I first heard Rickina speak at a lash conference and I had pages full of notes that I did nothing with after.
It wasn’t until after we recorded this episode that I finally sat down and carved out some time to implement these tips and now, a year later (yes we recorded this a year ago!!) I’m now on the first page of google of every one of my business. I’m top ranking for 2-3 of those businesses and guess what – I haven’t even introduced blogging into that mix yet.
So carve out some time and really put your notes into action.
Rickina is a Former US Navy Technician and after 12 years of working in the tech and marketing field, she built a successful 6 figure lash and brow business in less than 3 years.
She did this by focusing not on social media, but on using the latest in website, SEO, online and offline marketing strategies.
Now in her 7th year of beauty, Rickina has helped beauty professionals all around the world with getting more clients and growing their business with real world strategies that actually work.
Rickina’s all about working smarter, spending less hours in the salon and less hours on social media and she’s going to teach us how to do the same.
Episode Notes
Why is Google important for a bridal makeup business or a wedding makeup artist?
- You have more control in the outcome when you learn keywords and SEO than leaving it up to the algorithm on Instagram social media.
- When you’re looking for a service or product, google search is typically where people go first.
Should I hire someone to help me get on the first page of Google or should I just DIY it?
- There are legitimate business and marketing agencies that can help you but if you have the time to learn and understand how SEO really works, you can go in and figure it out.
- You can also work with someone like Rickina to help you figure out the little bits so you can work on it yourself
- If someone promises they can get you on the first page of google – that’s a red flag!!! Several things work together to get you to page one
- If you’re on page 3-4 you can do some tweaks and get you on page 1-2 but if you’re nowhere to be seen, that may take some professional steps to get you there and relevant
What are we focusing on, what are the pieces working together?
- Your domain name should some age to it, the longer you own it the more favorable it becomes. Register it now if you haven’t already
- Everything on your makeup artistry site needs to be accurate especially your NAT (Name, address, phone number). Local directories or anywhere else your listed online has to EXACTLY match what’s on your site
Example: suite 101 vs St 101 will penalize you and so will having a zipcode of 555555 in one place vs 555-5555 on your site - Backlinks are amazing! How many external sites link back to your site? Are they relevant with a high domain authority or is a dumb link farm? Wedding blog sites, publications, huffingtonpost and .edu’s are huge in helping your bridal makeup site establish credibility
tip: offer to guest writing for other blogs or wedding vendors to increase your backlinks
I see a lot of makeup artist’s websites that when you click, in the top bar where the page title goes all I see is 100 keywords – is this good practice?
- keyword stuffing/padding used to work in the past but Google is getting smarter.
- stop putting it all in the title bar but instead niche it down
For example: a summer wedding makeup theme
set it up as: domainname.com/summer-wedding-makeup
Then the rest of content should all be about summer wedding makeup
And the first words on the page should naturally contain the core message including “summer wedding makeup” but it has to naturally flow as if you’re speaking it out loud
The more specific you can get with your ideal makeup client and style (even if it feels like you’re isolating potential brides), it helps you focus down and show up on the first page quicker because you’re really specific and niching down. Google looks at the favorably
How do we choose the right keywords and find golden keywords that will work for your bridal makeup business?
- www.askthepublic.com is a search engine for questions people are asking around certain topics (ex wedding makeup) take what the chart is showing you and turn it into a blog post
Do we always use the same keywords everywhere?
- If one page is focused on “eye makeup”, have another page that subsets into that
- Once a month is better than doing it not at all (5-6 months is too long)
Do we stick these keywords in the title and caption of every bridal makeup photo on our site? Or need to do more with it?
- repeating throughout different pictures is not doing anything
- use the website askthepublic.com and add in words that relate to your bridal makeup niche that to help you rise
Captions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram beauty content – is any of that relevant or important to google?
- sometimes (more so with YouTube)
- test it by searching for something and see how many social pages show up
- Pinterest 100%. If you’re going to use Pinterest really deliver, post a beautiful bridal makeup and link it to something worth value (example: how to find your ideal makeup artist)
If I start blogging on my bridal makeup website today, I fix my keywords to help with SEO, put up more relevant content, link everything to Pinterest, making sure my NAP is correct – Will that get my website on the first page of google overnight?
- it’s not instantaneous, 30-90 days is the average but it could also be within a week.
- if you have a system or course (like Rickina’s!) and have the golden map, it can help you move faster
Google My Business page – Is it Important to my bridal makeup business? Any key tips? Does it need to be updated regularly or leave it alone once you have it?
- It shows up when people are looking for it. It is huge!
- A post only lasts for 7 days, so you need to post another. Posting daily will help your new clients find and contact you.
I don’t know where to start: Where should I focus time and attention if I’m just a new makeup artist starting with Google and Keywords?
- Google My Business, if you have to start somewhere and want to make an impact start with Google My Business. Be educational as a makeup artist, post beautiful bridal makeup photos, do it every day “another gorgeous bridal makeup, here in toronto with a soft natural finish”
What should I be looking for? How do you know if what you’re doing is working
- If you put in the work, it’ll pay off in consistent bridal makeup client bookings
Check out more of Rickina and her Client Attraction Beauty Podcast:
www.rickinavelte.com
Organize your bridal makeup consults, clients and appointment details: The Total Beauty Planner app
Continue the conversation inside the Bridal Beauty Business Facebook Group