Full Transcript
Lauren: So I have a friend who owns a salon, and she's crushing it on Instagram. Like, thousands of followers, people tagging her in their hair transformations, the whole thing. But she keeps saying she's not getting new clients. What's going on?
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor... We make interwebs and website stuff make sense... Let's get into it.
Honor: Okay, so here's the thing. Instagram is great for building your brand. It's like your portfolio, your personality, your community. But when someone in San Luis Obispo searches "hair salon near me" on a Tuesday afternoon... they're not scrolling Instagram hashtags.
Lauren: They're on Google.
Honor: Exactly. And here's a number that might surprise you... 70 percent of salon traffic comes from online searches. That's people actively looking for a stylist. That's intent to book.
Lauren: Oh! So Instagram is where people who already know you hang out... but Google is where strangers find you.
Honor: Right. Think of it this way... Instagram is your stage. Google is the door. If people can't find the door, they never see the show.
Lauren: Okay, that makes sense. But wait... a lot of salon owners have those booking pages. Like Vagaro or Fresha or whatever. Doesn't that count as a website?
Honor: Great question. Those are excellent booking tools. But the quote-unquote websites they generate have a big problem.
Lauren: What's that?
Honor: They don't rank on Google. Your booking page is something like yourname dot vagaro dot com. That's a subdomain on their site. So when Google sees it, it's building their authority, not yours.
Lauren: Wait, so all that work she's putting into her Vagaro page... Google basically doesn't see it?
Honor: Pretty much. If someone searches "balayage specialist Paso Robles," her booking page won't show up. Because it wasn't designed to be found. It was designed to book appointments.
Lauren: That's like... having a beautiful store but putting it in a basement with no sign out front. The people who know it's there love it. But nobody new can find it!
Honor: Exactly. And here's another thing... booking pages look the same as everyone else's. Cookie-cutter design. Nothing says "this is MY salon" with my style and my vibe.
Lauren: So you can't show off your work properly either.
Honor: Right. And for hair stylists and colorists, your work IS your marketing. Clients want to see before-and-afters, different techniques, transformations. A proper website can have a real portfolio... organized by service type, easy to browse.
Lauren: Okay, I get it. Instagram is the stage, booking software is for booking, but you need an actual website to be the door that Google can find. So what does a salon website actually need?
Honor: Honestly, it's simpler than people think. Portfolio of your work. Team bios so people know who they'll be sitting with for two hours. And it has to work on phones... because 82 percent of salon bookings happen on mobile.
Lauren: 82 percent! So if your website is janky on a phone...
Honor: You're losing most of your potential bookings. And here's the kicker... 46 percent of bookings happen when salons are closed. Evenings, early mornings, when people actually have time to plan.
Lauren: So they're browsing at 10 PM, finding you on Google, checking your portfolio, and booking... all while you're asleep.
Honor: If you have a real website that shows up. If you don't... they book with someone else.
Lauren: Alright, so the moral of the story is... Instagram is great, keep doing it. Booking software is great, keep using it. But you need an actual website that Google can find. That's the missing piece.
Honor: That's it. Keep using Vagaro for booking. But your website handles getting found and building trust before they ever click "book now."
Lauren: And if setting all that up sounds like a headache... give YouGrow a call!
Honor: Yeah, we build websites specifically for salons and beauty pros on the Central Coast. 79 dollars a month, everything included. Real portfolio gallery, team bios that show personality, mobile-friendly, works with your booking software. We handle all the updates... new headshots, service changes, done same day. Local support... I'm in Arroyo Grande, I pick up the phone.
Lauren: Love it. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.