Google is today what Yellow Pages was 20 – 40 years ago. It is the default go-to-place to find answers about anything and everything. There are more than 3.5 BILLION searches on Google every single day. You want to know the age of Brad Pitt? Google. You want to know if it’s safe to put a fork in the microwave? Google. You want to find an Italian restaurant to go to when you visit Los Angeles? Google. And of course, you want to find the best hair salon in Vancouver? You guessed it…Google.

So how you do make sure that you show up on page 1 of a search?

Firstly, here are some important reasons why you NEED to:

A study of over 5 million search results showed that the first suggestion from Google gets 32% of clicks. The second listing gets 18% of clicks. That’s already over 50%! By the time you get to the 7 th Google suggestion, it is only getting 3% of clicks, and any results outside of the 1 st page only get 0.78% of clicks.

So the simple question is: how does Google decide which website to rank in what spot?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is very complicated at its core. Google doesn’t reveal exactly how it decides. All anyone knows is that it is a complex algorithm that takes into consideration over 200 factors. Yes – 200!!

Essentially the process is:

1. Google’s spiders crawl the web by visiting web pages.
2. Then, they add optimized pages to their index and catalogue them.
3. When people search, Google tries to show the best result that matches the search terms.

So the first step is that you need to have a website in order to have good visibility in search results. We often hear salons say, I just made a website, how come I am not showing up on the 1 st page of Google searches? It takes time. And just having a website isn’t the only factor. But we can tell you that NOT having a website will almost certainly lead to you not being anywhere close to page 1. If you don’t yet have a website for your salon or spa, our partners at Salon S.O.S. have simple and affordable website solutions here! You can even use your Redken C5A points to get reimbursed!

Large companies spend $1,000 – $2,000 per month on SEO because it’s an ongoing process. You can’t just optimize your SEO once and expect that you will show up 1st in all searches from now until the end of time. We understand these budgets aren’t possible for small businesses like hair salons and spas, so we’re going to do our best to highlight the most important things you can do to help boost your Google Ranking.

HOW DO I GET MY SALON OR SPA ON PAGE #1 OF GOOGLE SEARCHES?

Basically there are 3 main categories that are analyzed within the Google search engine algorithm: technical considerations, elements that are within your website, and elements that are on the internet but outside of your website. Let’s take a closer look at these:

1. GOOGLE TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Site and Page Speed: How fast your website loads is important because consumers today want speed and convenience. You can check your website’s speed by using Google’s free PageSpeed Insights.

Mobile Optimized: Since more than 50% of internet searches happen from a mobile phone, Google checks the quality and speed of your mobile website to ensure a good consumer experience on your website.

Secure Website (HTTPS): This security feature of your domain name helps provide credibility to your website. You can check if you have HTTPS before the www.salonname.com in your website address to see if your website is secured. If not, you should check with your website and domain name provider.

Domain Age: Because credibility and trustworthiness are important to Google, it’s no surprise that 60% of sites in top 10 search rankings have existed for 3 years or more. It’s important that your website can continue to attract visitors over time. Be patient! SEO is a long-term game.

2. GOOGLE ON-PAGE CONSIDERATIONS (THINGS THAT ARE WITHIN YOUR WEBSITE):

Keywords: Keywords are essentially the words that potential clients are typing into Google when they do a search. Are they typing ‘Best hair salon Vancouver’? ‘Blonde Balayage in Kelowna’? You want to figure out the keywords that you want to be associated with, and then include then consistently throughout your website. It’s important to choose keywords that people are ACTUALLY searching for.  Our friends at Salon S.O.S. can help you research the best keywords for your business.

The best place to include keywords on your website is in blogs because you have space for lots of content and it also helps people spend more time on your website. Keywords have to appear organically and sound natural on your site, otherwise Google will recognize that you are not being authentic. Here are some of the places where you should include keywords: Blogs; your ABOUT section; description of services; in reviews; as the names of images + videos on website; in the captions of your social media posts; in the website title tags and meta descriptions.

Title Tags: These are important as they represent the title of how each page of your website will appear in the Google search results.

Meta Descriptions: These are the descriptions that appear under the Title Tag in Google search results. You can include up to 160 characters and should include your keywords as well as information to entice viewers. Think of it as the elevator pitch as to why someone should click on the link!

Image Tags: Within your website, you can include a short title or description for each image or video to tell Google what it is. This is a great place to also include key words. Just make sure the words are related to what’s in the image. For a picture of a hair colour result, you could put “Best blond balayage Langley’ as the Image tag.

User Experience: If a consumer clicks on your link and then leaves the website right away, that’s a sign to Google that the content doesn’t match the search. Google will be less likely to recommend that page in the future for a similar search. If a consumer clicks and stays on the site for a while, it has the opposite effect. This is why you always want to make sure that your keywords are relevant to your content.

3. GOOGLE OFF-PAGE CONSIDERATIONS (THINGS THAT ARE OUTSIDE YOUR WEBSITE):

Backlinks: Backlinks help to measure the popularity of your website. Essentially it is a measure of the quantity and quality of OTHER websites that have links to your website. If another website feels confident enough to send its visitors over to YOUR site, that is a really good sign for Google. And obviously it will have an even bigger impact on Google if the website that is referring you is a big website with lots of traffic (think Glamour Magazine website), rather than a small, local website that has no traffic (think Sally’s Nail Shop). Trying to collaborate with other businesses and convincing them to include a link on their website to yours can go a long way to improving your search rankings.

Reviews: We have always known that online reviews are important because people read them before making purchase decisions, however did you realize that they are also important as a signal to Google for your search ranking? Again here, Google will look at both the quantity and quality of reviews, across multiple sites. The 3 most important review sites for hair salons are Google, Facebook, and Yelp. So make sure you are driving people to all 3 of these locations to write reviews. If you can get clients to include your keywords in their reviews, that would be a huge bonus! (example: “I have been coming to Classic Cuts for over 10 years. For me, they are the best hair salon in Vancouver. I always leave the salon looking and feeling great. They are a warm, friendly team.”

Directory Listings: There are many websites on the internet that essentially provide contact information for different companies. Yellow Pages is a great example. As a company owner, you might have heard of the Better Business Bureau. The more of these directly listings that you appear in, the better because it again tells Google that you are a real, credible company. What is even MORE important than the quantity of listings though is that your contact information is IDENTICAL across all these listings. Any differences will cause confusion for Google and that inconsistency will negatively impact your search ranking. Here are some examples of directly listings that you should definitely get listed in (all are free, although they will try to convince you to upgrade to premium package which you can ignore). You should also check for local business directories in your city or state/province.

• • Google Business Profile
  • Apple Maps
  • Bing Places
  • Yelp
  • FourSquare
  • Map Quest
  • Better Business Bureau
  • Kijiji
  • Yellow Pages

CONCLUSION

As you can see, there is a lot of information here and these are only some of the more than 200 factors that Google takes into consideration. It might seem daunting, but a little bit of time and energy on SEO can have a massive impact on your ability to get new clients and grow your business. It’s important to remember that climbing the rankings takes time. It is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Our friends at Salon S.O.S. have created a simple, affordable SEO tool to help you improve your website traffic and Google search ranking. They’ll research the best keywords for your business, perform a monthly scan, send you a performance report that compares you to up to 4 competitors, and send you an easy to follow action plan.  If you have your website managed by them, they’ll do all the implementation work for you!  You can discover full details about this great tool here: www.salonsos.ca/seo

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it forced every single industry to start relying more on digital communication as a way of limiting physical contact. This was a huge change of pace for salon industry professionals as we are used to working with guests face to face, hands on. Although there were some downsides to communicating digitally as opposed to in person during the pandemic, there were also some surprising benefits that we were able to take away and use following the height of Covid.

When social distancing was in full swing, every industry was forced to get creative with how they communicated with their clients/guests/patients etc. For salon and spa professionals who literally work hands on with their guests, this meant limiting the amount of time spent in close quarters. Although it is no longer necessary to limit contact as much as possible, there were a few trends that emerged that we think will serve salon professionals incredibly moving forward. One of these trends is the use of digital consultations and in this blog, our friends from Salon S.O.S. are going to let you know exactly how to execute these consultations effectively.

WHY SHOULD YOUR SALON OFFER DIGITAL CONSULTATIONS

How many times have you left a meeting of sorts and asked yourself, “couldn’t that have been a phone call?!” Well, the answer is probably yes, it absolutely could have been a phone call, email, message exchange, or video chat. We live in a new, digital age where people expect to be able to find or do most things on their phone or computer from the comfort of their own home. With gas prices on the rise and the cost of essentially everything going through the roof, if you can save potential clients from the time and cost of a trip to the salon for a consultation, why wouldn’t you?! Of course this doesn’t work for all services but if you are armed with a well prepared consult form, you should be able to gather the information needed to provide many salon services. Not only will your clients love the digital option, but many potential guests will come to expect it as many other industries have taken this path as well. We are in a digital revolution and you want your salon to be a trailblazer with these digital trends!

Not only is it more time and cost effective for your guests, it can also be a huge time saver for your team! Instead of having to book a physical appointment where salon resources are being used unnecessarily, your stylists can simply call, message, or video chat with the client to come up with a game plan moving forward with future appointments.

Moral of the story, offering digital consultations in your salon is a win-win for your guests and staff alike!

HOW TO OFFER DIGITAL CONSULTATIONS

There are so many different ways that you can offer consults digitally for your salon/spa services. We’re going to give you 2 super easy methods to get started:

1. CUSTOM ONLINE FORMS

There are plenty of different programs/companies you can use to build custom consultation forms for your services. These forms are easy to send via email or social media for anyone inquiring about services to have them fill out prior to their appointment for their stylist to use as reference. Because you create them yourself, you can customize every question to get as detailed as you would like. For example, if a guest is looking to book for a color correction, your consultation form may include questions like:

• • When did you last color your hair?
  • Did you use professional color or box dye?
  • What is your beauty budget allotted for this correction service?
  • What is your desired end goal for your hair?

Your consultation form may also include things to expect at the appointment. Using a color correction as an example again, you may include information such as:

• • Setting reasonable expectations for appointments
  • Recommending at home care to maintain integrity of hair following corrective service
  • How to best prepare your hair for the appointment

When it comes to using digital forms for client consultations, you can customize different forms to ask all of the questions needed to gather necessary information. The other benefit to using forms for digital consultations is that there is no appointment time needed, saving time for both your stylists and salon guests!

2. VIDEO CHAT CONSULTATIONS

There are tons of different options to use if you prefer to use video in your digital consultations. From Zoom, to Google Meet, and video messaging features on Instagram and Facebook, there’s a platform that’s easily accessible for everyone. The benefit to using video chat for consultations is that your service provider can actually see the hair they’ll be working with and be able to make a better game plan moving forward. Not only this, but it also creates rapport with the guest as they get to see the smiling face of their service provider prior to entering the salon!

Video chat consultations are a super easy way to incorporate a digital touch to your guest experience that your clients will appreciate.

SERVICE QUESTIONS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SALON’S DIGITAL CONSULTATIONS

Great salon services start with an even better consultation, and we’re going to give you some questions you can include in your own consults! Every consultation will look different based on the service they’re inquiring about, but these are some generic ones that can be included:

• • What is your beauty budget for your salon appointment?
  • What do you hope to achieve in this appointment?
  • What is the length of your hair?
  • What is the texture of your hair?
  • Do you have fine, medium, or coarse hair?
  • What is your hair care routine?
  • What do you love about your hair?
  • What would you change about your hair if you could?
  • What are your short and long term hair goals?
  • Are you open to suggestions about changing your cut/color/style?
  • Do you use heat styling tools?
  • Have you had anything done to your hair in the past that you loved? Or disliked?
  • Do you like styling your hair or do you prefer wash and wear?
  • Do you like to chat during your appointment or do you prefer a silent appointment?

CONCLUSION

Including digital options for client consultations is a great way to modernize your guest experience. There are plenty of digital options for consultations to suit every salon’s needs, it’s just a matter of adjusting it to work for you!

Looking for more digital marketing tips for your salon business?  You can check out Salon S.O.S.’ free marketing academy on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@salon.s.o.s

You can find out more about Salon S.O.S. here www.salonsos.ca and/or check out their resource library for more great digital marketing tips! https://www.salonsos.ca/resource-library

The concept of using video in your salon’s social media marketing game plan is still relatively new to many of you. IGTV, IG Live, Reels, oh my! Reels are obviously the latest video craze on Instagram and creating/posting your salon’s own can result in unbelievable reach and engagement. In this blog post, our friends at Salon S.O.S. are sharing 8 Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind when creating IG Reels for your salon.

1.

DO: Create reels with images and videos in portrait mode
Portrait mode is more visually appearing on reels (and stories) as there are no borders and the image is in full view. The Instagram algorithm favors reels using portrait mode therefore leading to increased number of views.

DON’T: Create reels with photos and videos in landscape mode leaving borders
As mentioned above, visuals shot in landscape mode leaves borders and a video/picture that is far away and hard to fully view in reels format.

2.

DO: Make sure lighting is clear and photo quality is good, edit before if necessary
When taking picture or shooting videos of hair color in particular, lighting and background is key to achieving an amazing result. Use natural sunlight or a ring light to ensure to get a great visual to use in your salon’s reels.

DON’T: Use poorly lit or blurry photos
We’ve all been there; you create the most stunning hair color and for some reason, it just does NOT translate in photos. When this is the case, adjust your lighting and if that doesn’t solve it, try taking a video instead! Have high standards for the content you put out on social media, you’ll notice an incredibly difference on the engagement and reach your posts get!

3.

DO: Always add music from Instagram library
Adding music to your salon’s reels not only makes the video more enticing to watch, it also plays into the IG algorithm and helps boost reach! Keep an eye on trending music and sounds to add to your reels increase engagement.

DON’T: Add music you don’t have permission to use
Depending on what type of account your salon has (personal or business), you will have different access to different audio. Make sure you’re not trying to trick the system and work around it by uploading audio you don’t have permission to use in another way as Instagram may remove/take your post down.

4.

DO: Always share reels to feed
Although the image is slightly cut off on your Instagram feed, it is still important to share all of your reels to your feed to avoid missing out on potential engagement.

If you DON’T, you’ll miss out on views
Don’t worry about the overall aesthetic of your page, post all reels to your main feed to increase views!

5.

DO: Keep first caption in center of page
Whether it’s a title or a caption that lets your audience know what’s to come in the video, make sure this first caption is smack dab in the middle of your post. Or at least in the square that will be shown on your feed.

If it’s off center, it may be off screen meaning audience can’t read it
As we mentioned above, it’s important to post reels to feed, even if the format is different. You can prevent cutting off important font by making sure you position it in the center, allowing your followers to read it regardless of how they’re watching.

6.

DO: Always use hashtags in the caption
Think of hashtags in reverse before posting; ask yourself “what are people looking up that would bring them to this post?”. If you’re posting an incredible hair transformation, make sure to use key words that are commonly searched for relating to your video.

DON’T: Skip using hashtags. No hashtags means no discoverability
Don’t slack on hashtags, they’re still just as important as ever to be discovered on Instagram! As mentioned above, choose commonly searched terms as your hashtags to increase visibility. You can search these hashtags in advance to see how popular they are and try mixing them up to see which perform best.

7.

DO: Keep reels short and easy to digest
People are impatient by nature, so it is important to grab their attention right from the get go and hold it for as long as possible. When it comes to short form video, that attention span is short lived so make sure to keep your reels short and appealing to your audience.

DON’T: Make reels too long and complicated
Don’t waste your limited time working on long and complicated reels that your audience may not even watch fully. This is a work smarter, not harder moment, and you want to make sure you’re playing to your audiences wants and needs. Think of creative ways to get your message across in a clear, concise, and quick way.

8.

DO: Look at insights
There is a plethora of information at your fingertips on Instagram that allows business pages to analyze the insights of each post. By measuring your post engagement on every level from interactions, to reach, you can better strategize how to create better performing content in the future!

DON’T: Measure only by views
Views are great and it is important to keep track of how many each reel is receiving; however it is not the most important insight to analyze. A huge number of views doesn’t matter if those viewers are not translating into actual paying customers, so it is more important to track engagement so you can cater to the audience that may actually end up becoming clients of your salon.

CONCLUSION

Now that you’ve got the in’s and the out’s of the do’s and the don’ts of Reel creation and distribution, get recording, salon professionals! The most important thing you can DO is start, and DON’T hesitate or hold back!

Looking for even more Reel inspiration? Give this episode of The Salon Scoop with Michael Cole a listen by clicking here!

You can find out more about Salon S.O.S. here www.salonsos.ca and/or check out their resource library for more great digital marketing tips! https://www.salonsos.ca/resource-library

As a salon owner or independent stylist, you are always looking for ways to provide the best services to your clients, and to stand out in a competitive market. K18 Molecular Hair Repair can help you achieve both of these goals. This cutting-edge treatment uses advanced K18 PEPTIDE™ technology to repair and strengthen hair, delivering visible results that leave clients coming back for more.

In this article, we will explore the benefits of offering K18 Molecular Hair Repair treatments in-salon, including increased revenue, customer satisfaction, and the ability to differentiate your salon from others. Whether you are looking to add a new service to your menu, or simply want to take your salon’s hair services to the next level, K18 Molecular Hair Repair is worth considering.

How K18 Molecular Hair Repair works

10 years of biosciences research – 1 breakthrough peptide.

PEPTIDE PREP™ – engineered to create the cleanest canvas for a healthy hair base.

K18 PEPTIDE™ is engineered to reverses damage from bleach and color, chemical services, and heat. K18 travels deep inside each hair strand to repair and restore the core polypeptide chains, and cleaves together disulfide bonds.

How K18 Double Dose Treatment Repairs and Strengthens Hair

A. HAIR PREPARATION

K18 Double Dose Treatment includes preparing the hair with K18 Peptide Prep Pro Chelating Hair Complex and K18 Detox Shampoo.

Active ingredient PEPTIDE PREP™

K18 Pro Chelating Complex: Resets hair for optimal K18 in-salon treatment service, chemical + color services, revives color vibrancy and restores smoothness and bounce in just 4 minutes. No mix formula. No extra rinse required.

K18 Detox Shampoo: Safely cleanses away chelating complex, plus Removes 99% of product buildup, 95% of sebum + reduces 76% of copper after one wash. K18PEPTIDE™ reduces protein loss to keep hair feeling soft, strong, healthy + clean.

B. HAIR DOUBLE DOSE TREATMENT

Active Ingredient K18 PEPTIDE™

K18 Professional Hair Repair Mist: This Peptide-powered lightweight mist strengthens hair’s defense against damaging chemical services. It starts the Double Dose in-salon Treatment with a pH level of 7.5-8.0 that shifts the cuticle layer open to penetrate the hair’s cortex and deliver the K18PEPTIDE™ to damage sites on the molecular level—without weighing hair down.

K18 Professional Hair Repair Mask: This Peptide-powered leave-in treatment repairs damage from bleach + color, chemical services, and heat in just 4 minutes. It finishes the Double Dose in-salon Treatment with a pH level of 5.0–6.0 helps close down the cuticle to seal in the K18PEPTIDE™ for renewed strength + elasticity where it matters.

How K18 is different from traditional bond building treatments

K18 PRO mist + mask are not protein treatments, their biomimetic peptide naturally mimics the amino acid sequences in keratin to rebuild bonds broken by chemical, color, and heat damage.

Chemical services and heat styling puts hair through a lot causing damage. K18PEPTIDE™ reconnects broken disulfide bonds (what bond builders do) AND broken polypeptide (keratin) chains to restore holistic hair health by addressing hair’s core strength and elasticity.

Unlike bond builders, K18 isn’t a temporaty fix. K18 progressively renews the hair’s keratin inner structure (which is key to repairing hair) while reconfirming the disulfide bonds that traditional bond builders temporarily strengthen.

Increased revenue from K18 Molecular Hair Repair

A. Pricing and Profitability
Adding K18 to your salon service menu is a new and quick way to add extra profit and sell K18 Mask for at home progressive hair health.

The Pro-sized K18 treatment products contain *300ml. With an average application of 3 ml, each product produces 50 applications. Salon cost per double dose application is approximately $7.00. One backbar Intro can increase salon profits between $725 – $1475. This doesn’t include profit from K18 Mask retail sales.

*K18 Mask comes in 150ml* 50 applications is based on Mask size resulting in only having to purchase another 150ml K18 Mask to get another 50 applications when combined with other products in the backbar intro.

Download Service Pricing and Profitability Graph and Step-by-step Service Instructions

B. K18 Industry Growth

Improved customer satisfaction with K18 Molecular Hair Repair

K18’s mantra ‘More is Less’ combined with a promise ‘hair like new no matter what you put it through’ will bring people back to your salon because their hair will look and feel amazing immediately. This product works on lightening and coloring, extensions, perming, keratin straighteners, thermal reconditioners, relaxers, and with haircuts, making it appealing to a variety of clients.

Healthy Hair is the best way to showcase your hair services and creativity, helping to differentiate your salon from others. K18 is the product that will get clients coming back for more and bring their friends with them too! Plus, K18 products are vegan, not tested on animals, and contain no sulfates, silicones, sodium chloride, formaldehyde or parabens, so a little K18 goes a long way.

K18 Molecular Hair Repair is a cutting-edge treatment that uses advanced K18 PEPTIDE™ technology to reverse damage and progressively renew the hair’s inner structure, delivering visible results that leave clients coming back for more. Offering K18 Molecular Hair Repair in-salon can bring multiple benefits to your business, including increased revenue, improved customer satisfaction, and the ability to differentiate your salon from others.

The results of K18 explosive sales data, and testimonials from industry leaders, as well as the science behind the treatment, make it clear that K18 Molecular Hair Repair is a valuable addition to any salon’s service menu. It can help you to attract new clients and retain existing ones, by offering them a service that really delivers results. If you are considering adding a new service to your menu, or simply want to take your salon’s hair services to the next level, K18 Molecular Hair Repair is definitely worth considering.

K18 Molecular Hair Repair is exclusively available in British Columbia through Icon Salon Systems
To Book an appointment with an Icon Business Advisor or order over the phone call
Customer Service Toll Free (1-800-862-2311)
Locally (604-591-2339)
Available at all Icon Beauty Stores
Tap to Shop K18 Online

Artistic Nail Design is pushing the envelope of professional nail services yet again with the launch of the Gel On Xtensions Soft Gel Nail Tips! Gel On Xtensions are the fastest enhancement ever, giving clients a full set of perfect nails in 20 minutes or less that will wear for 21 days.

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Gel On Xtensions Soft Gel Nail tips are full-coverage tips designed to give every client a flawless shape from cuticle to free edge. They are made with unique gel polymers that give you the ultimate flexibility and durability. Soft Gel tips are incredibly light and were created to be break-resistant from arch to free edge. They have an ultra-thin cuticle area and move with the nail creating a fit that will beat out ABS plastic nail tips every time.

The Soft Gel Nail Tips are used in conjunction with the Xtensions Tip Primer and Tip Adhesive giving you 21+ days of gorgeous wear in a non-damaging LED based formula! The use of an LED gel as the Tip Adhesive ensures that each client has an ideal hold tailored to their natural nail shape providing superior comfort and wear. These Xtensions are built to last with the quality gel adhesion that you have come to expect from Artistic Nail Design LED cured gel products.

Curing made easy with Artistic Gel On Xtensions hands-free technique. Gel On Xtensions LED Z Light which has focused beam technology and hands-free curing along with a sleek portable design for easy storage with a modern aesthetic. Allows for maintaining pressure and position without fumbling a light at the same time.

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Artistic Gel On Xtensions is exclusively available in British Columbia through Icon Salon Systems
To Book an appointment with an Icon Business Advisor or order over the phone call
Customer Service Toll Free (1-800-862-2311)
Locally (604-591-2339)
Available at all Icon Beauty Stores