How to get booked by people who have never seen your Instagram.
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Instagram only shows you to people who already follow you. Your reach stops at people who already found you.
The people ready to book today are not scrolling Instagram to find you. They Google it. They open Maps. And they book whoever comes up first.
That booking does not go to the most talented person. It goes to the one whose Google profile is actually set up.
Talent does not win the search. Being findable does.
Google Business Profile. It is free, and it takes about 1 afternoon.
On your phone, open Google and search “add my business to Google.” Tap Manage now and sign in with your work email.
Type it exactly how you brand it, like “Glow Studio by Sarah.” Do not stuff keywords like “nails lashes cheap.” Google can suspend you for it, and it looks desperate.
This tells Google who to show you to.
Then add Beauty salon as a backup.
Use the words clients type into Google, like “[your city] nails,” “balayage,” or “brow lamination.” Write it like a real person, not a keyword pile.
Google asks how your business works. Pick the option that says you serve people in person, at a service area. Picking online only can get your listing suspended.
Work from home? Turn off “show my address” and set a service area instead: your city and nearby suburbs, up to 20. You still show on the map, but nobody sees where you live.
This is the one everyone skips.
Google mostly stopped mailing postcards. Now it wants a short video, filmed live in the app, unedited, 30 seconds or more. Show a street sign or landmark nearby, then your setup: your station, your tools, your products.
You do not need a shop sign or your house number. 1 take, no editing.
List each service, a full set, a fill, a colour, a facial, a wax, with a price and a short line each. People decide faster when they can see it.
10 or more. All real, all yours.
Put your real availability, then add your booking link (Fresha, Booksy, or your website) as the main button. That link is what turns a Google search into an appointment.
Google removed in-profile chat in 2024, so send people to your link, not a chat.
Text your happiest clients for a quick review, and aim for your first 5. Ask them to add a photo, Google shows those more.
Reply to every single review.
Use Add update to post your latest work or an opening. Treat it like a tiny social feed. Go quiet and Google quietly drops you, same as Instagram.
In a day or 2, Google “[your service] near me” from your phone. When you see yourself on the map, you are officially findable.
Setting it up is the easy afternoon. Staying on top is a habit: a post most weeks, a steady trickle of reviews, replying to them, fresh photos.
It starts small and grows the more you feed it.
Now go get found.