The New Rules of Salon Marketing in the Age of AI with Phil Evans
When it comes to marketing, many salon owners pour their time into Instagram, hoping it brings new clients through the door.
My returning guest Phil Evans, founder of Salon Guru, has analysed over four and a half million visits to salon websites, and the results show that social media is not driving potential clients to your website in the numbers that you might expect.
So here’s a question worth reflecting on: if your marketing time is going to the wrong place, what is that actually costing your salon?
In this conversation, Phil breaks down exactly where new clients are really coming from, what Google’s EEAT framework means for your website, and why most reviews are falling short of what Google and AI are looking for. By the end of this episode, you’ll know where to put your marketing time so it actually brings in bookings, not just likes.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- Why only 1.5% of website visits come directly from social media, and where the rest actually come from
- The four-part framework Google and AI use to decide which salon to recommend
- How to structure your Google reviews so they build real trust and authority, not just star ratings
- What to search on your own phone to check whether your salon is visible on Google and AI
TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00] Introduction
[00:51] Introducing returning guest Phil Evans from Salon Guru
[01:44] Inside the new Salon Guru trends report and why it exists
[03:42] Google versus social media, the surprising split in the data
[05:26] Why social media rarely closes the booking on its own
[09:16] How AI is reshaping the way clients search for salons
[11:39] Is AI about to replace Google search entirely
[18:14] The EEAT framework Google and AI use to pick a salon
[22:00] Why detailed Google reviews matter more than five-star ratings
[27:17] Where to focus five hours a week of marketing time
[32:34] What clients actually want to see on a salon website
[38:00] Inside Showcase and the early results from beta salons
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Salon Guru Trends Report – New data on where salon clients really come from and how to be found on Google and AI 👉 Download the report
Showcase Webinar – Phil and Antony walk through the new website tool built from the trends report data, going live 31st August 👉 Send it to me
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👉 FOLLOW SALON GURU!
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🙏 Thanks so much for joining me this week.
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Until next time!
Antony
