As a digital marketing expert, I've had the privilege of helping numerous businesses boost their online presence and generate quality leads. Recently, I worked with a tattoo clinic owner struggling to convert leads into customers. The primary issue was their website—it wasn't optimised to capture the right audience. In this post, I'll walk you through the process I followed and how a few key tweaks to their strategy made a huge difference.
Understanding the Core Problem
When I first spoke to the tattoo clinic owner, it was clear that their main goal was to get more leads. They'd seen other businesses succeed with Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and SEO, so they believed those tactics were the way to go. But before diving into any paid campaign, I always make it a priority to audit the website. This is the foundational step for any long-term marketing strategy.
In this case, the website was a DIY Wix site with almost no substance. It only had a basic landing page, a contact form, and some links to artists' Instagram profiles. There were no service pages, no clear indication of what they offered, and it lacked the trust signals that potential customers rely on, like testimonials or detailed content about their services.
The website was not positioned to convert traffic into paying customers. This is a huge issue, especially when you're spending money on ads to drive traffic. I knew we had to fix the website before investing in paid campaigns.
The Website Overhaul: Adding Service Pages
One of the first things I noticed was that the website had no service pages. It was completely missing critical content that could attract organic search traffic. Like most studios, the tattoo clinic specialises in tattoos for specific body parts—shoulders, sleeves, necks, etc. People search for these terms daily, and each keyword has a high search volume.
I immediately proposed building out individual service pages for each type of tattoo they offered. For instance, we'd create a page dedicated to "Shoulder Tattoos," another to "Sleeve Tattoos," and so on. We could capture a broader audience actively searching for those services by targeting these specific terms. This was just the first step in optimising the website for search engines.
Optimising for Local SEO
For a local business like a tattoo studio, appearing in local searches is crucial. The goal here was to ensure that whenever someone searched for a tattoo studio near their location—say, "tattoo salon Bondi" or "tattoo near me"—the clinic would show up at the top of Google's results.
I worked with the clinic owner to optimise the site for local SEO. This involved adding location-specific keywords, such as "Bondi tattoos" or "shoulder tattoo Bondi," to the service pages. By doing so, we ensured that Google would recognise the clinic as a local business and increase its chances of appearing on Google Maps and in local organic search results.
Although the clinic had many positive Google reviews, it wasn't ranking as well as some of its competitors in the area. After digging into the competition, I realised that the more successful tattoo studios had content-rich websites—pages dedicated to specific services, more detailed artist bios, and robust customer testimonials. Clearly, the clinic's website needed a lot of work to catch up.
The Power of Visual Content and Social Media
Once we addressed the website's foundational issues, it was time to consider other ways to boost engagement. Tattoos are a highly visual service, and social media plays a huge role in this regard. Instagram, in particular, is an essential platform for tattoo studios because it lets potential customers see the quality of work before making an appointment.
I recommended that the clinic create a system for generating high-quality content regularly—photos, videos, behind-the-scenes shots of tattoo artists at work, and client testimonials. The goal was to turn the clinic's social media accounts into a content machine that showcased the tattoo artists and drove brand visibility.
Additionally, I suggested a camera setup that could easily be rolled around the studio to capture content in real time. This way, they could continuously post fresh, engaging material without much effort. This approach would promote the artists and help create a more cohesive brand image for the clinic itself.
How Google Ads Fit Into the Strategy
While organic search is important, paid advertising—particularly Google Ads—can be a game-changer. However, running ads for generic terms like "tattoo studio" isn't enough. Instead, we created specific ad campaigns targeting more niche keywords, like "sleeve tattoo Bondi" or "neck tattoo near me."
These keywords would lead to dedicated landing pages showcasing examples of the clinic's work in those specific categories. This type of targeted landing page helps increase conversion rates because it matches the searcher's intent. People looking for sleeve tattoos want to see what kind of sleeve tattoos the studio has done in the past, and a well-designed landing page with relevant content and images will do just that.
We also included a call to action on every page, encouraging visitors to book a consultation or get a free quote. The goal was to guide visitors down the sales funnel seamlessly, from the ad click to the booking.
The Omnipresent Effect: SEO, Google Ads, and Social Media Working Together
The final step in our strategy was combining everything—SEO, Google Ads, and social media—into a comprehensive marketing plan. This is what I call the "omnipresent effect." By making sure the clinic was visible in multiple places, we could create a consistent brand presence across various channels, even with a smaller budget.
Google Ads would bring targeted traffic for specific tattoo services, while local SEO would ensure that the clinic ranked well for "near me" searches. Meanwhile, social media content reinforces the brand and builds trust with potential clients. When working in unison, these strategies helped create a robust lead generation system for the tattoo studio.
Conclusion: A System for Long-Term Lead Generation
By optimising the website, implementing a targeted SEO and paid search strategy, and building a content system to promote the tattoo artists, the tattoo clinic generated a steady stream of leads. What started as a poorly designed website turned into a lead-generating machine.
The combination of paid and organic traffic and a strong social media presence created a powerful marketing ecosystem that would continue to deliver results. This approach wasn't just about getting more leads but building a long-term, sustainable marketing plan that could evolve with the business.
