of local business, they search for options online. Even when a friend or colleague makes a personal recommendation, they go online to look for reviews, find out more about the salon, products carried, pricing, services and get contact information.
 
The only real question is: If people who live near you search to find a salon online, how can you make sure they find your services there?
 
1. Update your web pages.
 
You’ve probably heard about SEO (search engine optimization) before and maybe you’ve even been told that your website needed to be optimized for search. It might sound technical, but many SEO tactics come down to making sure your website actually includes the keywords and phrases that “real people” would be likely to use when they search online for a salon. 
 
In other words, if someone were going to search for a salon like yours online, they might type in a phrase like “best salons in (your city).”  So if you include the same phrase on one of your website’s pages or blog articles, you’ve just increased the chance that your salon will pop up first when someone tries to find a salon online using that key phrase. Salon website optimization should be done with the same guidelines that pertain to what is referred to as local search optimization. When you update your web pages based on local SEO, you make it more likely they’ll be found when someone tries to find a salon online in your city or neighborhood.
 
2. Update your social media profile.
 
 Don’t skip when it comes to setting up your social media profiles – you know, that “About” tab? It’s another place where you can use the same key phrases that people in your city would use if they were looking for a salon like yours.
 
3. Use social media updates.
 
You can also use keywords people would use to find a salon online in your social media status updates. When you do, your salon’s updates can show up right alongside web pages in online search results. Plus, when web traffic goes from your status updates to your web pages, it tells Google that your salon should rank higher in search results than other sites that have the same keywords. This is what’s known as “social proof,” and it’s one of the things search engines use to determine which web pages to show in search results.
 
4. Submit local listings.
 
If you join a local Chamber of Commerce, business owner networking group or some other local organization, your salon will often get a listing in their directory. These local listings give your website another SEO boost, because search engines see a backlink to your web pages from a site that is trusted and relevant (like a Chamber of Commerce business directory).
 
5. Get online reviews.
 
Getting more online reviews should be a top priority for every hairdresser and salon owner. Online reviews are one of the most powerful word of mouth referral engines and they are trusted just as much as personal recommendations by most consumers. In fact, star rating is the number one factor consumers use to judge a business (brightlocal.com) and only about half say they would try a business that only had 3 (out of 5) stars or less.
 
Generating client reviews should be a top priority for your salon. In addition, make sure you monitor your brand’s reputation on review sites and respond immediately, with a goal of making things right, if you find that someone has left a negative review about your salon online.
 
People who live in your city or work in your neighborhood will search for a salon online, even if only to get more information about a personal recommendation. If you do these five things, your salon will get found in more online searches, leading to better client attraction and salon brand awareness.