Why This Case Study Exists
Hello Beautiful Signature Salon by Elisa is an established hair salon serving Missouri City and surrounding areas. The business already had real clients, real reviews, and a solid reputation.
The issue wasn’t quality.
It was inconsistent visibility.
Depending on where someone searched from, the salon might:
- Appear prominently in Google Maps
- Or barely show up at all
This inconsistency limited discovery from new, non-branded searches.
The Starting Point
(Before Ongoing SEO)
Before structured SEO work began, the salon’s visibility varied significantly across the service area.
This is common when:
- Google understands what a business does
- But hasn’t fully connected where and how broadly it should be shown
The profile wasn’t broken. It simply lacked reinforcement across location, services, and supporting signals.
The strategy focused on removing ambiguity for Google first, before attempting to increase volume or engagement.
This grid reflects how visibility varied by searcher location,
not fixed rankings.
How the Work Evolved Over Time
This wasn’t a single “flip the switch” moment.
Early work helped establish baseline map visibility and identify coverage gaps. As the engagement evolved, the focus shifted toward durability, not just rankings.
Phase 1: Foundation & GBP Consistency
From September 2024 to June 2025, the work included:
- Clear service structure added
- Manual, ongoing Google Business Profile updates
- Consistent uploads, real-world activity, and signal building
Phase 2: Website + Content Alignment
From July 2025 to present, the work has added:
- Total website rebuild to support local intent (July–September)
- Blog added with content aligned for core services
- Blog promotion through Google Business Profile, Facebook, and Instagram
Nothing automated. Nothing artificial.
The goal wasn’t to chase keywords. It was to reduce ambiguity for Google over time.
What Changed — And Why It Worked
Rather than focusing on rankings alone, the work focused on helping Google answer a simple question more confidently:
Is this a relevant, reliable option for someone searching nearby?
As clarity improved across services, location relevance, and ongoing activity, Google’s confidence increased and visibility followed.
This type of improvement compounds slowly, but it tends to hold.
Visibility & Engagement Trends (Aug–Dec 2025)
To avoid cherry-picking, performance was reviewed across five months and compared to the same period the prior year.
Year-over-year comparison (Aug–Dec 2025 vs. Aug–Dec 2024):
- Searches showing the business profile increased ~42%
- Profile views increased ~47%
- Direction requests increased ~39%
- Website clicks increased modestly (as expected since website work began more recently).
- Phone calls remained relatively stable
Most discovery came from non-branded searches, such as:
- “hair salons near me”
- “hair salon”
- “hair salon near me”
This indicates increased exposure to people who were not already searching for the business by name.
For local service businesses, increases in discovery searches and direction requests are often stronger indicators of buyer intent than raw website traffic alone. These metrics reflect visibility at the moment a customer is actively choosing where to go.
About Reviews
The salon already had an established review history before this work began.
Since then:
- Review count increased steadily
- Activity remained natural (no spikes or drops)
- Reviews stayed recent and consistent
Reviews were not solicited through campaigns or incentives.
Reviews followed increased visibility, which is how trust typically forms over time.
Review activity at a glance
At the start of ongoing SEO work (September 2024), the business had approximately
307 reviews. By December 2025, that number had grown to approximately
528, with activity remaining steady throughout the period.
Curious what this could look like for your business?
→ Request a Free Visibility Audit
What This Case Study Is Not Claiming
This case study does not claim:
- Every call or visit came from SEO
- Rankings guarantee bookings
- Results look identical for every business
This approach doesn’t eliminate competition. It removes unnecessary invisibility.
What Most Business Owners Actually Want
Most business owners don’t want:
- Technical jargon
- Long contracts
- To feel talked down to
They want clarity, consistency, and honesty.
This case study shows what happens when local SEO is treated as an ongoing system and not a one-time tactic.
Start With Clarity
If you’ve already received a visibility audit, you’ll recognize much of what’s shown here.
If you’d like a clear, practical view of how your business currently appears in local search,
you can request a free visibility audit below.
No obligation, no pressure.
This case study reflects one business, one market, and one set of circumstances.
Results vary based on competition, location, and execution.