Getting Found on Google - SEO Best Practices

Keywords are the words 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.

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.

First, you should fill out the description in your Business Profile. 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 new customers and help them get to know you.

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

List 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 so that even new clients can understand what to expect from your service.

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 to help customers choose a good match for the service and provider.

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.

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

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 lands 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 links are the easiest ones to earn and place. You should always link to your Vagaro Listing website from your 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.

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.)

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.

Think about creating your own website to enhance your business’s professional appearance online. With a price of $20 per month, Vagaro offers a personalized website hosting service through MySite, allowing you to build it on your own. Additionally, you can buy a custom domain for an even more professional look.