Sample SEO Playbook

The Tier 1 SEO Playbook is a document delivered to your salon after the SalonRank team audits your real website and local presence. It contains five parts:

• A real website audit — what's working, what's missing, and what to fix first, each finding with a severity and a concrete fix.
• A validated local keyword set — the searches your next clients actually type, organized by intent and priority, marked as hypotheses to validate rather than claims.
• A 30/60/90-day action plan — owner-doable steps in order of impact.
• A Google Business Profile plan — the exact checklist for claiming and completing the listing that drives local rankings.
• Content briefs — a service page and blog topics, each with a working title, outline, and target keywords.

A real playbook reports what the SalonRank team actually observed on your site and on Google, with screenshots and raw evidence. The example rows below show the shapes of findings a typical small-salon audit surfaces — the details in your playbook will be about your site.

Example findings shown as generic shapes — every real playbook is different because every site is different. Nothing above is copied from any real client's audit.

Illustrative example. The real playbook starts from your salon's actual city, neighborhoods, and offered services. To show the shape of the deliverable, imagine a fictional salon called “Willow & Vine” in a fictional city — call it “Fairfield”. Its keyword set would look like this:

Money intent (book-a-visit searches)

• hair salon Fairfield — core money term
• balayage Fairfield
• hair colorist Fairfield
• highlights Fairfield
• haircut Fairfield
• keratin treatment Fairfield — only if the salon offers it
• hair salon near me — captured via the Google listing, not a page

Research intent (people deciding, later convert)

• best hair salon in Fairfield
• balayage vs highlights — what's the difference
• how much does balayage cost in Fairfield
• gray blending vs full color coverage

Brand intent (people who already know the salon)

• Willow & Vine Salon
• Willow & Vine Salon Fairfield

The real playbook prioritizes these as hypotheses to validate (via Google Search Console once live, Google Keyword Planner ranges, and which queries actually bring profile views) — never as claims of current rankings. It also notes where a keyword needs a real service behind it before being targeted.

Days 1–30 — Foundation (highest ROI, lowest effort)

1. Claim or create the Google Business Profile with your exact name, address, and phone — verification takes 1–2 weeks, so start now.
2. Make your phone number and hours consistent everywhere: site footer, contact page, schema, and the Google listing.
3. Add the missing schema your audit flagged (code provided).
4. Add 5–10 real photos to your site and take 10 for the Google listing (work shots, the studio, you).
5. Set up Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.

Days 31–60 — Content & consistency

1. Publish 2 blog posts from the content briefs.
2. Write the service page your audit found missing, and link it from your services menu.
3. Ask 3–5 happy recent clients for a Google review; prepare a response template.
4. Check your name/address/phone across Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, and directories; correct mismatches.

Days 61–90 — Momentum

1. Publish 2 more blog posts, each linked to a service page.
2. Start a monthly photo cadence on the site and the listing.
3. Post to the Google listing 2–3 times a month with real offers and seasonal reminders.
4. Review the first honest evidence — Search Console clicks and impressions, listing views — and decide which keywords to double down on.

The real plan is a personalized checklist. In shape, it covers:

• Claim/verify — google.com/business; you complete the final verification step (phone or postcard). SalonRank never claims to create or verify profiles automatically.
• Business name — exactly your real name, no keyword stuffing (Google policy).
• Primary category — Hair salon; secondary categories only for services you truly offer.
• Address, phone, hours — exact matches to your website and schema.
• Description — rewritten in your site's voice, with your services and the areas you serve.
• Services list — each service with a description, prices optional.
• Photos cadence — 10 on day one, then 4–8 new each month.
• Posts — 2–3 per month, only real offers, never fake urgency.
• Q&A — pre-seeded with real questions answered truthfully.
• Review responses — reply to every review within 3–5 days; take complaints to a private channel.

Service page brief (example)

Smoothing & keratin treatments in [Your City] — working title: “Smoothing Treatments in [Your City]: Straighter, Easier Hair”

• What smoothing treatments do, and what keratin specifically does.
• Who benefits — e.g., curly or frizzy hair in your local climate.
• The consultation-first approach your salon uses.
• Maintenance and grow-out expectations.
• Call to action to book — target keywords: keratin treatment [Your City], hair smoothing [Your City].

Blog post idea (example)

“Balayage in [Your City]: what to expect at your first appointment”

• What a balayage consultation involves at your salon.
• Why dimensional color suits local clients (low maintenance, grows out gracefully).
• Realistic expectations on time and tone.
• Link through to your balayage service page.
• Target: research-intent “balayage [Your City]” — 500–800 words, one local angle.