GBP Updates

See also the SEO for Salons Course

Google likes to see that a business is active and updating the Google Business Profile (as well as their website and social profiles) is a very good way to keep it fresh. There are five primary GBP updates that you can make:

An Update Post

This can be linked to a blog post but it is also a good way to cover news and goings on within the salon such as a new staff member. However, if there is nothing newsworthy, you can use updates to create some content linked to website pages. Simply write a short post with SEO rich content, in the same way as you would a blog post on the website.  This can then be linked to the relevant page on the website, with an image.  Examples could include a short pieces on:

• High value services such as hair extensions, which should be linked to the Hair Extensions page.  You could also do this for balayage, keratin treatments or colour correction for example.
• Trends posts
• Salon reviews
• Klarna / Pay in 3
• Seasonal gifts, linked to the shop if available.

An Offer

Google has recently changed how these are displayed, but they are still worth adding.  The offer title and description should, as always, be written primarily for the customer but written with keywords and SEO in mind too. Like with any content, use keywords sparingly, work them naturally into the copy and don’t stuff. 

An Event 

Use this for any specific events being hosted by the salon. They work much like offer updates and the same guidelines apply in terms of keywords. Always write for the customer first.  Remember to remove after the event is over.

Special Operating Hours

As well as the standard operating hours, the GBP allows you to put in special hours for any up-coming holidays or other dates of your choosing (see this KB entry). Adding such hours is a freshness signal to Google.

Photos

Update Posts, Offers and Events allow you to include a photo which you should do.  In addition, you can and should add salon images directly by clicking the Photos icon when managing the GBP.

Ideally, use a photo that has been taken by somebody on the premises as it will be unique to that salon and will automatically be geo-tagged directly to them. In addition, you can simply upload a photo to the profile and this appears in the list of photos that viewers can browse through. For more details see  this separate guide on images for GBPs.

Make Sure That Your Content Is Unique

For all GBP updates, content should be unique i.e. it should not be exactly the same as that written on the website.

It’s OK to use AI tools to repurpose content. For example if you have written a post for their blog on their website, you can use AI to rewrite it in a different way so that it is unique and then post that as your GBP update. When using any such tools, always read and edit it before publishing to make sure it doesn’t sound like it was written by a computer!  In particular, avoid key giveaway phrases such as “Elevate…” and Americanisms.