Leverage Local SEO to Thrive Off Social Media: Kechia Taylor

Episode Summary: In this episode, I sit down with Keshia Taylor to uncover how local SEO can drive business success without relying on social media. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Introduction to Kechia Taylor:
   • Kechia is a permanent makeup artist, educator, and franchisor with over 20 years in the beauty industry.
   • She discusses her journey from being a brow expert to becoming a successful business owner and franchisor.
2. Thriving Without Social Media:
   • Kechia explains why she stepped away from social media and how local SEO has become her primary strategy for attracting clients.
   • She emphasizes that local SEO can be more effective than social media for reaching targeted audiences.
3. Local SEO Strategies:
   • Kechia shares her tips for optimizing Google Business Profile, including the importance of consistent information and using geotagged photos.
   • She highlights the power of platforms like Apple Maps and Yelp for local businesses.
4. Leveraging Pinterest for Local Businesses:
   • Kechia reveals how she uses Pinterest as a powerful tool for local SEO, creating boards that showcase her work and connect with local audiences.
   • She explains how Pinterest’s search ranking can outperform other social media platforms like Instagram, making it a valuable asset for brick-and-mortar businesses.
5. Handling Negative Reviews and Building a Positive Online Presence:
   • Kechia provides insights on responding to negative reviews.
   • She advises on how to maintain a positive online reputation by actively managing and responding to reviews on platforms like Google.

Connect with Kechia Taylor:

• Website: SEO For The Beauty Pro
• LinkedIn
• Brows and Co. Podcast

How To Quit Your Job and Start A Business (Limited Series Podcast)

How To Quit Your Job and Start A Business is a 20-episode limited podcast...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Chapters

• 0:00 Thriving Without Social Media: Keisha Taylor's Local SEO Secrets
• 0:42 Introduction and Guest Introduction
• 1:09 Understanding the Role of a Franchisor
• 1:55 Kechia's Journey in the Beauty Industry
• 2:08 The Power of Local SEO
• 2:17 Taking a Break from Social Media
• 4:19 Achievements Without Social Media
• 5:10 Starting in the Beauty Business
• 9:22 The Importance of SEO for Local Businesses
• 14:09 Leveraging Pinterest for Local SEO
• 15:12 [Ad] How To Quit Your Job and Start A Business (Limited Series Podcast)
• 15:51 (Cont.) Leveraging Pinterest for Local SEO
• 18:29 Optimizing Google Business Profile
• 23:14 Google Business Profile Tips
• 23:44 Leveraging Social Media Content
• 25:12 Handling Negative Reviews
• 29:02 Importance of Consistent Information
• 29:34 Website Management Advice
• 31:37 Franchise Website Strategies
• 33:41 Business Ownership Insights
• 34:58 Networking and Collaboration

Transcript

Thriving Without Social Media: Keisha Taylor's Local SEO Secrets

[00:00:00] Kechia Taylor: I always tell people your website is never gonna be finished. And no matter how much you might say, it's launched. I love it! It's never finished. Like you always have to go back and update. And most people, they aren't web or tech savvy. And so they never go back and update. Or they get a templated site.

[00:00:19] And just don't know how to use it. And that could be a downfall. 

[00:00:23] Crystal Waddell: Welcome to the third season of the Simple and Smart SEO Show. The podcast dedicated to empathy driven, brand building SEO. I'm your host, Crystal Waddell. I leverage my obsession with user experience to help business owners just like you optimize your website with confidence. 

[00:00:38] Thank you so much for being here.

[00:00:40] Let's jump into another great episode.

Introduction and Guest Introduction

[00:00:42] Crystal Waddell: Welcome back to the Simple and Smart SEO show podcast.

[00:00:45] I am here with the beautiful Kechia Taylor. Who I don't know. I just, I crossed paths with you digitally on LinkedIn. 

[00:00:53] And I saw that you are doing these amazing things as a business owner and, franchisor. Which is a new word that I learned from you. 

[00:01:02] Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business?

[00:01:06] and what exactly a franchisor is? 

Understanding the Role of a Franchisor

[00:01:09] Kechia Taylor: Okay, my name is Kechia Taylor. I'm founder, CEO and franchisor, a browsing company. 

[00:01:15] And a franchisor is someone that owns franchises. 

[00:01:19] So you, when you go purchase a franchise, the franchisor is the owner that you actually purchase from. So they're at the top of the food chain and then the franchisees is beneath.

[00:01:29] So pretty much like the employer and employee. I guess that's a better way of putting it. Except as a franchisee, it's your own business. It's not the franchisor's business. It's business to make sure that the franchisee's is operating according to a set of rules or laws. That was put in place to help the business succeed.

[00:01:51] So that's what a overall franchisor does. 

Kechia's Journey in the Beauty Industry

[00:01:55] Kechia Taylor: I am a permanent makeup artist. I'm an educator. I'm a trainer. 

[00:01:59] And I guess speaker, too. Podcastor. 

[00:02:03] And just been in the beauty industry for over 20 years. I'm growing my business. 

The Power of Local SEO

[00:02:08] Kechia Taylor: And one of the specialties I have, and this is how we probably cross paths, is local SEO.

[00:02:13] Crystal Waddell: One of the things I just heard you say in your podcast. 

Taking a Break from Social Media

[00:02:17] Crystal Waddell: Was that you took a break from social media. 

[00:02:20] And to hear that not only are you a business owner. But you are a seller to business owners. I think people probably will just sit up straighter to hear that.

[00:02:28] Like a business owner in 2024. Took time off. Yeah. Like from social media. I thought everybody had to be on social media. 

[00:02:36] Kechia Taylor: No. Actually I was very scared of not being on social media. But I really got tired of it. Like I really got sick of posting every day to social media. And I'm like, it has to be a better way.

[00:02:49] Just because you're a business don't mean you have to be on social media. 

[00:02:53] And luckily for me, I had that local SEO Side. 

[00:02:58] That organic strategy side. That I use with my website. Google business profile. 

[00:03:02] So for me, I didn't have to hustle on social media. Because that wasn't like my main way. Or not my top of funnel way of getting clients. 

[00:03:11] And I started to feel like It was just for visibility. 

[00:03:15] I started to feel like the clients were coming less and less from social media. 

[00:03:20] And more from organic traffic. 

[00:03:23] So immediately, right after...- it was New Year's Eve.

[00:03:27] That was the last post that I made to social media as far as my business. And personal. And I just enjoyed it so much. I was like, okay. I don't want to go back. 

[00:03:36] And I still haven't really... you I mean, besides LinkedIn, which I don't even consider LinkedIn a social media net because it's more of networking.

[00:03:45] So I'm on networking with LinkedIn, but as far as like Instagram. 

[00:03:51] I just haven't been able to bring myself to get back on it. And then the accomplishment of everything I was able to do. 

[00:03:59] Not being on social media was a big one for me. 

[00:04:01] Crystal Waddell: I didn't listen to the follow-up episode, so I'm not sure if it's out yet.

[00:04:05] And I didn't wanna steal the thunder from that follow-up episode. But I was just curious. I was like, could you share maybe one or two things that you did discover during this time being off the social media? Like maybe as a business owner and just, as even as a person. 

[00:04:18] Kechia Taylor: Yeah. 

Achievements Without Social Media

[00:04:19] Kechia Taylor: So as a business owner, I was able to launch my podcast, which was the Brows and co show.

[00:04:25] I was also able to take like this eight week, like business course within the County. And that was like a grant program. So that was huge. What else was I able to do? 

[00:04:35] Open, a new location. So that was big. And not saying that I wasn't Like I wasn't going to be able to do it without social media. 

[00:04:44] But it really helped that I wasn't worried about social media. 

[00:04:48] And the thing is i'm not even all that social. So for social media to bother me, I can't even believe like what it would do to people who is social, you know?

[00:04:57] So those are some things that I accomplished without being on social media 

[00:05:01] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, so i'm guessing you're saying like if you are super social and you're on it even more. You Like how much less time do you actually have to work on your business? Yes. Yeah. 

[00:05:10] Okay. 

Starting in the Beauty Business

[00:05:10] Crystal Waddell: So before we get into the SEO stuff, I definitely want to back up because I love hearing stories. Like other entrepreneur stories.

[00:05:18] So can you talk, can you just talk us through like how you got started in your business and what brought you to this point today? 

[00:05:25] Kechia Taylor: Sure. The SEO side or the beauty side? The beauty side. Okay. Let's start with the beauty side. In the beauty industry is, I used to do brows. Like I used to do brows a long time ago when I was a teenager. And I just became like extremely good at it.

[00:05:40] So then my friends would be like, Kechia, can you do my brows? And then I would have friends coming over the house, doing their brows. 

[00:05:46] Having a house full of people. And then my family member was like, can you do my brows? So I'm doing like all my aunt's brows. 

[00:05:52] And then my grandmother was like, Can you thread my brows?

[00:05:56] And I was like, I don't know how to thread. She's Yeah, some new technique like in India. So I was like, Okay, I don't know how to thread brows, but I'm going to learn. So I went to New Jersey. 

[00:06:05] I learned from someone of Indian heritage. To learn how to thread. Came back and started doing my grandmother brows.

[00:06:11] And then I just started taking brows to the next level. So once I became like employed, I worked in healthcare. So for a long time, actually. 

[00:06:19] And I used to do co workers brows in the patient rooms. 

[00:06:22] And I didn't charge or anything. I was doing brows in my car. 

[00:06:27] And I just became so good at it. That just became the niche for me.

[00:06:31] I'm gonna put it in short term. So after that, I opened up a spa. And I just became the brow person. And then I launched like my brow product line. 

[00:06:40] And here I am like doing permanent makeup, like years later, but my focus is still on eyebrows. So we do everything, but that is my main focus.

[00:06:49] Crystal Waddell: And so when you first started, you said as a teenager. So how long have you actually been in business? 

[00:06:55] Kechia Taylor: As browsing co has been in business for 10 years. And I've been in the beauty industry for over 20. So a long time. So I'm like one of the OGs in the game. 

[00:07:06] Crystal Waddell: Yeah. And I think that's interesting too, to know, because if one would, if I looked at you, I would think that you're much, much younger than I am.

[00:07:12] And a lot of people think. I'm a lot younger than I am. And you don't have to tell your age, but I will say that I'm 43. A lot of people think that I'm younger than that. 

[00:07:20] Which is, to my benefit and probably yours as well. 

[00:07:23] Because as an OG, you probably know a few things that maybe some people don't even realize that, you know, which is great.

[00:07:27] But it's just nice to hear the story because it's like, man, did this just happen last year? 

[00:07:33] I used to be an athlete. And so for years I wasn't an athlete that was, super girly or whatever. I just, Threw my hair up in a ponytail, went wherever I went. For decades.

[00:07:42] And it wasn't until about three years ago when I hit my forties that I started getting interested in makeup. And that was probably another reason why I was, attracted to your profile because I thought, Oh, this is so neat. I was getting in eyebrows and all that type of stuff. 

[00:07:55] And so to see a business owner in the beauty industry was just, it was great to get a look behind the scenes. But this whole world is new to me. And I just love exploring it.

[00:08:04] And it seems like it, it just started, but it's no, it's been around for a long time. 

[00:08:08] Kechia Taylor: Yeah, it's been around. I always say I've been doing brows before keeping up with the Kardashians. So a very long time. 

[00:08:15] Because the Kardashians has made it a hit, but I was doing it way back when, before all of that. So natural is always in.

[00:08:22] And I'm going to tell you that. So your makeup looks beautiful. Natural. Is always. A plus. 

[00:08:27] Crystal Waddell: Thank you for that. 

[00:08:28] I just love that you took this skill and then you seem to have. Like a knack for listening to your customer. 

[00:08:35] Which seems to me like probably one of the driving forces behind your success. 

[00:08:39] Because even before you were getting paid, people were asking you questions. 

[00:08:42] Like your grandmother. Hearing about threading. And then you taking the initiative to go and learn directly from like, the culture.

[00:08:50] That did it. I'm like, I just think that's beautiful. 

[00:08:52] Kechia Taylor: Oh, thank you. Oh my god. It was like Taking the train to New York. And getting on two buses to go to New Jersey. I was totally lost like out there in the streets. And guess what? It was no cell phones! It was no cell phones. 

[00:09:05] Crystal Waddell: Wow. Yeah. So I and I just, I think that says a lot about you too.

[00:09:08] Like you, I, and I get this, it's you want to be the best. You want to learn from the best. It's like, don't tell me about it. I want to learn from the best who did it first. So kudos to you. That's really special. 

[00:09:19] Kechia Taylor: Thank you. 

[00:09:20] Thank you. It's exciting. 

The Importance of SEO for Local Businesses

[00:09:22] Crystal Waddell: Okay, so. As we're talking about and thinking about like business profiles and SEO. How did you learn about SEO? Where did that come into play? 

[00:09:31] Kechia Taylor: And that's the funny thing. That's like a whole different side of me that.

[00:09:35] A lot of people don't know about. 

[00:09:37] But my, my degree is in graphic design. So building websites and doing all of that stuff. You get hip to SEO, like on the backend. 

[00:09:45] So that's how I learned how to do SEO. 

[00:09:47] But I didn't start doing local SEO until like my business opened. Until I opened a brick and mortar.

[00:09:54] Then that's when I started doing local SEO. Now I like regular SEO. 

[00:09:58] But it is complicated. I like local SEO better. 

[00:10:01] So then I started helping beauty business owners with local SEO. Because I feel like you're trying to attract everybody in the U S. When you only need to attract people within the first, like 10 to 15 miles of your business.

[00:10:16] So that's why I said it's a little bit. It's not a little bit easier. It's definitely a lot easier. But that's how I got started with SEO. It's just my background in graphic design. 

[00:10:25] Crystal Waddell: Awesome. Is that how you were able to stay successful off of social media? Obviously you'd already built up a brand. And clientele, and probably referrals, and all that type of stuff, but do you feel like it was.

[00:10:36] Having that kind of local search presence, it made it possible? 

[00:10:40] Kechia Taylor: Yes, definitely. So being present in local searches and having those location pages like on your website. And being mobile optimized. 

[00:10:49] Things that people just don't think about and not just being on Google. Apple Maps is another one, like people aren't really hip to Apple Maps for, business.

[00:10:59] They're all up, yeah girl, go ahead and put that down. But, people aren't really hip that, a lot of people use Apple Maps. Everybody don't use Google Maps. So you gotta be present on both. 

[00:11:10] And Yeah, like the love for local has become overpowering, I guess for me. 

[00:11:16] And that's how I was able and still able to survive and not be on social media.

[00:11:21] Crystal Waddell: Okay, so you're right. We have to stop for a second and have a moment for Apple Maps. Because is this a different place of search than Google maps? Like they don't come from the same set of data. 

[00:11:33] Kechia Taylor: No, it doesn't. 

[00:11:35] And the thing with Apple maps, if you're a brick and mortar. And like I said, I specialize in beauty businesses. But I'm, sure that it works for other local businesses as well. 

[00:11:44] But Apple maps pull your reviews from Yelp. And also, if you have a booking platform hooked up as a third party to Apple Maps, it pulls your reviews from that booking platform. 

[00:11:58] So with me, my booking platform is Vegaro. And Vegaro is connected to my Apple Maps. So it's pulling in all of my reviews from Vegaro. 

[00:12:08] So when you are looking for directions, you know how you're on your phone and you're looking for directions.

[00:12:13] Some people use Google maps. Some people use Apple maps. And more than likely a lot of people with iPhones are using Apple maps. 

[00:12:20] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, because you have to install the Google maps. app, whereas the Apple maps is 

[00:12:25] Kechia Taylor: already there. Yes. 

[00:12:27] Crystal Waddell: Oh my goodness. Okay. So I knew that about Yelp. I'd forgotten. So do you recommend that people have a Yelp listing as well? 

[00:12:34] Kechia Taylor: I do. Now, I don't recommend that you do ads with Yelp. Yelp has gotten like a bad reputation, like over the years. 

[00:12:42] But it's people that use Yelp. And you have to be present in front of those people. So I do recommend having a Yelp. Especially if you're a restaurant or beauty business. Or other brick and mortars. 

[00:12:55] Definitely use Yelp because first, it has high domain authority.

[00:12:59] So number one, when people are searching for your business, Yelp is going to come up in search. Probably before your business domain address. 

[00:13:06] So definitely being present on Yelp. It's a plus. It's a plus. 

[00:13:10] They collect the reviews, why not? 

[00:13:12] Crystal Waddell: So what about when you have reviews in multiple places?

[00:13:16] Is there a way to aggregate that? Or is it just there everywhere? 

[00:13:21] Kechia Taylor: It's just there everywhere. I guess maybe. One day AI will figure this one out. 

[00:13:27] But as far as like right now, the king of the reviews is Google. 

[00:13:32] So all your reviews, try to get all your reviews on Google. That's the best thing that I can sell like any business. Because Google is the number one search engine.

[00:13:42] And then YouTube. And then we're not even going to talk about Pinterest. We, maybe we can talk about it. Okay. That's another one. It's a big one. That a lot of people just even for brick and mortar or location businesses, they should be on Pinterest. I'll put it like that. 

[00:13:56] But I would get on Pinterest before Instagram actually.

[00:14:00] Crystal Waddell: Oh, my gosh. I love this conversation because Pinterest is my number one traffic driver of a platform. But I'm an online, e commerce business. Huh. 

Leveraging Pinterest for Local SEO

[00:14:09] Crystal Waddell: So tell me more about why brick and mortar should be on Pinterest. Because I've never heard of brick and mortar SEO advocate talk about Pinterest.

[00:14:18] Kechia Taylor: Okay. So Google is first. Apple is second and Pinterest is third for me as a driver. Now I do blog.

[00:14:26] And that's another thing that you should be doing. If you're a local business. Is blogging. It's not dead. It's definitely not dead. But for me, Pinterest is used as a portfolio piece.

[00:14:37] As you would to Instagram, you would post your before and afters to Instagram or promote your courses. Or whatever that you're doing in your brick and mortar. Just have a board and do it on Pinterest. 

[00:14:49] Cause again, Pinterest search is going to come up before Facebook and Instagram, actually.

[00:14:54] When you search a business name is Facebook and Instagram is going to be underneath Pinterest.

[00:14:59] Pinterest is going to be ahead of that one. So for me, local boards, like having local boards, if you have like favorite restaurants in your area. Like use like your local network to pull traffic into your local business. 

[00:15:13] Crystal Waddell: Okay, I have to stay here for just a second. So on this local board, you're saying pin other restaurants or other businesses or information about other people local to you.

[00:15:22] And what does that look like in terms of pins? 

[00:15:25] Kechia Taylor: Yes. So you might want to say, okay, best restaurants in. Sam Largo, Maryland or Crofton, Maryland. That's gonna pull that local like that local traffic into your board.. Or best hair salons. Like I'm a brow salon, so I don't do hair. We do permanent makeup.

[00:15:43] We do skin care. You could say best hair stylists in The Crofton, Maryland area. You're pulling in local people. And then you're using your keywords to build that board. And that's another, strategy, but you should be doing your keyword research as well. 

[00:15:59] Crystal Waddell: Oh, my goodness.

[00:16:00] So for the local businesses that I work with in my small group, I have this small group called the SEO squad. We meet every week and talk about our businesses. 

[00:16:07] And, Pinterest for e commerce or service providers who can work with anybody anywhere. It's been a no brainer for sure. I've had a little bit more difficulty, Understanding and sharing the value for local business.

[00:16:19] It's okay, I really think you have to have a presence. I really think you have to have a profile. But you are the first one that has laid out a strategy for Pinterest for local business. 

[00:16:28] Kechia Taylor: Because I'm going to tell you like everybody who teaches like SEO or everything I've ever known. 

[00:16:35] They would teach it as an online business, e commerce. Coaches and consultants.

[00:16:39] It's but I'm brick and mortar. 

[00:16:41] What do I do? No one ever teaches that side of the business. And I guess for me, it's easy because I am a location based brick and mortar. 

[00:16:49] So I'm not just saying it, like I'm actually doing it and using it in my business. But Pinterest is definitely one of my favorites. And actually having like I said, using it for a portfolio.

[00:17:01] If you're a beauty business, you could say, okay you can have your employee name, say, me. Kechia work by Kechia. And everything that. I do is underneath that board, or you can have another employee. They have a board dedicated to their work. So it's not just local stuff. It's also viewing everybody's portfolio.

[00:17:22] Cause for me, like posting on Instagram, I'm trying to cram everybody in. And tag everybody. Whereas if you just have a board on Pinterest and you just SEO the mess out of it, then you don't even have to worry about that. Like you're drawing in local traffic. 

[00:17:40] Crystal Waddell: Oh, that is so brilliant. So brilliant. I cannot wait.

[00:17:44] I get it. Oh my gosh. We have a meeting tomorrow and I cannot wait to talk. Oh yes. Put them to work. Yes. That's awesome. Okay. 

Optimizing Google Business Profile

[00:17:51] Crystal Waddell: So I just pulled up your Google business profile. Because I'm also very interested in how you use that. 

[00:17:57] And I was wondering if you could just walk us through like your workflow for, updating it? Or, why you started it? How you started it? Just any. Any information on why it's important to use it. 

[00:18:08] Kechia Taylor: Yes. So you should be using your Google Business profile as a landing page. It should be one of your top of funnels. If you are a local business. 

[00:18:18] Google is always first. Like I said, then it's YouTube. But I use my Google business profile as top of funnel.

[00:18:25] Now in my profile, I don't have, I have a landing page. I don't have my website in a profile because to me, like my website. I love it. It's good, but it can be confusing because I'm talking about training. I'm talking about franchising. I'm talking about services. Whereas if you just click on the link in my Google business profile. I'm just talking about the services and to make it easier, you can just book a consultation.

[00:18:51] So I feel like. Using it as a top of funnel landing page is the best thing for any local business. 

[00:18:57] And pulling like, the reviews. Now, I have a lot of reviews, but It's across the web. 

[00:19:04] So it is very hard to get people to leave reviews. You have to ask for everything, maybe even their kidney to get a review.

[00:19:11] So it's hard to get local reviews. So you got to keep texting and emailing clients to leave reviews. And still they may be like, "Oh, I love my service!" But never leave a review. 

[00:19:20] You want to definitely put your other social media links in your Google business profile, because now they allow that. At first they didn't allow that.

[00:19:27] And also make it easier for people to book with you from your Google business profile. Most booking systems can hook up with your Google business profile. Like I know they have the basic ones. Like if you're not a local business, if you're online business. 

[00:19:42] I believe like they have acuity and stuff.

[00:19:44] I'm not for sure. But for a beauty business, before you even pick your booking platform, you need to make sure it connects with Google. Cause just to have that book online, button is important. Same with Apple Maps. You want to make sure that booking is third party integrated with Apple Maps. It will just make your life easier.

[00:20:03] And also doing your post updates. You have to post. You have to post to stay in Google algorithm. And so these posts are like mini blogs. Like I have mine's on autopilot. So I set mine's up like through a different platform. I set mine's up as autopilot. So it just automatically posts.

[00:20:22] And sometimes when things are not chaotic. Like I'll go on my phone and post myself. And the most important part is posting from your phone. 

[00:20:32] Posting photos from your phone because of the geotags. Oh, okay. So let me explain that for, okay, let me explain that for local business owners.

[00:20:44] So if you are a local business and you're telling Google that you want a traffic in your local radius. And you're posting photos to your Google business profile, but it's photos that you took saying 30 miles outside of your local business. Then you could be deemed not relevant to search. You know what I'm saying?

[00:21:04] So for my business, every picture that I take inside of my business is posted on my Google business profile. Because of the geotag is saying it's at that location. So I'm relevant in Google's local search. 

[00:21:18] Crystal Waddell: Is there a way to switch those tags? Say a customer shares an image with you and it's Like from a different state.

[00:21:25] Kechia Taylor: I think you can put it into some kind of map coordinate, but I'm not for sure. I never had to do that. Okay. But it's best to tell that customer to leave a review and post the picture with that review. 

[00:21:39] Crystal Waddell: Okay. Yeah. That's a really, that's really great feedback because sometimes I post pictures from say, my product photographer 

[00:21:46] who is in Michigan. 

[00:21:48] Which, I do serve, my service area encompasses the entire United States.

[00:21:52] So hopefully that's not a big deal. But whatever information's with his photos goes with them. 

[00:21:57] Kechia Taylor: So another thing you can do is when you post your picture to your Google business profile, you have that pencil icon. So you can always put the state in it like the city state and maybe zip code. 

[00:22:08] Do that and that will pull it in. Okay, as well. 

[00:22:12] Crystal Waddell: That's so interesting. I had no idea. I had no idea. Okay. I noticed that you have products listed on yours and you have posts. Posts and updates, they're different, right? 

[00:22:22] Kechia Taylor: No, they're the same. Okay.

[00:22:23] So when you click on the profile to do updates, you can either do like a promotion is special. But they still come up as posts. 

[00:22:31] Crystal Waddell: Okay. 

[00:22:32] All right. And do you recommend using the promotions tab? 

Google Business Profile Tips

[00:22:36] Kechia Taylor: I recommend everything that they offer. They have taken away a couple of things. Or they're going away this month like chat. And keeping up with like your phone call log.

[00:22:46] So a few things are going away. But I highly recommend. Doing Google Posts at least three times a week. It only takes a few minutes. Or you can go on Canva, create something. A template or something that you can use and just, do posts, different posts doing those different if you want it to look pretty.

[00:23:06] Crystal Waddell: Yeah. 

Leveraging Social Media Content

[00:23:06] Crystal Waddell: And I, so many people start with social media and they are like, bang their head against the wall, posting all the time to social media. 

[00:23:12] And I'm like, okay, at the very least. Why don't you take those social media images and bring them over to your Google business profile? 

[00:23:20] Kechia Taylor: Exactly. It will do you much more like in the terms of search.

[00:23:25] And even if you do video like you can upload video. It's not as robust as a YouTube like the video over there at Google. But it does show up in search. 

[00:23:36] So that's another thing. If you click on images you're going to see these videos just rolling nonstop. So if you're already doing video over an Instagram and Tik TOK. 

[00:23:47] Now they can't have the watermark of Instagram and Tic Tac.

[00:23:51] No, no platform likes that. I don't know what people do, sometime, but no platform likes the watermark. Of another platform. So if you can just record it and do the original video. Cause actually Google won't even let you upload it from your phone. When you go to upload from your phone, Google will, this is funny, it will give you an option.

[00:24:11] You're like, no, I took that photo. It's there. But Google won't even give you the option to post that photo. You won't even see it on your list to post or on a gallery to post it. If it has link from Tik Tok it won't even let you post it anyway. 

[00:24:25] Crystal Waddell: Oh, wow. 

[00:24:26] Yeah. I have a feeling they're going to get that much more territorial with everything that's going on right now.

[00:24:31] Kechia Taylor: For sure. So adopt it early. 

[00:24:33] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, exactly. 

Handling Negative Reviews

[00:24:34] Crystal Waddell: Now, the other thing I wanted to mention, I think my original fear with posting on my Google business profile, which I've since somewhat overcome. But my original fear was like reviews on Google. And when they're not Good. Like, how do you deal with a bad review?

[00:24:49] Because it's it's there forever, right? 

[00:24:51] Kechia Taylor: Yes. And Google will never take it off. They will never take it off. I've had bad reviews, and not that I did a bad service. 

[00:24:59] But Maybe someone called and the time has said that we were open. So that's another thing. You got to make sure that your time is correct.

[00:25:08] And so someone would be like, Oh I went there and they wasn't open. 

[00:25:11] And so that could be a negative review. And Google will tell you that they have a right, they have a right to leave their opinion about your business. But don't be afraid of it. If you do get a negative review, then just respond back, 

[00:25:22] Always address them by their first name. And it's the tone of the voice that people are reading.

[00:25:29] And I always recommend, as busy as us business owners are, respond to your reviews. Don't get an automated, or a chat, or even like an agency. It's just not, it don't even look like someone really thought about it. So another thing that could get you in search, of course, reviews is one of those things that Google say, Okay, we're looking at this.

[00:25:54] But when you respond back to the review with their first name. Hi, Kechia, thanks for visiting such and such in this location. Thanks for visiting Brows and Company in Gambrills, Maryland. I'm tagging that location in my response. So always respond, whether it's negative or positive.

[00:26:12] Always respond and respond immediately if you can. But at least within 24 hours. Or it becomes like irrelevant. Okay. 

[00:26:20] Crystal Waddell: So what if say you respond quickly and you're angry and you, your tone of voice is a little rough. Can you go back and edit your response? Or is that forever as well? 

[00:26:30] Kechia Taylor: I think you can edit.

[00:26:32] I'm not for sure. I never had to go back and edit. And I understand because I had those moments. Because you're upset. That someone left a bad review about your company. So just take a deep breath before you write it. And think about what you write. Because think about another customer is going to be reading that response.

[00:26:49] Crystal Waddell: Yeah that's what I've noticed even with my Etsy shop. It's like for the most part, I've gotten great reviews.

[00:26:55] One person once who I had sent two boxes, but instead of putting box one of two, I just, sent them. So she got the first box and I make giant letters and numbers.

[00:27:05] And so the first box was small, it was what the numbers sit in or, helps them stand. 

[00:27:11] And so her first response was to email me and chat with me and all these different things, like through my website, even though she bought on Etsy. I didn't see it. 

[00:27:21] And then she, put this beware one star fraud.

[00:27:25] I was like, wow. Oh my gosh. Oh my God. She went from like crazy. Yeah. Zero to 100. And that's the thing I was like, I realized over time I was like. When you deal with people like that, they may be in a, just a state of mind, something in their world is falling apart and you happen to be there and, take the brunt of it or whatever.

[00:27:42] But at the end of the day, when other customers, like you say, scroll through those reviews, I don't think they're looking for perfection, but they do want to know how you respond when things aren't perfect.

[00:27:53] And it's Her ugliness, I could have elevated that with my ugliness. But that's going to cost me more customers in the future.

[00:28:00] Kechia Taylor: And people love reading negative stuff. Like it's like a reality TV. Like people love like, Oh, she said this, she said that. But no one expects for a business to be perfect. 

[00:28:11] We've all looked at bad reviews and still order something from Amazon. It's just when you have a slew of bad reviews.

[00:28:18] So for each bad review, you have to have 10 good reviews. And you want to bury that 

[00:28:23] bad review. 

Importance of Consistent Information

[00:28:24] Crystal Waddell: And like you said, it can also give you feedback. Like a brick and mortar with hours that are inconsistent. Obviously, that's something you want to fix. 

[00:28:31] For my eCommerce store, people were saying, Hey, you're showing painted photo props in the pictures, but when I get it, it's not painted.

[00:28:38] I feel duped, it's Oh okay. That's good. Let's really make that clear. So the feedback. Although sometimes it doesn't feel good. It actually can help your business get better, too.

[00:28:48] Kechia Taylor: Yes. And sometimes like I feel business owners, even me. We're all over the place sometimes.

[00:28:53] And sometimes we don't update our website. 

Website Management Advice

[00:28:56] Kechia Taylor: I always tell people your website is never gonna be finished. And no matter how much you might say, it's launched. I love it! It's never finished. Like you always have to go back and update. And most people, they aren't web or tech savvy. And so they never go back and update. Or they get a templated site.

[00:29:15] And just don't know how to use it. And that could be a downfall. And so you're between your website and your local profiles. It could be some inconsistency. Down to maybe abbreviate in. Road as RD, but on your website, you have road totally spelled out. 

[00:29:33] Hey, Google says that address is not matching.

[00:29:37] Yeah, I feel like it's a lot of inconsistencies with people profiles attached to their website. So your website is your home. And everything else supports it. So just try to update everything that make sure that it matches. 

[00:29:50] Like I said, Google is king, so everything has to match from Google. If Google abbreviated road, then in your website, abbreviate road.

[00:29:59] Crystal Waddell: Oh, that is such great advice just to know which one is the better one to choose. Thank you for that. No, no worries. It's hierarchy. It's Google. 

[00:30:06] And speaking of websites, this is the perfect time for me to talk about Wix Studio. 

[00:30:11] Kechia Taylor: Yes. Let's hear it.

[00:30:13] Crystal Waddell: Digital marketers, this one's for you. I've got 30 seconds to tell you about Wix studio, the web platform for agencies and enterprises. So here are a few things you can do in 30 seconds or less when you manage projects on Wix Studio. Work in sync with your team on one canvas, 

[00:30:29] Reuse templates, widgets and sections across sites, create a client kit for seamless handovers, and leverage best in class SEO defaults across all your Wix sites.

[00:30:40] Time's up, but the list keeps going. Step into Wix Studio to see more.

[00:30:44] I think I have a couple follow up questions about websites and then I think i'm Like done picking your brain today, although I can talk to you for a year. 

[00:30:50] Kechia Taylor: No problem.

[00:30:51] I know we can talk all day about SEO and especially Pinterest. I would love to go more in depth with Pinterest. But yeah, go ahead and ask. I'm all for it. 

Franchise Website Strategies

[00:30:59] Crystal Waddell: The first thing is about websites. Like when people are, franchising or become franchisees or you're advising them. 

[00:31:07] Do you have a preferred website vendor that you use? Or that you recommend to them?

[00:31:12] Kechia Taylor: For franchisees, their website, they get location pages off of the main website. So my website is the hub, which is the main page. And then the franchisees location will get a location page. So everything feeds off of the main website. And that's how we do it. I don't know about other people, but that's how we do it.

[00:31:32] So just essentially. Whatever city and state you're in, you'll have a location page because all the services and everything is the same. 

[00:31:41] And then in your location page, when they book, it goes to your booking page, that business, that franchisees booking page. 

[00:31:48] Crystal Waddell: Okay. So that makes more sense. To me now as well, because I was wondering about the location pages and how that fit into the SEO strategy.

[00:31:56] But it makes sense when you have, a head brand and then multiple locations, in multiple cities or whatever. 

[00:32:02] Kechia Taylor: Yeah. So it's just, you have the location tab and then underneath you just have all of your locations. Now, each location have to have their own digital footprint. 

[00:32:12] So they have to have their own Google business profile, their own Facebook, their own LinkedIn. Because it's their business.

[00:32:18] They're just a location. 

[00:32:20] Crystal Waddell: And then as a franchisor, do you handle the SEO for that site? Or do they, they have control over their own page? 

[00:32:27] Kechia Taylor: We handle the SEO for the main site and the location page. So they never have to worry about marketing or SEO. That's a part of their fees.

[00:32:35] Like their monthly fees is the marketing, the training, the education. So they don't have to go in and do any of that. 

[00:32:42] Crystal Waddell: Okay. 

[00:32:43] So I totally lied. Now I have another question about that, because you had mentioned it in your podcast. About how, if you're, An amazing artist, if you will, you may not have business acumen, you may not have business training or business skills.

[00:32:56] So how does one take like this amazing skill set that they have and turn it into a business? 

[00:33:02] Kechia Taylor: Okay. 

Business Ownership Insights

[00:33:03] Kechia Taylor: So you have to want to be in business. So for the industry that I'm in, you can either go two ways. You can work for someone, or you can go into a business. Or actually, or you can get a franchise.

[00:33:14] So it's. Three avenues. Sometimes being a business owner may not be the right direction for you. 

[00:33:20] Because you have your ups and downs, your ins and outs. You have to hire and fire like. It doesn't mean that just because you want to be in business, that it's a great idea.

[00:33:30] So I don't promote everybody to be in business. Because some people have to work. What are we going to do if, it wasn't people out here working? 

[00:33:38] Everybody can't be a business owner. But I would say. That if you do go the business route, then make sure that you're educated on business things. 

[00:33:49] Make sure that you're educated on what structure to choose for your business, that's a big one.

[00:33:54] Make sure that you're educated on marketing. Organic strategies first. 

[00:33:59] Because if you don't have the cashflow coming in, why are you paying for ads when you really don't understand the organic side? 

[00:34:05] So with me, I did not run ads. I still don't run ads. I don't run ads. Like ads is not my strategy.

[00:34:11] Crystal Waddell: That's amazing. 

[00:34:11] Kechia Taylor: SEO is. And people. And partners. Your community. And that's the best thing about being local. 

[00:34:17] Those become your partners, your word of mouth. 

[00:34:19] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, absolutely. 

Networking and Collaboration

[00:34:20] Crystal Waddell: It took me a long time to realize that collaborating with other people, even just through this podcast. 

[00:34:25] Like I would have never met you. 

[00:34:27] And it's just been such a great opportunity to learn from other people and to network and to just, see how we can benefit each other or, whatever.

[00:34:36] Networking is such a powerful thing. And I feel like, especially in the digital age, so many business owners feel like they need to go at it alone. 

[00:34:44] Kechia Taylor: Yes, for sure. That's why I like LinkedIn. Because I actually saw you on Kate Ahl's page. 

[00:34:51] Because I've been a fan of hers for years. She's like the OG, like when it comes to Pinterest. 

[00:34:55] Like, I've been a fan of her for a long, since she came out like a long time.

[00:35:00] And so I saw you on her page, you guys. And I was like, okay, yeah, that was good. 

[00:35:06] Crystal Waddell: Yeah. I was excited when she came on. I was really grateful because she had taught me so much. Because like I said, Pinterest was the number one. Traffic driver from day one, and I was like, huh. And so of course she's, the one that has the Pinterest advice out there.

[00:35:20] It was like the first one. So yeah, it's just, it's amazing, and again, I would have never, had a chance to sit down and have a conversation with her without this podcast. 

[00:35:28] Without saying, I want to go and just learn and connect with people. But. And for so long in my business, I was just head down working all the time.

[00:35:37] And it felt like it was like social media, it's I can stay busy doing these things. Then my business is going to grow. 

[00:35:44] But not doing other, better things. Connecting and, investing in SEO and that type of stuff. That was going to have a bigger impact.

[00:35:51] Kechia Taylor: Yes, for sure. And for the local business owners, I'm gonna give a tip because I see so many people miss this one. And it's so easy, like on your website. Like if you're a local business owner and you're uploading photos. Especially stock, but stock photos, which I don't believe in. I don't believe in stock, some people have to use it.

[00:36:12] It's to name your images according to what you do in the city and state. So that's going to boost you up in search as well. 

[00:36:19] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, that's a great tip. Okay. So tell us a little bit about like how people could work with you. 

[00:36:24] Is it only brows and esthetician type women or men or whoever that can work with you? Or do you work with other small business owners?

[00:36:33] Kechia Taylor: My specialty is local beauty businesses. Now I can advise as someone owned like a roofing business, but I'm that girl that needs everything to be pretty and cute and stuff like that. 

[00:36:44] But I can still advise them. But me, my specialty is beauty businesses and they can work with me.

[00:36:49] So I have a program called SEO For The Beauty Pro. 

[00:36:52] And it's a program for three months. And you just get in and it's done for you. But you still have to do some things like gather up your stuff. 

[00:37:01] I'm not a wizard, I can't, but yeah, and you have the website, but it's bogaro. com. I'm one of their business coaches, so I have to keep their domain. But it's https://vagaro.com/seofortheBeautyPro. Okay. 

[00:37:15] Crystal Waddell: Kechia, you are amazing and so much fun to talk to. I hope this isn't our last conversation. 

[00:37:20] But I will definitely link to all of those things and just know that you have a super fan here in North Carolina.

[00:37:27] And I meant it when I said I wanted to come up and see you. So that is a goal for 2024 slash 2025. 

[00:37:34] Kechia Taylor: Okay. Sounds good. And thank you again for having me on your podcast and I look forward to doing, many more things with you. Yeah. 

[00:37:41] Awesome. And I'll link to Kechia's podcast in the show notes as well.

[00:37:45] So for now we'll sign off, but I will see you next time. 

[00:37:49] All right. Bye. 

[00:37:50] ​