Salon Guru
Salon Guru is a UK-based digital agency that designs websites and delivers SEO, advertising, and social media marketing exclusively for hair salons, beauty salons, and aesthetic clinics, serving 230+ clients across eight countries via subscription and project-based engagements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersGreat Dunmow, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Salon Guru does
Salon Guru is a privately held UK-based digital agency, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Great Dunmow, Essex, that specializes exclusively in website design and digital marketing for hair salons, beauty salons, and aesthetic clinics. The company builds custom WordPress-based websites hosted on AWS and fronted by Cloudflare CDN, supported by a portfolio of proprietary modules including Salon Social Reviews (multi-platform review aggregation with Google-recognized structured data), Salon Late Deals (empty-slot automated selling), Client Surveys (logic/branching feedback), and Showcase Hair (an AI-powered Client-to-Stylist Matchmaker with image-tagging, searchable galleries, and stylist recommendations). Technology integrations span Google (Ads, Analytics, Business Profile, Search Console), Meta (Facebook and Instagram), YourSalon.co, and SalonIQ. A separate US office operates in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and clients are served in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, and Dubai.
The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining one-time website build fees (£1,500-£3,000+ depending on tier and geography) with recurring monthly marketing subscriptions (12-month minimum term) that bundle SEO, content, email, social media, paid advertising management, and free hosting, plus standalone subscriptions for Showcase Hair (£99-£149/month tiers with a free widget) and social media posting services (£250-£400/month). GTM is sales-led and direct, targeting owners of single-chair, multi-staff, and multi-location salon groups via website inquiry, phone consultation, and a free Google rank report lead magnet, with GTM partnerships with Sentio Salons and SalonSpy. Salon Guru is founder-led by Managing Director Phil Evans, bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, and serves 230+ clients with 20,000+ phrases ranked #1 on Google, 400+ websites launched, and 2.5M+ newsletter emails delivered to date.
Salon Guru firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Salon Guru
- Legal name
- Salon Guru Limited
- Website
- https://salonguru.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Salon Guru is a UK-based digital agency that designs websites and delivers SEO, advertising, and social media marketing exclusively for hair salons, beauty salons, and aesthetic clinics, serving 230+ clients across eight countries via subscription and project-based engagements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Salon Guru industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Salon Digital Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181), Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Women's Hair Salons (HSALAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Salon Suites & Chair Rental (Independent Stylists) (HSALAAAN)
Keywords
Where Salon Guru is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Great Dunmow
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Salon Guru business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Website Design and Build: One-time website build costs with different package tiers. Initial work requires 50% payment upfront, balance due on agreed dates. Packages range from basic to comprehensive builds with varying hours allocation.
- Monthly Marketing Subscriptions: Ongoing monthly marketing support subscriptions providing website and marketing support including client emails, blogs, social media guidance, social media adverts, Google AdWords, recruitment, and website updates. Minimum 12-month term with 90 days' written notice for cancellation. Marketing clients receive free hosting and maintenance.
- Hosting and Maintenance: Monthly hosting and maintenance fees for website clients not on marketing subscriptions. Includes server optimization, security, backups, technical support, and one free email account. Additional email accounts charged at standard rate.
- Meta Advertising Management: Campaign management for Facebook and Instagram adverts, typically with budgets of £10-20 per day over several weeks. Performance-driven approach with continuous testing and optimization.
- Google Ads Management: Campaign management for Google AdWords including keyword research, advert group creation, copy development, landing page optimization, and ongoing performance monitoring.
- Showcase Hair Subscription: AI-powered portfolio platform with three tiers: Free Reviews Widget, AI Organised Hair Galleries at £99/€115/$135 per month, and AI Client & Stylist Match-Maker at £149/€170/$200 per month.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Website Audit Report |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Basic Website Build (5 Pages) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Marketing Support |
| Subscription | Monthly | Social Media Shadowing Training |
| Subscription | Monthly | Social Media Posting Service |
| Freemium | Monthly | Showcase Reviews Widget (Free Tier) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Showcase AI Organised Hair Galleries |
| Subscription | Monthly | Showcase AI Client & Stylist Match-Maker |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Salon Guru product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Salon Guru designs and builds websites for hair, beauty, and aesthetics salons and clinics, and delivers integrated digital marketing services including SEO, social media management, email marketing, and paid advertising campaigns. The company operates a two-phase model: a build phase for website launch followed by an ongoing monthly marketing phase, supported by proprietary tools such as Showcase Hair (AI-powered client-to-stylist matching), Salon Social Reviews, Late Deals, and Client Surveys.
Product overview
Salon Guru is a website design and digital marketing agency specializing exclusively in the hair, beauty, and aesthetics industry. The core offering consists of custom website design and SEO services for salons and clinics, supplemented by a comprehensive suite of marketing tools. The product portfolio includes: Salon & Clinic Websites (core platform), Search Engine Optimisation, Meta & Google Advertising, Social Media Posting & Management, and Email Marketing as foundational services; plus add-on modules including Showcase Hair (AI-powered Client-to-Stylist Matchmaker), Salon Late Deals, Salon Social Reviews, Salon Client Surveys, Chair Rental Websites, Google Business Profile Management, Website & Marketing Audit, and Supercharged SEO for AI. The ecosystem is designed to work together, with the website as the central hub connecting all marketing channels to generate new clients and bookings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Salon & Clinic Websites
Quantifiable outcome
- 20,000+ phrases at #1 on Google search in 2023
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Salon Guru
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Salon Guru technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Salon Guru partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Sentio SalonsminorIn partnership with Sentio Salons, Salon Guru offers free expertise in websites, search engines and online marketing. Sentio Salons insurance clients receive promotional access to Salon Guru's services for lead generation purposes.
- SalonSpyminorIn partnership with SalonSpy, Salon Guru offers free expertise in websites, search engines and online marketing to SalonSpy clients as a promotional partnership.
- SalonIQcorePartnership with SalonIQ for comprehensive digital marketing audit services. Salon Guru provides audit reports in partnership with SalonIQ. SalonIQ's salon management software integrates with Salon Guru's review system, automatically importing reviews.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Salon Guru competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Fresha: Global salon and spa software marketplace offering free booking, website and basic marketing tools to salons worldwide. Comparable as a competing digital-presence solution for salons, though primarily a marketplace/SaaS play rather than bespoke services.
- Boulevard: Salon and spa management platform with client experience, scheduling and increasingly marketing features, targeting premium independent salons. Comparable customer base and partial overlap on digital marketing capabilities.
- Vagaro: Salon, spa and fitness management platform with website builder, email marketing and SEO features included. Targets a similar SMB salon customer with bundled digital marketing capabilities at lower price points.
Direct peers
- Phorest Salon Software: Salon management software platform with built-in website builder, SEO tools, email marketing and client acquisition features targeting hair and beauty salons globally. Highly comparable as a vertically-specialized digital presence and marketing provider serving the same customer base.
- Salonized: European (Netherlands-based) salon software platform offering booking, POS, website and marketing features. Comparable as a vertically-specialized digital marketing and website solution serving the same hair and beauty salon customer base.
- GlossGenius: All-in-one salon and spa platform offering booking, payments, website builder and marketing tools primarily to independent beauty professionals. Comparable as a vertically-focused digital marketing and website solution for the same SMB salon segment.
Broad incumbents
- Squarespace: DIY website builder used by many independent salons for their web presence. Competes at the lower end of Salon Guru's market by offering template-based websites that smaller salons can self-serve without an agency.
- DaySmart Salon: Established salon management software offering scheduling, payments and marketing features across multiple beauty verticals. Comparable as a broader incumbent in salon digital tooling, with overlapping website/marketing functionality.
- Wix: Major DIY website builder with salon-specific templates, booking and basic marketing features. Competes with Salon Guru for smaller salons that prefer self-service website creation over bespoke agency builds.
Regional players
- Booksy: Booking and business management app popular among barbers and beauty professionals, with a strong presence in Europe and the US. Comparable as a salon-focused platform with marketing and website features, though primarily a booking-first product.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Salon Guru social profiles
Digital presenceSalon Guru financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Salon Guru leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Salon Guru funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Salon Guru M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Salon Guru
What does Salon Guru do?
Salon Guru designs and builds websites for hair, beauty, and aesthetics salons and clinics, and delivers integrated digital marketing services including SEO, social media management, email marketing, and paid advertising campaigns. The company operates a two-phase model: a build phase for website launch followed by an ongoing monthly marketing phase, supported by proprietary tools such as Showcase Hair (AI-powered client-to-stylist matching), Salon Social Reviews, Late Deals, and Client Surveys.
Is Salon Guru a public or private company?
Salon Guru is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Salon Guru founded?
Salon Guru was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Salon Guru based?
Salon Guru is headquartered in Great Dunmow, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Salon Guru make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Website Design and Build is the primary driver. The others are monthly Marketing Subscriptions, hosting and Maintenance, meta Advertising Management, google Ads Management and showcase Hair Subscription.
Who are Salon Guru's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Fresha, Boulevard and Vagaro. Direct peers are Phorest Salon Software, Salonized and GlossGenius. Broad incumbents are Squarespace, DaySmart Salon and Wix. Booksy is listed as a regional player.
Does Salon Guru have an API?
No public API is recorded for Salon Guru.
What industry is Salon Guru in?
Salon Guru's product category is Salon Digital Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSALAAAA, Women's Hair Salons, with a secondary code of HSALAAAN, Salon Suites & Chair Rental (Independent Stylists). Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7311.