Great results in local searches are crucial for every lash artist. You want to be foundable - and fast! You want to appear in the top three results and you want to appear in Google My Business map.
Ranking your lash business to be the number 1 search result in your area involves several key components, and implementing those strategies correctly.
Keep in mind that Local SEO is slightly different from the usual SEO. It does include everything that is needed for general SEO work, but there are some additional aspects to remember.
You will need a website for your lash studio
If you don’t already have one, you need to get one. It is not enough with a Facebook page or other social presence. There’s no doubt you need a website today to build good visibility in search.
It is easy and cheap to create a website today. There is no need to have a site with all kinds of bells and whistles - it can be very simple, but it has to be informative and esthetically eye-pleasing.
Your lash business website should include a page with all your services with pricing information, clear directions for how to do the bookings, your business address and phone number along with your e-mail address. Ideally, it also has a blog as it would benefit you tremendously in Google ranking.
If you have the money, you can get an agency to create a website for you with a nice design that is already optimized for visibility in search.
But as there are great and low-cost website builders available today, so you can easily create one yourself. You just want to make sure it is search engine friendly and this is what we are telling you more about today.
When we created the post How Much Are Eyelash Extensions - Around The World? we went through hundreds of websites, and unfortunately, it wasn't an easy task. There were several major cities where finding a well-structured lash business websites turned out to be impossible. The price lists were not there, the services were badly listed or not listed at all. Many websites were over-decorated and eyes were having difficulties finding the right buttons and information. Less is more.
Actions for local business search optimization
- Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly, fast, and secure. These are THE top three qualities that Google Local Search is focusing on.
- Determine which keywords will be the most valuable to your company. Incorporate your SEO keyword into top search results related to lashing salons.
- Optimize your website’s content, titles, headings, and meta descriptions for your keyword.
- Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile so that your business appears in local maps searches as well as general search results.
- Claim and fill out your local directly listings with the same consistent NAP (Name, Address Phone Number).
- Create a key-phrase-optimized blog that contains high-quality content that is updated regularly.
- Use photos and videos in your text that have been properly optimized with your SEO keywords for lash salons.
- Optimize all your social media channels, add your business information, optimized descriptions, and tags where possible (YouTube).
- Create an account on Google Analytics, to track and monitor the success of your Local SEO campaign.
- Work hard on getting other local businesses to link to your website, big and small. In local search, even insignificant, but LOCAL website backlinks are very valuable.
Find the right your keywords for your lash business
Write down a list of keywords that reflect your services. For example, you might choose “lash salon”, “lash artist”, or “volume lashes”. When you have a reasonably lengthy list, sign up for a free Google AdWords account to access the free Google Keyword Planner.
This tool lets you see how much traffic each keyword generates, and offers suggestions for similar keywords that may not be on your list.
Next, finalize your keyword list. All keywords can be loosely sorted into 2 broad categories:
Buying intent keywords: that a prospect is currently ready for your services. For example, “Russian volume lashes in Miami” likely means that the client is ready for a new set of volume lashes.
Focus primarily on your buying intent keywords, as they drive the quickest conversions. Use them through your homepage, write blog posts around them and create individual service pages for them.
Research intent keywords: they signal that the searcher is doing some research or she is “shopping around.” She might want her lashes done someday, but not right now. For example, someone asking “what are the benefits of lash extensions” might be her way to solve her fears.
These keywords do not drive rapid conversions, so they are not your top priority. However, they make valuable blog posts and FAQs, which allow you to introduce yourself to those who may need your services, later on, build trust and also - to give Google more content to find on your page and to rank you higher.
Choose your salon’s foundational keywords
These are your main keywords and belong under buying intent keywords. The ones that most completely describe your business. This could be a “lash extension studio in Brighton” or “best lash artist in London”. Try to be very specific.
If you go for broad keywords like “lash extensions”, you’ll face a lot of competition and reduce your chances to be shown at the top of the search results page. However, if you go for more specific keywords like “Volume lash extensions in Brighton” or “best lashes in Cancun” you have much higher chances of getting to the top when people search for those phrases.
Your Salon’s Long Tail Keywords
On top of the 4-6 foundational keywords, you’ll include 8-12 so-called long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are even more specific and can contain some four to ten words. They’re typically not included on many other websites so when people search for those, you can almost be certain that your salon’s website will be visible at the top of Google.
These would be keywords that include specific types of services that you offer in the salon. This could be something like “best Russian volume lash extension service in London”.
Find your salon type keywords
You want to start by finding words that people would use to identify your type of salon and services. Try to brainstorm all the variations you can think about. Try to land on 5-15 words.
Lash salon keywords:
- Lash salon
- Lash studio
- Lash artist
- Lash extensions
- Eyelash extensions
- Volume lash salon
Remember to check for synonyms - for example, "lash studio near me" is giving better results than "lash salon near me", showing that thousands of searchers prefer "studio" over "salon". Also, competition is actually lower for "studio", indicating that most businesses are assuming that people search more for "salon".
In the table below you can see the monthly volume of searches for each keyword given. We are using SEMrush for keyword analysis, but Google Keyword Planner is an excellent tool for you.
Choose your keyword modifiers
Now that you have noted down the words that can describe your type of salon, you should look at additional words to describe you even better. These are words to describe the quality of your service (e.g best), a specific type of service (nose waxing), a specific occasion (e.g. wedding), or other words that would describe what makes you unique (e.g “vegan”).
- Best
- Cheapest
- Fastest
- Organic
- Bridal
- Wedding
Have a look at your branding keywords after going through our post about lash business branding and describe your business as precisely as possible: Your Lashing Business Brand Styling Goals.
Choose your geographic keywords
These are the words that would describe your location. Also here, people may use variations or different words to describe your location. What words could be used to describe your location?
- City/town
- Street
- Train/bus/tube station (nearest)
- An area in that city
- South/North/East/West etc side of the city
- County
- Country
These keywords are crucial for your local SEO and search results.
Choose the best performing keywords
You should now have a good number of words that together can build up your 4-6 foundational keyword phrases as well as your long-tail keywords. For example, the above can give you “best lash studio in East London” or “wedding lashes in Melbourne”. Try to do a few combinations that would best describe your salon.
Next, open up Google and search for your keyword phrase. Google will now give you some different suggestions for similar keyword phrases.
If you can see your keyword phrase in the suggestions, you know that this is a popular search. Otherwise, Google would not recommend it. If you do not see your keyword, chances are that you are being too specific and that very few people will be searching for it.
You’ll get new ideas here on how you should formulate your keyword as you know have visibility on similar searches that people are doing.
Optimize your website, and do it well
Google helps people find what they’re looking for but Google will not find your lash studio unless you give them enough information about your business. At the same time, you’re most likely not the only lash business in your town or city, and you need your salon to perform better than the others.
When you’ve identified what are your best search phrases, you’ll add them to strategic places on your website so that Google understands it should match your salon with those words.
This is how you optimize your lashing business online:
Meta description
You should start with the meta description of your website. The meta description should consist of a couple of sentences that explain exactly what your business is about, by using your best keywords.
Titles
Optimize every single title on your website: categories, products and services, blog posts and other pages. Use keywords that are both precise and that work well for your Local SEO.
Descriptions
Optimize all the descriptions of your services well. Use appropriate keywords, and put effort into finding and using long-tail keywords that are more accurate, leading people directly to your products. For example, under "Classic Lash Extensions" you can include in your description a phrase like "our lash studio in Houston offers so-and-so classic lash extensions".
Images
Optimize every single image you upload to your website. It seems like a waste of time in the beginning but in reality, you are making a huge leap ahead of your competitors. Name your images already before uploading them with appropriate keywords. Copy that title and paste it into the alt description field for the image as soon as you upload it. This is the text Google reads and brings your images to image search results along with a link to your website.
Blog posts
Optimize your blog posts well. Every post should have one Header 1 title and multiple Header 2 and 3 titles with powerful keywords. The more posts you have, the more content Google can bring up in searches. Google also prioritizes the freshest content, and this is why it is necessary to post regularly, even if only once a month. Create blog posts that are related to your location and mention the names of the places in your texts, Google can then link you to local searches.
Optimize your social media
Create profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and other platforms where your target group is active and present.
Fill in every field you find with thoughtful and keyword-rich text. Use as many letters as the space given allows. When posting, add rich descriptions that tell exactly what your post is about, on YouTube you can add tags, on Instagram hashtags. Learn all about tagging on social media!
Register your lash studio with Google My Business
Google My Business allows you to register a lot of details about your lash studio, including your location here Google Business Profile. This means that when a user searches for “lash artist near me”, Google can determine if your salon is close to the person and will your details. If you skip this step, Google will just show the salons in your area who have figured this out and you will lose potential customers.
When you have your details added into Google My Business, you enable Google to show you in the map result that is visible at the top of search results.
As you can see in the example when I search for “salons near me in Georgia", there’s more information visible such as opening hours, contact details and website.
Results with websites win over the ones without a website as people want to move over and check out your services and pricing. You may have opted for Facebook or Instagram instead, but again, many searchers back off from such results and look for another business with a real website.
You can make this result even richer by adding images and other information to showcase your salon. You’ll also be able to allow users to rate your salon which is the best proof of the quality of your salon you can have. The more reviews you have, the more will Google prioritize your business over others and rank it higher.
Other search engines
Google is the most commonly used search engine, and it has the focus of this post. Other search engines work in similar ways as Google so that actions I’ll encourage through the rest of this article will also help your performance on the other. However, the only area where I would still like to spend some time is on other search engines equivalents to Google My Business as those are unique to those platforms.
Apple Maps
About 33% of map searches happen using Apple Maps today. Many people are searching for a salon using the built-in maps app.
Like Google My Business, it’s free and easy to register your salon on Apple Maps here.
Bing
Bing is the second largest search engine after Google and has about 7% of searches today. Bing is often used by larger offices. Similarly to Google My Business, they offer a feature called Bing Places. Even though it is only a fraction of the searches coming from Google but as it’s also free and easy to set up, I’d recommend you to add your salon to Bing as well.
You can access Bing Places here.
This is what we wanted to tell you about Local SEO for lashing business. Make sure to search for more technical instructions that will help you to build your website and to optimize it well.
Learn more about lash extension industry here:
Who is Your Lash Studio's Ideal Customer?
The Right Visuals For Your Lash Studio Business Branding
