Three ways for your hair & beauty business to stand out online

Where do you usually turn when you're looking for a professional who can help you with a particular job? Whether you need a plumber, electrician, or mechanic, unless someone you know happens to recommend a good one, it's likely you'll jump on Google to see who's in your area. Other people will do the same when they're looking for a hairdresser, make-up artist, or beauty therapist. So, if you don't have a website and social media accounts for your work, you could be missing out on a lot of business.

It's not enough to just set these up either, you need to use them in a way that's going to help you get noticed ahead of your competition. Here, I'm going to explain exactly how to ensure your hair and beauty business stands out online.

Make sure you have a USP

The hair and beauty industry is becoming more and more competitive all of the time, so you need to make sure you're doing things slightly different to other companies in order to stand out. This means it's a good idea to look into what unique selling points (USPs) you might be able to offer your customers.

For example, could you treat your clients to a free gift if they spend a specific amount with you, or could you set up a reward system where you customers can build up points or stamps to get money off their future appointments? 

You'll also need to shout about your USPs online, so make sure you highlight them on your website, and post about them on your social media accounts.

Offer the best customer service possible

New hair and beauty businesses are popping up all of the time, but they aren't all created equal, and good customer service can sometimes be hard to come by. Remember that your clients are going to be the key to your success, so you need to treat them accordingly.

Before someone even makes an appointment with you, it's important to show that you'll be willing to answer any questions they have, whether they aren't sure what kind of treatment is going to work best for them, or they've already paid you a visit and have a follow-up question.

Make sure all of your contact details are easy to find both on your website and your social media accounts. You should also encourage people to get in touch if they need help with anything,  just be sure to leave a note to let them know how long it typically takes for you to respond to a query. This will help to put potential customers' minds at ease and should make them more confident about booking an appointment with you.

Try link building

If you're looking to boost your Google rankings and let more people know about your business, consider adding an element of link building to your digital marketing strategy. This involves asking other sites to link to yours and can be done in a number of ways, from offering guest blog posts to allowing a site to run a competition to win a free treatment from you. 

External links have long been cited as one of Google's most powerful ranking signals, as they're seen as votes of confidence. But you do need to make sure any links to your website abide by Google's guidelines, otherwise you could actually be penalised by the search engine. It's well worth giving this technique a try, though if you get it right, it could give your Google rankings a huge boost.

Building links to your website will also have the added benefit of increasing your brand awareness, as more and more people will hear about your work. Plus, writing guest blogs and offering comments to journalists is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

The hair and beauty industry is becoming more competitive all of the time, which means business owners need to take steps towards standing out online. Take these tips on board and you should be able to boost your Google rankings, raise awareness of your brand, and bag more customers in the process.

Jonathan Birch is Creative Director at the SEO and digital marketing agency Glass Digital. He specialises in helping companies to improve their online visibility and, here, he shares his top tips for helping your hair and beauty business to stand out on the web.