3 Google+ Strategies Beauty Schools are Missing!

You’re probably asking yourself, “Who uses Google+?” or even, “What is Google+?” Beauty schools that are using this social network are benefiting from it in a HUGE way! By doing these three things, schools are seeing lifts in overall website conversion rates, as well as lifts in overall website leads, and this is happening without even changing anything on your website! Crazy, right?!

1) Encourage Google+ Reviews!

Nearly 90% of every beauty school student I’ve polled (hundreds upon hundreds) has said they either read, or tried to read reviews on the schools they were considering. Think about this – If the organic section of Google is the #1 place where beauty schools should be getting the majority of their leads through the internet, then why aren’t most schools making sure they stand out in this area?

The best way to stand out, or “Get the sale before you get the click” is to have not only a higher star rating than your competitors, but have a higher review count as well. Star ratings matter, but the amount is just as important to generate a click that eventually turns into an enrollment. On the internet, perception is reality, and if your school has more Google reviews, coupled with a competitive star rating, than everyone else on the list will come after your click, as well as the perception of who’s the best. This is actually one of the most powerful social media / SEO strategies a beauty school can do to generate more qualified leads on the internet, and it’s also one of the most under utilized social media / SEO strategies out there!

When considering generating Google reviews, there are a lot of wrong ways to do it, and if you violate, or ignorantly trick Google with more reviews, it will have a very negative effect on your presence in Google, or the overall lead flow from the most widely used search engine by the millennial generation. It has to be done the right way, so please do your research, or hire an expert marketing agency to help you with this. It’s also very tricky/hard to leave a Google Review, and will take some careful thought and training.

Bonus: Make sure you’re responding to ALL reviews – positive & negative!

2) Encourage Google+ Followers!

This is a tough strategy, but studies have show that the more G+ followers, the more it will effect your organic rankings in Google! Who wouldn’t want better rankings is Google?! Studies tend to show a 15% increase with more G+ followers. Even if you have a total of 10 G+ followers, that may be 10 more than your next best competitor. Each follower, or person in your circle on G+ matters. The internet is a game of inches!

Bonus: People who review you, should be your best chance at getting new followers! Add them to your Circle, and they’ll most likely add you follow you back!

3) Make Sure Your Google+ Page is Optimized Through Google My Business

It always surprises me how many beauty schools don’t have access to their Google My Business page. It’s tricky to get it, but it’s not impossible. It’s through this Google My Business access you can optimize your G+ page. When you set out to optimize the page, one of the most important things to do is to get it verified. After you’ve gone through the verification process, you’ll want to add content to it, or basically fill every field out such as categories, introductions, photos, etc. There’s a nifty little completion bar at the top, so make sure you have enough great content in the page to get all the way to 100%!

Bonus: Add a virtual tour to provide that much more of an experience for your potential clients. This is where you’d find a certified Google photographer to come to your business, take photos, and then upload/link it to your page. You can also add this virtual tour as a feature on your website. Don’t worry; this won’t distract the young millennial crowd from actually coming into the school for a tour, just because they’ve seen photos of the inside. ☺

Want to learn more? Call us and we’ll show you actual analytics of schools doing these strategies and how they’re typically seeing the following:

• 80% increase in leads
• 40% increase in website conversion rates
• 30% increase in organic Google website traffic