The skincare industry is booming! In the US alone, people spend over $150 billion annually on beauty and personal care products.
And guess what? Nearly 30% of shoppers start their search for the perfect product online. That’s where SEO (search engine optimization) comes in.
You need a solid SEO strategy if you want your skincare brand to shine in search results. This guide covers everything you need to know to get started.
Why SEO Matters in the Beauty Industry
Imagine your ideal customer searching for the “best antiaging serum for sensitive skin.” Where do their eyes go first?
You guessed it—the top of the search results page. SEO, or search engine optimization, is about getting your website to that coveted spot. It’s the magic behind improving your website’s visibility in search engines like Google.
Why is this so important? Let’s look at the numbers:
- The top result on Google snags almost 40% of all clicks.
- Second place gets 18.7%.
- Third? Just 10.2%.
- And if you’re stuck on page two? Ouch, less than 1% of users will see you.
The benefits of SEO for skincare brands
Ranking high means more people discover your brand, visit your website, and ultimately, become customers. But it’s about more than immediate sales. SEO also helps you:
✨ Build brand awareness: When your website consistently appears at the top of search engine results pages, people start recognizing your brand.
✨ Drive organic traffic: Skincare SEO brings visitors actively searching for what you offer to your website—no expensive ads needed!
✨ Target the right customers: Optimizing for specific keywords attracts customers who are actually interested in your skincare products.
✨ Become a skincare authority: Creating high-quality, informative content establishes your beauty brand as a trusted source in the skincare industry.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Skincare SEO
1. Find relevant keywords
Keywords are the words and phrases people type into search engines when they’re looking for something specific. In the beauty industry, these might be things like “best skincare,” “natural skincare,” or “psoriasis skincare.”
The right SEO keywords are crucial because they help connect your website with those searching for your skincare products. Below, we’ll show you how to identify keywords with Ahrefs.
1️⃣ Brainstorm seed keywords
Start by thinking about your core products and services. What are the main terms people use to describe them? These are your “seed keywords.”
For example, if you sell a line of organic face masks, your seed keywords might be “organic face mask,” “natural face mask,” or “clay face mask.
Head over to Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer tool. In the search bar, enter one of your seed keywords (e.g., “clay face mask”). Choose your target country and hit search:
Source: Ahrefs
2️⃣ Explore keyword ideas
Ahrefs will generate a ton of keyword ideas related to your seed keyword. You’ll see metrics like:
- Search volume (how many people are searching for that keyword).
- Keyword difficulty (how hard it is to rank for that keyword).
- Traffic potential (how much traffic you could get if you ranked #1 for that keyword).
For example, our keyword “clay face mask” has a search volume of 1,700, with a traffic potential of 800. It also has a keyword difficulty of 2, which means it’s easy to rank for organically.
Source: Ahrefs
3️⃣ Uncover long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that people use in their searches. They often have lower search volume but higher conversion rates because they target a more specific audience.
Explore the different reports within Keywords Explorer to identify keywords:
- Terms match: Shows you keywords that closely match your seed keyword.
- Also rank for: Shows you broader keywords that are related to your topic.
- Questions: Reveals questions people are asking related to your keyword, which can be great for blog post ideas.
Source: Ahrefs
4️⃣ Analyze the SERPs
Next, do a competitor analysis by reviewing the top-ranking pages for your keyword. This gives you valuable insights into what kind of content is performing well and what you need to do to compete:
Source: Ahrefs
5️⃣ Download keywords
Once you have selected a keyword in Ahrefs, you can export the list of matching terms. Under “keyword ideas,” click on “view all.”
This will take you to a detailed page with all related keywords. On the left-hand side, click “Export,” and choose to download the data in CSV format:
Source: Ahrefs
| 💡Pro-tip: Don’t have access to keyword research tools?
Don’t worry! To look for target keywords, you can use Google Keyword Planner. It’s a free tool that can help you with keyword research. |
2. Optimize your product descriptions
When it comes to beauty brands, a great product isn’t enough. You need to capture your audience’s attention with captivating product descriptions that are optimized for SEO.
Below, we’ll provide some best practices for optimizing your product descriptions.
Know your ideal customer
Before you write a single word, picture your perfect customer. Are they a Gen Z trendsetter looking for vegan skincare? Or a busy mom seeking a quick anti-aging solution?
Understanding your audience helps you tailor your language and focus on benefits that resonate with them.
Focus on benefits, not just features
Instead of just listing ingredients, explain what those ingredients do for the customer’s skin.
❌ Instead of: “This sunscreen has SPF 30.”
✅ Try: “Enjoy the sunshine worry-free! Our lightweight, nongreasy sunscreen provides broad-spectrum SPF 30 protection, shielding your skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays. It’s the perfect daily defense for a healthy, radiant complexion.”
Use sensory language
Appeal to the senses! Use words that evoke feelings of luxury, freshness, and effectiveness.
❌ Instead of: “This cream is good for dry skin.”
✅ Try: “Indulge in this rich, velvety cream that melts into your skin, leaving it feeling soft, supple, and deeply moisturized.”
Highlight key ingredients and their benefits
Don’t just list ingredients—explain why they matter! For example:
- “Infused with antioxidant-rich green tea to protect skin from environmental damage.”
- “Formulated with soothing aloe vera to calm irritation and redness.”
Make it scannable
Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and headings to make your descriptions easy to read. People are busy, so get to the point quickly!
Build trust
We all know that what we put on our skin goes into our skin. That’s why it’s so important for your customers to feel confident that your products are safe and good for their skin. How do you build that trust? Here are a few ways:
✅ Highlight certifications: If your products are organic, cruelty-free, or dermatologist-tested, let people know!
✅ Mention awards or press: Has your product been featured in a magazine or won any awards? This builds social proof.
| 💡Pro-tip: Don’t forget to optimize for search engines!
You’ve researched your keyword and know what your customers are searching for. Now it’s time to make those keywords work their magic! Don’t just stuff your descriptions with keywords—that’s a big no-no. Instead, sprinkle them throughout your text in a natural and engaging way. |
3. Post and engage with audiences on social media
In the world of skincare, being present on social media platforms is critical. It’s where beauty lovers hang out, share tips, and discover new products.
Did you know that 45% of consumers find inspiration for new beauty purchases on social media? That’s a large audience that you can’t afford to ignore!
Think of platforms like Instagram and TikTok as your virtual storefront—a place to showcase your brand’s personality, connect with potential customers, and build a loyal community.
But how does social media impact SEO?
While those likes and shares don’t directly translate into higher search rankings (social media links are usually “no-follow”), they do send positive signals to search engines. A strong social media presence shows Google that your brand is active, engaging, and relevant, which can indirectly boost your skincare SEO efforts.
| 💡Key point: What is a “no-follow” link?
A “no-follow” link is a hyperlink with a special HTML tag that tells search engines not to give the linked page ranking credit. Users can click the link, but it doesn’t affect the destination site’s search ranking. This is often used in blog comments, social media posts, or sponsored content to prevent manipulative links. |
Here are a few tips for a strong skincare social media strategy:
✅ Visuals are everything: Skincare is a visual industry! High-quality photos and videos of your products, ingredients, and happy customers are a must.
✅ Share valuable content: Don’t just promote your products. Offer skincare routine tips, tutorials, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and engaging stories that resonate with your audience.
✅ Engage, engage, engage! Respond to comments, answer questions, and participate in relevant conversations. Building relationships with your customers is key.
✅ Run contests and giveaways. Everyone loves freebies, which can help you increase brand awareness and attract new followers.
✅ Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with beauty influencers can expose your brand to a wider audience and build credibility. More on this below!
ℹ️ Need inspiration? Check out brands like Drunk Elephant or Glow Recipe. Their authentic voice, stunning visuals, and engaging content are killing it on social media.
4. Generate backlinks
Now that you’ve learned how to do keyword research, craft compelling product descriptions, and establish a vibrant social media presence, it’s time to take your SEO to the next level with backlinks.
What are backlinks?
Think of backlinks as digital endorsements. When other websites link to yours, it signals to search engines that your website is a trustworthy and authoritative source of information.
The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more trustworthy and authoritative your website appears. This can significantly boost your search rankings and drive more organic traffic to your site.
| 💡Key point: Quality over quantity
Remember, it’s not just about the number of backlinks you have but their quality. A few backlinks from high-authority websites are worth more than hundreds of backlinks from low-quality or irrelevant sites. Focus on building relationships and earning backlinks from reputable sources in the skincare industry. |
Here are some techniques to build a strong backlink profile for your skincare brand:
Get blogging
Blogging is one of the most effective ways to boost your skincare website’s SEO. In fact, e-commerce sites with a blog tend to get 434% more indexed pages, just because a blog gives search engines more content to crawl, improving your online visibility.
But blogging doesn’t just help with indexing. A good blog creates shareable content that can generate backlinks—which are links from other websites that point to your site.
When your skincare website blog provides valuable information like skincare routines, ingredient deep dives, or expert tips, other websites are more likely to reference and link back to your content.
Take, for example, this article from COSRX about retinol. While it’s not overflowing with backlinks (yet!), the blog post shows how a brand can provide valuable information to its audience while also incorporating relevant keywords.
Leverage influencer marketing
Influencers have become major players in the beauty world. Their followers trust their opinions and recommendations, making them powerful allies in your quest for backlinks.
Here’s how to leverage influencer marketing to build a strong backlink profile:
1️⃣ Choose the right influencer
Before you request a partnership, interact with the influencer’s content, respond to their comments, and build genuine relationships.
Look for influencers whose audience aligns with your target market.
Don’t underestimate the power of micro-influencers (those with smaller but highly engaged followings). They often generate a stronger connection with their audience that can drive authentic engagement.
2️⃣ Craft compelling campaigns
While product reviews are great, think outside the box. Collaborate on creative campaigns that encourage influencers to link back to your website. This could include:
- Guest blog posts: Have the influencer write a guest post for your blog (with a link back to their site) or vice versa.
- Co-create content: Develop valuable resources like e-books, guides, or infographics together, with both of your brands linked to within the content.
- Run contests and giveaways: Host a contest or giveaway that requires participants to visit your website or a specific landing page for entry. Include a link to your website in the influencer’s promotional posts.
- Offer exclusive discounts: Provide the influencer with a unique discount code to share with their followers, which will encourage them to visit your website and make a purchase.
Get mentioned in roundups
Have you ever stumbled upon an article titled “Best Face Masks for Glowing Skin” or “Top 10 Antiaging Serums”? Those are roundups—curated lists of the best products or resources on a specific topic. And they can be a goldmine for obtaining backlinks on authoritative websites!
Here are some tips on getting featured in a product roundup:
✅ Identify relevant roundups: Start by searching for roundups related to your skincare niche. Look for phrases like “best [product category],” “top 10 [skincare concern solutions],” or “[year] skincare favorites.” Tools like Google Search and BuzzSumo can help you find these opportunities.
✅ Reach out to publishers: Once you’ve found some promising roundups, reach out to the website owners or editors. Introduce your brand and highlight why your product deserves a spot on their list.
✅ Provide valuable information: Make it easy for publishers to feature you by providing them with all the necessary details—including product descriptions, high-quality images, and even testimonials.
✅ Offer exclusive deals: Sweeten the deal by offering the roundup’s audience an exclusive discount or promotion.
ℹ️ Example: Men’s Health UK’s roundup of the best men’s moisturizers is a great example. By reaching out to the editors and showcasing why your moisturizer stands out, you could potentially secure a valuable backlink from a high-authority website.
Unlinked mentions
Let’s say a beauty blogger is raving about your latest moisturizer on Instagram, but there’s no link to your product page. That’s an unlinked mention—and you guessed it, they are a great way to build backlinks.
How to find unlinked mentions with Google Alerts:
1️⃣ Set up alerts: Google Alerts is a free tool that allows you to monitor the web for mentions of your brand. Enter your brand name (and any variations) into Google Alerts and set up email notifications.
2️⃣ Check your inbox: You’ll receive an email alert whenever your brand is mentioned online. Review these alerts and identify any mentions that aren’t linked to your website.
3️⃣ Reach out and request a link: Contact the website owner or author and politely request that they add a link to your website.
5. On-page optimization
On-page optimization is giving your website a makeover that search engines will love. It’s all
about making sure your website is easy for search engines to understand, navigate, and index.
Here’s a checklist of key on-page elements to optimize:
Title tags
These are the clickable headlines that appear in search engine results. They tell both search engines and users what the page is about. Here is an example of a title tag:
Source: Google
Meta descriptions
These short summaries appear under the titles in search results and are meant to entice users to click by giving snapshots of the pages’ content.
Source: Google
Headings (H1, H2, etc.)
These structure your web content, making it easy to read. H1 is the main title, while H2s and H3s are subheadings that organize the information in a logical way. Here’s an example from a blog post on Drunk Elephant’s beauty website.
Source: Drunk Elephant
Image alt text
Alt-text descriptions are added to images for SEO and accessibility purposes, helping search engines understand what each image represents.
Internal links
Link to other relevant web pages within your site to help users navigate and discover more of the content you feature.
Keyword usage
Incorporate your target keywords throughout your website’s content in a natural way—this means that you should avoid keyword stuffing.
| 💡Key point: What is keyword stuffing?
Keyword stuffing is when you cram your website with the same keywords repeatedly in an unnatural way. It’s basically an attempt at trying to trick search engines into thinking your content is super relevant, even if it’s not the case. This tactic can backfire and hurt your SEO efforts. |
URL structure
Keep your URLs short, descriptive, and easy to read. Here’s an example:
Source: Drunk Elephant
6. Ensure your site is mobile friendly
Today, everyone’s glued to their phones—including skincare enthusiasts! Mobile devices generate 63% of global website traffic. This means that if your skincare website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential customers.
Plus, Google now considers mobile-friendliness a ranking factor. So, if you want to rank high in search results, you need to make sure your website functions flawlessly on all devices.
Below, we’ll touch on the key elements you need to have in place to make your site mobile-friendly.
Mobile-responsiveness checklist
✔️Opt for responsive design. Ensure your website automatically adjusts to different screen sizes, from smartphones to tablets. No one wants to pinch and zoom their way around your site!
✔️Fast loading speed. Improving your page speed is essential for both SEO and user experience. Google now considers page speed a ranking factor, so a slow site can negatively affect your search performance. Optimize your images and code to ensure your website loads quickly on mobile devices. No one has the patience for a slow-loading site!
✔️Make your website easy to navigate on a smaller screen. Use a clear menu structure and large buttons that are easy to tap with a finger.
✔️Have readable text. Use a font size that’s easy to read on a smaller screen. Avoid tiny text that requires users to zoom in. Opt for large, legible fonts instead of small or intricate ones. This makes your site more user-friendly and easier to navigate.
✔️Keep your content concise and to the point. Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make scanning on a mobile device easy.
✔️Have touch-friendly elements. Ensure buttons and links are large enough to be easily tapped with a finger.
✔️Optimize your images: Don’t let bulky images slow down your mobile site. Reduce file sizes and use images that are suitable for smaller screens to keep things snappy. This helps improve your page speed, which is crucial for a positive user experience.
✔️Test regularly. Test your website regularly on different mobile devices to ensure it’s functioning properly and providing a positive user experience.
| 💡Pro-tip: Use Google Lighthouse
Google Lighthouse is a powerful tool built into Chrome that provides a detailed report on your website’s performance, including mobile-friendliness, accessibility, and SEO. It even offers personalized suggestions for improvement. To use Google Lighthouse:
|
7. Improve your page speed
If your skincare website takes forever to load, you risk losing potential customers before they even get to see your amazing products.
Improving your page speed is essential for both skincare SEO and user experience. Google now considers page speed a ranking factor, so a slow site can negatively affect your search performance.
Here are some tips to speed up your website:
Optimize your images
One way to speed up your site is to optimize your product images. Here’s how:
➡️ Compress them: Large image files are a major culprit of slow loading times. Use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to compress your images without sacrificing quality.
➡️ Resize them: Don’t upload images that are larger than needed. Resize them to fit the dimensions in which they’ll be displayed on your website.
➡️ Choose the right format: Use WebP format for optimal compression and quality. Alternatively, stick to JPEG for photographs and PNG for graphics with transparent backgrounds.
Other ways to speed up your website
- Leverage browser caching
- Minimize HTTP requests
- Use a content delivery network (CDN)
- Clean up your code
- Choose a fast hosting provider
- Minify your CSS and JavaScript
- Reduce redirects
| 💡Pro-tip: How do I measure my website’s speed?
You can monitor your website’s speed with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Doing this will help you identify any potential issues and track your progress. |
Final Thoughts: Skincare SEO
Whew! We’ve covered a lot of ground, haven’t we? From keyword research and product descriptions to backlinks and the importance of a mobile-friendly website, you’re now armed with the knowledge to conquer skincare SEO.
Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and consistent effort to see results—but trust us, it’s worth it! By implementing these strategies, you’ll attract more customers, build brand authority, and watch your skincare business flourish online.
If you ever feel you need an expert hand to guide you, don’t hesitate to reach out to skincare SEO pros (like Authority Builders!). We can help you fine-tune your strategy and take your skincare SEO to the next level. Get in touch today.