Getting Found in Google - SEO Best Practices

Google and other search engines (like Bing) are essential to anyone's business success. Customers like you have called in to ask about Vagaro's SEO, so we've put together this handy guide for you. Keep in mind, however, that Google and other search engines are very much like ordinary people. Focus on doing what will help your customers and your search engine traffic will grow.

First, let's talk about the term "SEO" that you may have heard or read about. It stands for Search Engine Optimization. A quick rundown of what it does: it is a set of tactics that can help you rank higher for queries when a potential client types (or speaks) terms into Google or other search engines.

Before we get to the tactics, keep in mind that there is no guarantee of getting to the top of any search engine's organic (non-paid) results. No company, software, agency, employee, or tool can guarantee any result.

However, there are many things that can help you do a better job of being found.

Keywords

Keywords are the words that people put into a search engine when looking for something. Sometimes these words are abbreviations, slang, or very simplistic words. Think about how you look for something and what words you use. Those are the words you want to use throughout your Vagaro listings.

Content

If you are looking to get more business through Google search, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of being found.

Your Description

First, you should fill out the description. Use words in the description that you think people will search in your local area to find a business like yours. Also, make it a well-thought-out, unique several paragraphs. Describe your business fully and thoroughly. This will build trust with brand new customers and help them get to know you.

Here are a few questions to help you think about what to write:

1. What makes you unique?
2. What's special about your business?

Your Services

Fill out your services or classes and describe them thoroughly. What makes your version of the service different than other stylists, massage therapists, estheticians, fitness professionals, etc.? Describe the process in such a way that even new clients would have a firm understanding of what to expect from your service.

Your Service Providers

Vagaro recognizes that there is a special relationship between each service provider and client. For your service providers, each one should have unique descriptions about why a customer should book with him/her in their bio. Tell a unique story for each provider so that a new customer feels comfortable choosing a good match for the service and the provider that works for them.

Portfolio

Good content and user experience is important to search engines and to customers. One of the best ways to illustrate your expertise is by adding photos of your best work to your portfolio. Check out our photography best practices here. We also encourage you to photograph your venue to give your new customers a level of security before they visit your facility.

Customer Reviews

Becoming an authority in your business, in your city, and in your niche is very important to Google. The best way to illustrate this is to get reviews from your customers. Let me repeat that: GET REVIEWS! Ask your best customers to write up a short paragraph describing why they love you. These reviews must be legitimate customers who are not paid for their reviews.

Outreach

Outreach is one of the most important parts of your marketing efforts. Outreach is getting websites to share links on social media or to add links to their websites from relevant content on their website that land on your Vagaro listing page. Earning links can take time, but are worth the effort and can help you rank higher for terms that are relevant to your business.

Social Media

Social media links are the easiest ones to earn and to place. You should always link to your Vagaro Listing website from your own Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook biography. Those are the larger 3 but you should link from any social media network you are actively engaging on. Do not register a MySpace account and link from it if you are never going to visit it. The profiles you link from should be actively managed and used.

Another great idea is to have your friends and family share links to your booking pages from their social media. This should not be overdone and spammy, but there's nothing wrong with leaving a link when someone asks for a recommendation of where to get a service done.

Other Websites

The best links come from sites that are talking about your industry or business. Get a story on your local news site and ask them to link to you. See if there are any industry bloggers who want to write about your business or your industry and get a link from there. See if your Chamber of Commerce or other Business Clubs have websites that can link to you. (These are a few suggestions, but be creative.)

Where Can I Find My Vagaro Website Link?

You can use your Vagaro domain name or your private domain if you have one to list your business on the sites below. If you do not know your Personal Vagaro URL you can find it by going to Settings > Business Profile. It is under Vagaro URL. You can change this URL whenever you like and as many times as you want, but it is better to decide on and keep the same URL over time.

Here are some ways to kickstart your link building:

1. Create an account on Google Places, so Google knows where you are located, it has a link to your website and other information. Go to http://www.google.com/places/ to sign-up
2. Create a Yelp account http://www.yelp.com/writeareview/newbiz
   
3. Create an InsiderPages account http://insiderpages.com/session/new?header_link=true
4. Create a FourSquare account https://foursquare.com/signup/
5. Create a YP.com account https://www.yellowpages.com/
6. Create a Facebook Business Page https://business.facebook.com/
7. Sign in to Google+ account https://accounts.google.com/Login
8. Sign up for a Pinterest account - https://pinterest.com/join/signup/
9. Start a WordPress Blog - https://signup.wordpress.com/signup

It might make things a lot easier for you to have a Vagaro booking page built with a private domain so that when you are found, your business looks more professional. Below are the steps to take to do that:

• For only $10 a month, Vagaro will host a customized Vagaro booking page for you that you can build yourself through our Website Builder.
  This allows you to customize the look and colors of your page. You can brand yourself and your business through this tool. If you don’t have time to create it yourself, for only $100 Vagaro offers a service to build it for you personalized graphics and colors to match your business' style.
  
  
• The second thing you can do is get your own domain name for your Vagaro website.
  Go to Vagaro Domains and register your domain name. Then email us at support@vagaro.com with your login information for your domain and your business name on Vagaro so we can forward your domain name to your Vagaro website. If you need any help just call us at (800) 919-0157 x2.