Outside a hair salon near Kejetia Market in Kumasi, a passerby stops to admire a client's finished style and asks where it was done. That kind of moment used to end there, and often nothing further came of it. Now it more often ends with a phone out, a quick Google search for the salon's name, and a WhatsApp message sent before the person has even walked away from the market.
Photos carry the first impression
Because so many people check the Google profile within minutes of hearing about a salon, the photos on it need to hold up under that kind of immediate scrutiny. Finished styles, the salon interior, the styling stations, and a few shots of the team all give someone standing outside Kejetia something to judge quickly, and a profile with only a logo or nothing at all loses that moment entirely. Consent matters here too: a client is usually happy to be photographed showing off a finished look, but it's worth asking before posting rather than assuming, especially for close-up shots where she's clearly recognizable.
What happens after the search is a WhatsApp chat
Once someone finds the salon on Google, the conversation almost always continues on WhatsApp rather than by phone or email, and a salon that treats WhatsApp as an afterthought loses bookings it should have kept. Keeping the number active, replying promptly, and making sure it's the same number listed on the Google profile matters more in Kumasi than a polished website ever will. A salon that changes its WhatsApp number without updating the Google listing loses every message sent to the old one, often without realizing it until a regular mentions she gave up waiting for a reply.
A category that actually says what the salon does
"Beauty Salon" is the easy default, but a business built primarily around cutting, styling and treating hair is represented more accurately as a Hair salon, and that distinction helps the listing show up for the searches that match what's actually being booked rather than a broader, vaguer category. It's a quick change to make in the Google Business Profile settings, and it costs nothing, which makes it one of the easiest fixes on this whole list to actually get done.
Getting the basics of the profile and its hours right
The profile itself needs to be claimed under the salon's real name, which matters if the business has ever changed hands or moved premises, since an old listing left unclaimed at a previous address creates confusion for anyone searching nearby. Hours should reflect when a client can actually still get a seat, not just when the salon locks up, and that distinction becomes obvious on a Saturday when someone checking Google late in the afternoon needs to know honestly whether there's time left before the last booking. Public holidays are another spot that gets overlooked, since a salon that closes for the day but leaves the profile showing normal hours ends up with a client turning up to a locked door and a wasted trip across town.
Reviews, and why they matter here
A client who leaves a glowing review naming the stylist who did her hair deserves a reply that thanks her by name in return, and it's worth doing consistently, not just when a customer is unhappy. Naming the stylist back in the reply does something a generic thank-you doesn't: it tells the next reader that the person mentioned actually works there and is worth requesting by name. Ghana's market is still relationship-led even as more of it moves online, so a well-kept GhanaYello listing next to an active Google profile builds the kind of credibility that used to rest entirely on word of mouth. Hotfrog and GhanaBusinesses are both worth checking too, since a mismatched address or an outdated phone number on any of them undercuts the trust a salon has built everywhere else. It's worth setting aside ten minutes every few months just to check that all of them still say the same thing, rather than assuming a listing set up years ago is still accurate.
How Kaptor helps here
Kaptor sets up the Google Business Profile under the correct name and category, checks that hours and photos stay current, and flags a review or a message left waiting too long. It also watches for mismatches against listings like GhanaYello. See also the Google Business Profile hub built for salons and how the same setup applies in the UK.