So, you’re done setting up your beauty school.
Hired professional instructors.
…and you’re all set to train individuals.
But, hang on!
There is no applicant…
Not because there’s a problem with your beauty school, its location, or anything else.
…but, because the potential applicants can’t find your beauty school!
Hello, everyone.
Welcome to today’s blog, where you’ll be learning how to get visible on the web through Google Ads for beauty school, the importance/role of Google Ads in business promotion, & the A to Z of Google Ads marketing.
So, stay with us till the end!
If You’re Not Visible on The Web, You’re Losing…
If someone searches for:
“Beauty school near me”
“Beauty school near me services”
“Beauty school near me open now”
“Beauty school near me that do hair”
“Beauty school near me now”
“Beauty school near me nails”
“Beauty school near me for haircuts”
“Beauty school near hear”
Or
“Beauty school near me within 5 mi”
…and your beauty school does not appear on the local SERPs, which means you’re not only missing out on your potential clients, but also your business does not even exist for Google.
Online Visibility=Business Revenues
The recent shift toward digitalization has changed the entire perspective of online users these days. According to various studies, around 76% to 90% of people search online before visiting a place.
✔️85% of customers go through Google reviews/locations or check out photos/service ratings
✔️83% of clients use local listings on Google to search for beauty schools/salons
✔️72% of users refer to Google results when searching for a new place
✔️90% of online users check out social media platforms before booking services in a beauty school/salon
All these reports point to one single thing.
Unless your beauty school is visible on Google, your business is basically not growing.
Dedicated Google ads are the best strategy to capture the marketplace and let your potential clients find you faster on the web.
But, Why Google Ads & Not Something Else?
…because it’s not like traditional marketing!
Google Ads focuses on users’ intent & presents your services/products in front of the high-quality & targeted leads in such a tailored format that addresses their pain points and instantly captures their attention.
Well, there are definitely other types of marketing, such as social media marketing, email marketing, or even ads on TV, print media, newspapers, magazines, or radio.
But, Here’s The Thing!
👉Though paid social media marketing initiatives contribute 14.9% of leads, the conversion rate mostly varies, despite 1.8% of engagement rates.
👉Email marketing is good for lead generation, but again, the conversion rates vary widely.
👉Organic Search Engine Optimization generates around 35% of leads, with no guarantee of traffic conversion.
☑️Only paid Google Ads alone ensure 11.9% of quality lead acquisition with an average conversion rate of 7.52%.
That’s Why Google Ads for Beauty School is Crucial…
Google Ads directly contribute to student enrollment & client booking growth for your beauty school despite the intense market competition.
According to recent studies & surveys, the beauty industry is a highly saturated market & to cut through the market competition, you need a highly visible marketing strategy that can help you stand out!
…because relying on word-of-mouth alone won’t get you a steady flow of applicants or clients.
Market Your Services Based on Users’ Intent
These days, online users do not passively wait for specific information to come to them.
They actively search for it!
…and that’s exactly where you’re falling short if you’re not helping your brand reach the target audience.
Google Ads are 100% intent-based, which means they help your brand reach highly qualified prospects who are actively searching for the specific services you offer.
In short, they target users based on their active search queries.
✅High-relevance
✅Cost-effective marketing
✅Measurable results
Google Ads for Lead Acquisition & Conversion
In simple words, when your potential leads actively search for the key terms already shared above, Google Ads for beauty school brings it right in front of them, resulting in:
☑️Qualified leads
☑️Increased local traffic
☑️Improved conversions
☑️Increased online visibility
☑️Improved trust
So, Google Ads will help you capture your prospective students much faster by letting them know about the existence of your beauty school right on time when they’re already at a critical decision-making moment in their search engine.
But, before we get deeper into the strategy development for Google Ads or setting up the entire ad framework, it’s important to understand the audience first.
Understanding The Beauty School Audience
Getting a better insight into the behavior, preferences, requirements, & search navigation patterns of your target audience will help you frame up your Google Ads for beauty school campaign strategy, target the right audience, draft brilliant ad creatives, & PPC bid on ads strategically.
With all these, you definitely stand a golden chance to ensure a better user experience, an outstanding competitive edge for your beauty school, & boost conversions effectively.
Here are a few aspects that our marketing experts considered while running Google Ads campaigns for one of our US clients who owns a salon in Miami.
👉Primary Student Personas
✔️Recent graduates looking for a stable career option
✔️Individuals from other industry fields who are looking for a viable option to switch jobs
✔️Creative enthusiasts who are passionate about learning beauty works
✔️Current beauty workers who want to scale up their professional expertise
👉Search Intent: Informational Vs. Transactional
Understanding the search intent of your users will help you align your Google Ads marketing strategies according to their unique needs.
When we developed our campaign strategy for the US client, we used both informational and transactional keywords to make our ad copies rank for them.
Keywords for Information Intent:
➡️“How to Become An Esthetician?”
➡️“A Guide to The Requirements for Beauty School”
➡️“Beauty School Vs. Cosmetology: A Definitive Guide”
➡️“A Guide to Beauty School Costs”
➡️“How to Choose The Right Beauty School?”
Keywords for Transactional Intent:
➡️“Enroll in beauty school”
➡️“Beauty school application”
➡️“Sign up now”
➡️“Apply now”
To play it safe, we included these long to medium-tail keywords in our ad copies. This ensured faster visibility of our client’s salon online & increased client bookings.
👉Geographic Considerations & Local Enrollment Behavior
Did you know?
Location plays a crucial role in shaping your buyers’ journeys & their decisions.
That’s why potential applicants search for beauty schools that are located within a reasonable distance from their residential areas.
So, it’s better to analyze your local market needs (if there’s a high demand for estheticians in your area), get a better concept of cultural aesthetics at a specific region, & look for local partnership opportunities before structuring your Google Ads for beauty school campaigns.
Also, people are naturally drawn toward career options that provide them with career security, enough opportunities to explore their creativity, & promise a high income.
So, according to our Google Ads experts, it’s always better to highlight these aspects in your ad copy when planning to promote your beauty school online.
Set Clear Goals for Google Ads Campaigns
Behind every successful Google Ad campaign, there is a specific goal.
But when it comes to running Google ads for beauty school, the purpose behind your campaigns & the goals should be twofold.
Lead-Generation Vs. Enrollment-Focused Campaigns
1️⃣Lead-generating campaigns should focus on capturing the interested audience during the early stages of the admission funnel. The primary goal here is to collect the information of the interested applicants through lead submission forms, emails, and phone calls.
2️⃣Enrollment-focused campaigns should target the potential applicants and drive them down the conversion funnel. The aim is to get them enrolled in your beauty school & get them converted into your students through the application submission or registration process.
Funnel Optimization Based on Your Objectives…
When we worked for our salon clients in the US or UK, we adapted two different methods to capture the high-intent leads.
Raising Brand Awareness
This was the Top-Of-Funnel (TOFU) stage, where our marketing experts focused on increasing the brand visibility of our clients through video campaigns.
Direct Response Objectives
This was the Bottom-Of-Funnel (BOFU) stage, where we targeted high-intent prospects with clear CTAs to get immediate actions from them.
Different Google Ads Objectives & The Metrics to Track
Now, according to our ad experts, you need to optimize the different stages of your marketing funnel depending on the audience mindset, your objectives & also, you should set the specific marketing objectives accordingly.
For example:
This way, you can start off by increasing visibility of your beauty salon in the market and then focus on lead generation, enrollment, & boosting your ROIs gradually.
Google Ads for Beauty Schools: Structure & Campaign Types
To get the best results out of Google Ads marketing, you need to focus on an organized segmentation strategy to target your potential students.
Branded Vs. Non-Branded Campaigns
For example, bid on your school name (e.g., “ABC Beauty School” or “ABC Beauty Academy”, or “ABC Beauty School Reviews”) to get a high conversion rate & keep your budget in check.
However, bid on some generic terms (e.g., “best beauty school”, “join our esthetician course”) to improve brand awareness & cut down your CPL.
Geographic Campaign Segmentation
This is where most business owners go wrong!
To grow your business, you need to target the right people at the right locations.
For example, if you want to target people from multiple locations, create dedicated campaigns for each.
✔️Tailor your ads to local landmarks/addresses
✔️Use location extensions to display the right contact information
✔️Implement hyper-local targeting around each particular region
✔️Use a radius that reflects the average commuting distance for students
✔️Consider aggressive local targeting when students tend to search for beauty schools or similar career options.
Types of Key Campaigns We Run
…coming to the type of Google Ads campaigns that you should run, below are some of the most popular campaign types that we performed for our US salon clients.
➡️Search campaigns help you capture high-intent leads
➡️Display campaigns build brand awareness by showing visual ads
➡️PMax (Performance Max) campaigns help you leverage the power of automation to generate quality leads & find converting clients across different Google platforms
➡️By running YouTube campaigns, you can showcase your beauty school facilities, success stories, & exciting career options available
But the most important thing to keep in mind is to structure your campaigns by the programs/courses you offer.
Google Ads for Beauty School Campaigns: Program Segmentation
This way, you can use ad groups within each program campaign and target specific keywords for the best results.
Below, we’ve shared some tips to perform a seamless keyword research that will help you reach the most qualified audience who are searching for specific beauty courses/programs.
Google Ads for Beauty School: Keyword Research Tips
👉Target high-intent keywords (e.g., “ABC tuition”, “ABC beauty school near me”, “ABC programs”)
👉Use program-specific keyword clusters
👉Target long-tail & local keyword opportunities
👉Negative keywords to reduce wasted PPC spend (e.g., “free”, “exciting discounts”, “10% off on first 10 registrations”)
This way, you can target users with high purchase intent, bid on search terms way more efficiently, & boost conversion rates in no time.
…because you’re matching your ads effectively to the relevant search intent, leading to higher conversion.
However, make sure you analyze the industry marketing trends, check out your competitors’ Google Ads for beauty school & keyword bidding strategies, just to play safer.
Write High-Converting Google Ads for Beauty Schools
Well, since everything is sorted out about the preparatory stages, it’s time to learn how to write high-converting ad copies to make your PPC campaigns profitable.
To keep it short, crisp, & simple, we’ve listed a few steps that our Google Ads experts practice to craft engaging ad copies.
So, Check These Out
✅Write headlines that grab attention & resonate with the prospects
✅Emphasize the career outcomes and certifications
✅Identify your prospects’ pain points & address their doubts through your copies
✅Use calls-to-action that align with the requirements of your leads
✅Use specific ad extensions that boost credibility and visibility
Writing copies is basically highlighting the USPs of the services/products you offer, responding to the confusion or fear of your leads strategically, & building trust with them so they feel confident about the decisions they’re making (in terms of conversion).
But, hang on!
Have you ever thought about the page where your potential customers would land after watching the Google Ads?
It’s your landing page & that’s why optimizing your site’s landing page is crucial even before you decide to run tailored Google ads for beauty school.
Reasons for Landing Page Optimization
☑️Improved conversion rate
☑️Better Ad quality score
☑️Lower CPC
☑️Higher Ad position
☑️Improved ad rank
☑️Faster decisions made by prospects
☑️Enhanced brand trust
So, make sure that your landing page loads faster, is clean & simple to navigate, mobile-friendly, has brilliant visuals, & compelling content with clear CTAs to leverage the full benefits of your Google Ad campaigns & get the results that you desired the most.
But that’s not all!
There’s more that you need to consider (technical & practical aspects) before running tailored Google Ads for beauty school.
Leveraging Google Business Profile Alongside Ads
Optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) is crucial before you start running Google Ads for beauty school.
Why?
☑️Boosts your local SEO
☑️Enhances brand trust
☑️Improves brand credibility
☑️Increases ad clicks
☑️Improves ad relevance
☑️Helps boost brand presence online
☑️Makes it easier for local customers to find you
Now the question is how to optimize your GBP?
Here are Some Quick Tips & Strategies:
✅Display your GBP info in search ads
✅Integrate your authentic GBP data across multiple Google platforms
✅Showcase your star ratings from your GBP to build trust
So, the best way to make the most out of your GBP & amplify the effectiveness of Google Ads, is to leverage your local brand presence and adapt a combined approach of implementing organic brand growth strategies & paid advertising.
Now, before we discuss the most debated topic (which is the best Google Ads for beauty school strategy), let’s quickly summarize the best budgeting and bidding practices.
Budgeting and Bidding Strategies Our Experts Practice
Effective budgeting & bidding are crucial to channelize your ad resources most efficiently and avoid wasted spend.
However, this involves a thorough data analysis process, smart implementation of refined bidding strategies, & leveraging the true potentials of automation.
Proven Tips to Estimate Cost Per Lead (CPL) & Cost Per Enrollment (CPE)
☑️Determine the target number of enrolled students for specific programs/courses
☑️Calculate conversion rates at each stage of your marketing/conversion funnel
☑️Determine the target number of leads (in total) you need
☑️Decide on a budget-friendly CPL based on your expected Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) of an enrolled student & your gross marketing ad spend amount
✅Calculate CPL: Total Campaign cost/Number of leads generated
✅Calculate CPE: Total ad spend/number of student enrollments
But the real question is, should you opt for automated bidding or manual bidding strategies?
Here’s our honest answer!
Automated Vs. Manual Bidding on Google Ads for Beauty School
✔️Automated bidding is good when you’re planning to run large & scalable Google Ad campaigns with an aim to have at least 15 to 20 conversions per month because you need to be fast and efficient at the same time.
✔️Manual bidding is good when you want to run smaller Google ad campaigns, target new keywords, and focus on smaller niche-specific ad group testing because you want to spend a limited budget initially.
However, it’s always safer to start with manual bidding first and get better insights into trending techniques to place bids. Once you get the hang of it, it’s just a matter of time to opt for automated bidding.
Focus on Conversion Quality & Strategic Bidding
Also, allocate more budget to high-value campaigns or ad programs with higher enrollment goals.
Moreover, optimize your ad campaigns for deeper funnel conversions, try out new platforms with smaller budgets, refine your targeting & keyword bidding patterns depending on the outcome, traffic growth, brand reach, & user experience.
Now, it’s time for the ever-going debate!
Performance Max Vs. YouTube: Google Ads for Beauty Schools
Honestly, both of them are effective if you know when to implement and what to expect.
PMax
This goal-oriented campaign type helps you leverage the power of Google AI and run as well as manage tailored Google Ads for beauty school campaigns across all the Google platforms (YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps) in one go!
YouTube Ads
Dedicated YouTube ad campaigns help your brand reach a larger audience who search for related concepts, career options, & job opportunities.
The type of Google Ad campaigns you want to run for your beauty school depends largely on your goals, type of asset, & your preference for ad placements.
Now that you know almost everything to get started with running Google ads for beauty school, you’re already a step ahead in your journey.
But running campaigns alone won’t help you much unless you know how to track the outcomes and measure your results.
We’ve shared some steps that can help you set up your conversion tracking correctly so that you can optimize and scale up your ad campaigns accordingly.
Steps We Performed to Track Conversions
✔️Decide the type of actions first that matter (sign-ups/purchase/enrollment/form submission)
✔️Install the base Google tag (gtag.js) on every webpage to set first-party cookies
✔️Add event snippets for specific conversion events that tell the Google Tag to record every conversion detail
✔️Use Google Tag Assistant, Google Analytics, or Google Tag Manager to debug your setup, simplified deployment, & easy management for tracking codes
✔️Monitor your lead quality regularly & measure your lead volume in real time
✔️Enable auto-tagging in your Google Ads account to identify the number of ad clicks
✔️Modify your site’s lead forms to capture the Google Click Identifier
& store them in your CRM
✔️Create an Offline Conversion Action in Google Ads by doing this:
✔️Import your conversion data for future reference & studies
Here’s a quick diagram to explain the process of Google Tag Manager setup and deploy Google Analytics 4 Tag.
In case you’re still confused about the key metrics that you need to track for measuring your campaign success, here they are:
KPIs to Track for Evaluating Campaign Success
👉Sales Qualified Lead ratio
👉Close rate by channel
👉Customer Lifetime Value
👉Cost Per Lead
👉Pipeline Velocity
Make sure you import the conversion data either manually via a CSV file or through automated software or tools like Zapier and Salesforce. However, the data should include Google Click Identifiers, conversion names, & time.
So, one thing is pretty evident!
By optimizing your Google Ads for beauty school campaigns, you already stay a step ahead of your competitors. Because you’re not only monitoring the results in real time, but also actively looking for opportunities to scale up your marketing efforts & that alone is a winning sign!
So far, you’re doing great.
But, to ensure success with Google Ad campaigns, you must see the full picture, and without learning about the common mistakes, you can’t play the game safely!
Common Google Ads Mistakes Beauty Schools Make
Watch out before you make the same mistakes that most of the beauty schools often make.
We’ve worked with clients who previously worked with agencies that promised them faster results but didn’t deliver anything!
…and that’s mostly because of these mistakes:
❎Using broader key terms without a specific intent, like “beauty school”
❎Targeting poor keywords that are not even relevant to the industry
❎Not utilizing negative keywords the right way
❎Sending organic traffic only to the homepage or generic webpages
❎Not providing your leads with enough options for conversion
❎Failing to track conversion the right way at the right time
❎Not prioritizing remarketing or retargeting ads
❎Auto-applying all Google recommendations blindly
❎Overbroad targeting and wasted spend
❎Ignoring mobile and local search intent
❎Focusing on clicks instead of enrollments
So, What to Do Instead?
➡️Targeting generic and broader keyword terms will make it even more difficult for your newly designed website to cut through the intense niche competition.
➡️You should provide the users with multiple options if you want to convert them instead of ‘apply now” or “enroll now” because you can’t expect every lead to apply for the courses you’re offering right after visiting your site.
Instead, ask them to “download the course” or “learn more,” which will make them curious about your beauty school program.
➡️Most importantly, make sure your traffic visits the dedicated landing page first so that their needs are taken care of from the very beginning.
➡️Also, don’t ignore the leads who have already visited your website previously but did not take an action. Turn them into your most qualified customers by retargeting them.
That’s all about Google Ads for beauty school campaigns!
We’ve discussed almost everything you need to know to run effective campaigns that can literally take your promotional/marketing game to another level.
But, did you know?
Integrating your Google Ads with other marketing platforms/methods can create a more robust & effective strategy?
Integrating Google Ads with Other Marketing Channels
To make the online presence more powerful for your beauty school, consider aligning your Google Ads & SEO strategies.
✔️Maximizes your brand reach
✔️Helps you dominate SERPs effectively
✔️Drives more foot traffic
✔️Improves data consistency
✔️Enhances your ROIs
Not just that…
If you align your Google Ads with relevant social media marketing efforts, it can help you gain a significant competitive edge. You can reach a broader audience, resulting in increased brand awareness & conversion potential.
Google Ads Campaign Outcomes Vary…
But Google Ads for beauty school campaign outcomes may vary from time to time.
…because the results are never constant & depend on multiple factors like:
👉Keyword strategy
👉Keyword relevance
👉Ad quality
👉Landing page experience
👉Bidding strategies
👉Budget management
👉Ad extensions used
👉Market competition
👉Market demand
👉Seasonal trends
👉Services you offer
👉Your brand perception
That’s why you must learn when to expand or pause your campaigns to get the most out of them & reduce wasted ad spends!
What Our Experts Suggest?
Our Google Ads experts have 7+ years of experience in running dedicated ad campaigns for multiple niche industries. So far, we’ve worked with 750+ global brands, and during the process, we’ve uncovered some real truths!
When to Expand Your Campaigns?
➡️Your Cost Per Acquisition is below your target
➡️You’re already generating positive ROIs
➡️You’re already seeing improvements in terms of achieving your enrollment goals
➡️There are practical opportunities left to explore & scale up your campaigns
➡️Specific demographics/programs show high demand
But you should also know,
When to Pause/Reallocate Your Campaigns?
🟢CPA exceeds your pre-set limit
🟢Ap spend is higher
🟢Your lead quality is low
🟢Your enrollment goals are not being met
🟢Your ROAS is low
It’s always better to adjust your Google Ads framework depending on the enrollment & financial metrics. Your strategic actions and clear visualization can help you think one step ahead & help you save and channelize your resources in the right direction.
We Build Sustainable Google Ads for Beauty Schools
Running Google Ads campaigns strategically for your beauty school is easy…
But only if you’re consistent and you have knowledge about site optimization strategies.
Google Ads campaigns require strategic refinement, constant monitoring of the enrollment funnel, consistent efforts to maintain ad relevance & quality scores, and faster adaptation to market changes.
Things You Need to Focus on
If you want to dominate the beauty industry & relevant market share, improve your brand identity & credibility, and ensure running cost-efficient campaigns for your beauty school, you need to reach the right audience first!
You must start by defining clear goals, performing in-depth keyword research, optimizing your landing pages, & implementing effective conversion strategies.
Also, you need to learn to remarket and track real-time campaign results to get the best outcomes.
We’ll Handle It All for You!
Do these seem to be a lot?
Well, we understand that focusing on your core business & managing Google Ads for beauty school campaigns is not easy.
At Leelija, we offer dedicated Google Ads marketing services that are tailored according to your specific business goals so that your brand gets the Google spotlight right from the very beginning and you get sustainable conversions.
That’s all for today!
We hope you enjoyed reading the blog.
See you at the next one.
