SaiSky's - Google Ads, QR codes and Google reviews
A short plan for Hayley, written in plain words. 17 August 2026. Read it when you have 10 quiet minutes. Nothing here needs an answer today.
The short version. Yes, Google Ads can work for a salon like yours, but only if we do it in a specific way. Google also has an offer for people who have never advertised: spend 400 pounds and Google gives you 400 pounds of free advertising on top. If we plan around that, your money goes about twice as far. Below I explain what we would do, what it costs, what to expect, and the exact steps.
1. What you asked for
- Google Ads - so people looking for a hairdresser or a hair treatment near Hillingdon find SaiSky's.
- A QR code for the shop window - people scan it and land on your website.
- A way to ask customers for Google reviews.
All three are a good idea. Number 3 is actually the most important one, and it is almost free. I explain why below.
2. How Google Ads work for a hairdresser (in simple words)
When someone types into Google something like "hairdresser near me", "keratin treatment Uxbridge" or "Japanese hair straightening London", Google shows a few adverts at the top of the page, above the normal results. That is where your advert would be.
- You do not pay to be shown. You pay only when someone clicks your advert. One click costs roughly 40p to 1.50 pounds in our area.
- The person clicks and lands on your website. Then they call you, message you on WhatsApp, or come in.
- You choose how much you spend per day. Google never spends more than that.
- You can stop at any time. No contract with Google.
What I found out about what works and what does not
I read a lot of advice for small salons and I also have real numbers from Tina's adverts, in the same building as you, this year. This is what matters:
| Works | Does not work |
|---|---|
| ✓ Adverts for specific treatments people actually search for, in your area. Example: "Keratin treatment Uxbridge", "Japanese straightening London", "Balayage Hillingdon". | ✗ Advertising everything at once. The money spreads too thin and no single advert gets enough clicks to work. |
| ✓ Adverts for treatments worth 60 pounds and more. One YUKO or keratin client pays for a whole month of adverts. | ✗ Paying for clicks for cheap services (threading, a 15 pound manicure). A click can cost more than the profit. |
| ✓ Sending each advert to the right page of your website (the YUKO advert goes to the YUKO page). | ✗ Sending everyone to the home page and hoping they find what they want. |
| ✓ Answering the phone and WhatsApp quickly. This is the biggest one. Every call you miss is money spent for nothing. | ✗ Judging after one week. Google needs 3 to 4 weeks to learn who clicks and who does not. |
| ✓ A tidy Google Maps listing with good reviews. Almost everybody who clicks an advert also checks your reviews before they call. | ✗ Adverts with a poor or empty Google listing behind them. People click, see 3 reviews, and go to the salon with 80. |
Tina's real numbers, same building, this year: about 15 pounds of adverts brought one massage booking worth about 53 pounds. Some weeks were great, some weeks were quiet. That is the honest picture. Hair is a bit more competitive than massage, so expect a little more per booking, not less. But a hair client who likes you comes back every 6 to 8 weeks, so one new client can be worth a few hundred pounds a year.
3. Why Google, and not something else
- Google Ads catches people who are already looking for a hairdresser today. That is the best kind of customer.
- Facebook or Instagram adverts show pretty pictures to people who were not looking. They need new photos and videos every week. You told me you do not want to post pictures of yourself, so this is not for you right now.
- Leaflets are a one-time thing and you cannot see if they worked.
- Google Maps listing and reviews are free, and for a local salon this brings the most customers over time. This is why the review QR code matters so much.
4. The plan for SaiSky's
Step A - Google Maps listing and reviews (first, cheap)
You already have a listing on Google Maps ("Sai Sky's Unisex Hair&Beauty"). Before we spend a penny on adverts we make sure it is complete: your website link, correct opening hours, all your services listed, a few good photos, and your phone number. Then Google gives us a special link that opens the "write a review" box straight away. I turn that link into a QR code.
- QR code 1, shop window: opens your website, saiskys.uk. For people walking past.
- QR code 2, inside the salon (by the mirror or the till): opens "Leave a Google review". You point at it when a happy customer is paying. This is the moment they say yes.
I make both codes ready to print. Aim: get to 20 or more reviews in the next few months. That alone makes the adverts work much better.
Step B - Google Ads, three small adverts, not thirty
| Advert | Who sees it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese YUKO straightening | People up to about 15 miles away searching for Japanese or permanent straightening | Very few salons in West London do it. People travel for it. 250 to 350 pounds per client. |
| Keratin and Hair Botox | People within about 6 miles | Popular treatments, 90 to 160 pounds. Good money per click. |
| Hairdresser in Hillingdon / Uxbridge (cut, colour, highlights) | People within about 3 to 4 miles | Everyday searches like "hairdresser near me". Brings regular clients. |
Beauty and nails are not in the adverts on purpose - the prices are too low to pay for clicks. They will be on your Google listing and website, so people still find them.
The adverts are text adverts (a headline and two lines). We can add a picture, but it must be a picture we are allowed to use, not one copied from Google Images. I have licensed pictures I can use, so you do not need to be in any photo.
Every advert has a "Call" button and shows your Google Maps location, so a lot of people will call straight from the advert without even opening the website. Please answer, or call back within the hour.
5. What it costs, and the 400 pound offer
Google gives new advertisers a one-time offer: spend 400 pounds within your first 60 days and Google adds 400 pounds of free advertising. Two important rules:
- The 400 must be spent on adverts within 60 days. If you spend 395, you get nothing. So we cannot go too slow at the start.
- It only works if the account is new and set up in your name, with your card. That is why you need to click through the sign-up yourself (I will be on the phone with you, it takes 15 minutes).
To be safe we set the budget at 7.50 pounds a day, which is about 225 pounds a month. After two months you have spent about 450 pounds and Google gives you 400 back as free adverts, which then runs for about two more months at no cost to you.
| Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adverts (paid to Google, from your card) | about 225 | about 225 | 0 (free 400 credit) | 0 (free 400 credit) |
| Set-up (paid to me, one time) | 150 | - | - | - |
| Running it (paid to me, monthly) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Your total | about 435 | about 285 | 60 | 60 |
So over 4 months you pay about 840 pounds in total and you get about 850 pounds worth of advertising plus the set-up. Your first month is almost the same as the 450 you already worked out, the second month is a bit less, and months 3 and 4 are nearly free.
The set-up fee covers: building the three adverts, the keyword lists (and the list of words we do NOT want, like "free", "course", "how to"), the tracking that tells us which advert brought each call, the two QR codes, and getting your Google Maps listing complete. The 60 a month is me checking it every week, moving money to the adverts that work, and switching off the ones that do not.
If money is tight we can also start at 5 pounds a day with no offer, but then you pay full price for every month and get 40 percent less advertising for nearly the same money. My honest advice is to save up for the first two months and use the offer.
6. What to expect - please read this part twice
- Weeks 1 to 2: Google is learning. A few clicks, maybe one or two calls. This is normal. We do not panic and we do not change anything.
- Weeks 3 to 8: this is when we see if it works. My best guess for 225 pounds a month is 10 to 25 calls or messages a month. Some become bookings, some do not. Some weeks nothing happens and then three people call on a Saturday.
- End of month 2: we sit down and look at the real numbers. If it is bringing bookings, we carry on into the free months and beyond. If it is not, we run the free 400 credit to the end and then stop, and you have spent about 450 on adverts plus my fees. That is the worst case, and I want you to know it before you start.
- What I cannot promise: a number of new clients. Nobody can. What I can promise is that we spend your money carefully, we can see exactly what it brings, and we stop if it does not pay.
7. Your part (small, but it decides if this works)
- Answer calls and WhatsApp messages from new people the same day.
- When a new client comes in, ask "how did you find us?" and tell me now and then. It helps me see what works.
- Point happy customers at the review QR code. One sentence: "If you liked it, could you leave me a Google review, it really helps." That is all.
8. The steps, one at a time
- Step 1 - You tell me you are ready. No rush. When you have the first two months of budget put aside, message me. Nothing starts before that.
- Step 2 - I prepare everything first. I build the three adverts, the keyword lists and the tracking on your website, and I check your Google Maps listing. You do nothing. This takes me a few days. We do NOT open the Google Ads account yet, because the 60-day clock starts the moment the account is opened.
- Step 3 - We open the account together, 15 minutes on the phone. You need: a computer or your phone, your Gmail (saisky.hairbeauty@gmail.com), and your debit card. I tell you exactly what to click. Google will ask for the business name (SaiSky's), the website (saiskys.uk), the country (United Kingdom) and your card. The 400 pound offer is added automatically at this step. Google may also ask you to confirm who you are with a photo of your ID at some point - that is normal for every advertiser now.
- Step 4 - You give me access. Google sends you one email, you click Accept. From then on I do all the work inside the account. You keep full ownership and can remove me at any time.
- Step 5 - I switch the adverts on. Usually the day after Step 3.
- Step 6 - The QR codes. I send you two print-ready files. You print them (or I can get them printed as stickers if you prefer) and put one in the window, one by the mirror.
- Step 7 - Every week I check it, every month I send you a short WhatsApp with the numbers: how much spent, how many clicks, how many calls. And after month 2 we decide together: carry on or stop.
What to do now: nothing. Read this, think about it, and message me when the budget is ready or if any question comes up. If you want, we can also do only the Google listing and the review QR code first, and add the adverts later. Both are fine.
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