Many beauty and barbering entrepreneurs might find themselves getting comfortable after their Web site was created during the stay-at-home mandates, with the misguided understanding that it will continue to take care of itself. But updating your Web site is just as important as building it in the first place. Here’s why:
Why updating your Web site matters for sales
Even in the short term, many changes occur within your small business. Your Web site should be changed accordingly to reflect any and all modifications, including how you have been responding to the two pandemics.
While this is crucial to ensuring your product and even service sales remain on the rise and that site traffic remains steady, it’s also good for the ultimate livelihood of your business. Here’s what we’ll be covering:
- Updating your Web site for freshness.
- Make sure your Web site loads within 3 seconds.
- Have you reviewed your images lately?
- Show off your good reputation.
Updating your Web site for freshness
Is the text throughout the Web site too wordy? Are product descriptions using relevant keywords? Has your company blog not been updated in months?
A stagnant site does more than hurt your business when it comes to bringing in new or even repeat visitors. A lack of refreshed content can also negatively affect your Google ranking, making it hard for customers to find your business through search engines.
Luckily, there’s a (somewhat) quick fix available, and that means a writing overhaul on your content.
Most businesses will bring on a copywriter (whether in-house or outsourced through an agency or freelancer) to make adjustments that cover these areas. Here are some guidelines for updating your content:
Pay attention to SEO
Use SEO techniques when rewriting your site’s text content. Keep an eagle eye out for any broken links and link back to pages within your site where appropriate.
Write compelling product descriptions
Clients need to know what they’re purchasing.
If you don’t have descriptions included with your products, now is the time to add them.
Maintain an editorial calendar
Establish an editorial calendar with content specifically for your blog.
Updating your Web site doesn’t need to happen every day, but you should make a point to regularly post content your readers will be interested in.
Some topics include new beauty trends or updates about your barber business, new retail launches or take-home products you’re highlighting, special seasonal offers or even behind-the-scenes looks or Q&As about your salon or shop.
Related: How to plan your company blog editorial calendar
Make sure your Web site loads within 3 seconds
Seriously — one out of five clients will abandon their cart if the site loads too slowly.
These precious seconds can mean the difference between getting a new client to check out versus having them abandon their cart entirely.
The best way to go about fixing this issue is to improve your site’s scalability by hosting the site on a cloud platform and shrinking image files to increase your Web site’s overall speed. Doing this has the potential opportunity to increase online sales dramatically, so it’s worth looking into if slow load times continue to be an issue for your site.
Related: Introduction to Google Lighthouse
Have you reviewed your images lately?
For most Web site, great visuals are a key component for engaging with potential new clients.
Salons and barbershops that specialize in selling products like shampoo or makeup know that an aesthetically-pleasing shot is usually the ticket to converting a Web site visitor into making a purchase. They like what they see and they’re compelled to buy it as a result, which gives your beauty business a healthy revenue boost.
However, many shoppers are much less likely to buy if the image quality is grainy or out of focus.
Beyond making sure the image itself is high quality, you may also want to shoot each retail product in a couple different “poses” for an increase in sales.
A few different approaches to try on for size include the flat lay, as popularized by Instagram, that creates a full, proportional look of the product. You might also want to shoot before-and-after testimonial videos to accompany the images on your page.
Related: How to optimize images for the web
Show off your good reputation
No matter if your salon or shop has long been established or is new to the small business world, it’s important to build and maintain trust with clients.
New visitors to your Web site might have a hard time figuring out if they can trust you yet, which is why it’s key to showcase your brand’s good reputation upfront.
One of the easiest, most common ways to go about doing this is to feature local press and client reviews.
If your small business received a flattering mention in a local media outlet, highlight it! You can include a logo of the mention on your home page or create a separate tab for all of your press hits.
The same goes for stellar client reviews. Many Web sites offer the ability to write reviews directly on the same page of their product, with client encouraged to rate on a star system (one to five stars) and even share photos of the products they purchased along with their commentary.
You can always let your customers know that they’re welcome to review you on Yelp or Facebook, but reviews featured on sites have the potential to increase positive client engagement by 17%. If you don’t already have this function enabled on your Web site, it’s worth taking the time to make the update.
Related: 8 ways to get more product reviews
In conclusion
Keeping your salon or barbershop Web site fresh and up to date is important, not only for your search engine ranking but for your small business’s ongoing reputation as well. These tips and suggestions will get you well on your way. Happy updating!
Image by: Yoann Siloine on Unsplash
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