Use local search engines to boost your business
Published
31st Aug 2011
by rachael
Local search engines offer a wealth of opportunity for salon owners says Valorie Reavis, online and social media marketing expert with Linkup Marketing.
When someone sets out to find a new salon, they are more than likely looking for a service in a specific area. They don't have a name to enter into the search engine so they probably enter a search for 'colour salons Southampton' or 'hairdressers Leicester', for example. The results that follow are salons listed by local search engines (LSE) such as Google Places, Bing or Yahoo! Local.
Any salon serious about marketing needs to be on those lists to reap rewards like:
Any salon serious about marketing needs to be on those lists to reap rewards like:
- More prominent placement in search engine results - ideally at the top of the page.
- The ability to integrate with mobile technology and social networking.
- Greater exposure of special offers that make your business more attractive to try for the first time.
- Methods for collecting reviews and ratings to boost your credibility.
- The ability to offer new clients quick links to booking information like phone number, website and online booking page.
There are hundreds of places where you can list your business, but to get started you should focus on the big three - Google Places, Bing and Yahoo! Local.
Typing in hair salons or hairdressers plus a city will throw up a huge list of other LSEs worth targeting like:
- Qype.co.uk
- Yell.com
- Welovelocal.com
- Thompsonlocal.com
- Touch[city].com
These sites not only come up in the search results, they offer much more interactive information about a business such as photos and videos, reviews, web links, special offers and more.
So, how does a salon climb to the top of the LSE rankings? There are a few ways to get to the top of the listing:
- Add your business to as many categories as applicable within the category fields offered by the specific search engine.
- Add custom detail fields and applicable URLs to websites. For example, if you offer a new service like feather extensions, list that and have a link to the page on your website describing the service along with a link to your online booking page.
- The more listings online, the better. The businesses that have more representation online will be higher up in that list of map pins, so go to all the obvious ones first and sign up, but don't ignore less prominent lists, they can also provide valuable exposure.
- Ensure consistent information across all of your listings - and keep track of them all. If you move, make sure you are extremely thorough in redirecting and updating all contact information as it can really confuse the search engines and affect your ranking.
- Post complete profiles in every area where you have a presence and provide as much information as possible. Neighbourhood may seem irrelevant, but it's important when users are refining and personalising results.
- Encourage reviews from your clients as these boost your prominence in the listings, and it is great material to convince people to try your business.
Remember that search engine optimisation is all about proving you are the most relevant business for what the prospect is searching for. The local search engine is no different, so make sure you are doing everything you can to prove you are the best match out there.