Stop Being the Best-Kept Secret: How Beauty Businesses Can Get Found on Google

You can deliver excellent service, create beautiful results and earn enthusiastic referrals—and still be difficult for a new client to find.

Today, a recommendation is often only the beginning. Before booking, potential clients search your name, compare ratings, read recent reviews, look at photos and decide whether your business feels trustworthy.

That makes your Google presence more than a digital listing. It is your new reception desk: the place where many clients form their first impression before they call, click or sit in your chair.

Visibility Starts With a Simple Question

Think about your last three to five new clients. How did they hear about you?

Even if they came through a friend, coworker, booking platform or social media, did they search for your business before making an appointment?

A referral may introduce your business, but a strong online presence helps confirm that you are the right choice.

Now picture an ideal client sitting in a coffee shop around the corner from your salon. They search for the exact service you provide. Does your business appear—or does Google send them across town?

If people cannot find you, they cannot book you. If they find you but do not trust what they see, they still will not book.

Your Online Reputation Builds Trust Before the Consultation

Potential clients are often carrying real concerns:

• Will the professional listen to me?

• Will my service start on time?

• Does this business understand my hair, skin, nails or wellness needs?

• Will the experience be worth the price?

Reviews help answer these questions through the voices of people who have already experienced your business.

Trust—not price alone—is often the first objection. When your profile includes current, specific feedback about your professionalism, expertise and client experience, it reduces uncertainty. Future clients can see themselves in the stories your current clients tell.

What Clients Notice Before They Book

A complete Google Business Profile matters, but several signals carry particular weight.

Ratings and Review Volume

A strong rating supported by multiple reviews can offer more reassurance than a perfect score based on only one comment.

Recent Reviews

Feedback from this month tells a more convincing story than feedback from two years ago. It also reassures potential clients that your business is active.

Current, Relevant Photos

Your images should reflect the services you want to perform now—not work you no longer offer or styles that no longer represent your brand.

Ongoing Activity

Posts, photos, updates and reviews show clients and search platforms that your business is open and engaged.

Professional Responses

Replying to every review demonstrates attentiveness. Your response to criticism may reveal even more about your professionalism than a positive review does.

Do Not Leave Great Reviews to Chance

Happy clients do not always remember to leave reviews, even when they intend to. The most reliable approach is to create a simple, repeatable system.

• Ask every happy client instead of waiting and hoping.

• Ask at the emotional high point—when the client sees the finished result and is visibly excited.

• Make the process easy by providing a direct link to your review page.

• Follow up promptly when a client says they will post later.

• Never offer a discount or incentive in exchange for a review. Feedback should be genuine and voluntary.

Respond to positive reviews as warmly as you would respond to praise in person.

If a review is negative, pause before replying so your response is calm and professional. Acknowledge legitimate concerns, take the conversation offline when appropriate and look for an opportunity to make the situation right.

If the reviewer was never a client, state that professionally and use Google’s available process to dispute the review.

Own Your Neighborhood Before Trying to Own the City

For a local beauty business, visibility does not have to mean reaching everyone everywhere. It can mean becoming the obvious choice in the area you actually serve.

During ANHC PRO’s July Tech Tuesday session, Miki Wright shared how she built her salon’s presence in Burtonsville, Maryland, rather than trying to dominate the much larger nearby market of Silver Spring. By focusing locally, the salon became the go-to Black salon in its community while still attracting clients from surrounding areas.

The same principle applies whether you operate in Atlanta, a suburb or a smaller town: focus on the neighborhood and services you want to be known for.

Promote the work you want more of, and make it clear who you serve best.

Keep Your Business Information Consistent Everywhere

Your business name, address, phone number, services and other essential information should match across your:

• Website

• Google Business Profile

• Social media accounts

• Booking platform

• Online directories

Inconsistent information can create doubt for potential clients. It can also make it harder for search engines and AI-powered tools to confidently recommend your business.

Connect each part of your online presence so that someone moving from Google to your website, Instagram or booking page recognizes the same business at every step.

Use the GET FOUND Framework

Miki’s GET FOUND framework turns visibility into an ongoing business habit.

Goals: Decide what you want your Google presence to accomplish.

Evaluate: Audit what is working, what is missing and where your strongest opportunities are.

Trust: Generate consistent reviews that build credibility before a potential client contacts you.

Focus: Optimize your profile around the services and clients you actually want.

Ongoing Activity: Maintain posts, photos, responses and updates without making the work overwhelming.

Understand the Data: Review Google’s insights to learn what is working and what needs attention.

Nurture the Momentum: Create small weekly or monthly habits that build results over time.

Dominate Local Search: Become the clear, trusted choice in your target market.

This is not a one-time profile cleanup. Momentum comes from consistent, manageable actions. Over time, fresh reviews, accurate information, relevant photos and professional engagement strengthen both visibility and trust.

Get Seen, Get Found and Get Chosen

If you are ready to stop being the best-kept secret, Miki Wright invites you to schedule a free Google Visibility Checkup.

During the Zoom session, Miki will:

• Review your existing Google Business Profile or help you identify a starting point

• Compare your online presence with local competitors

• Identify your biggest visibility opportunities

• Recommend next steps you can implement

Schedule your free Google Visibility Checkup:

http://mikiwright.com/vipmeet

Get seen. Get found. Get chosen.