Link Building for Med Spas

Where Each Med Spa Partner Fits, and What to Ask Them

Every row is one of the med spa partners covered below, along with a question about what they see in their own clients. You'd ask the same kind when finding a local expert to quote.

Tattoo Studios: Laser Fading Before a Cover-Up

Tattoo studios are the natural first partner for a med spa with a tattoo removal laser. Fading the old design is often what makes a cover-up possible. New ink struggles to hide a dark or dense tattoo. A few laser sessions can lighten it enough to give the artist room to work.

Clients usually hear this from the artist at the consultation. They then go looking for a laser clinic without knowing how many sessions fading takes or how long to wait between them.

Fading an Old Tattoo Before a Cover-Up: Your article explains how fading differs from full removal, why sessions sit weeks apart, and how the skin should look before the artist tattoos over it. Keep numbers general, because the session count depends on the ink, the skin and the laser.

With the client's tattoo artist, we plan fading sessions so the new design can cover whatever is left.

Planning a Cover-Up When the Old Tattoo Is Too Dark: How they judge whether a design can be covered as it is goes in the artist's article, along with when they'll send the client for fading first.

When old lines are too heavy to hide, clients go to a med spa for a few fading sessions before we start.

How light the old tattoo needs to be for the new design is the artist's decision. Your laser provider decides how many sessions that takes and when the skin is ready. You also share clients wanting laser hair removal near a tattoo. It's usually done around the ink and not over it, so the timing makes a second article.

Makeup Artists: Booking Injectables Around a Wedding Date

Brides and event clients see makeup artists in the weeks before the date, exactly when injectables need booking. Botox and similar treatments can take up to two weeks to show their full effect, and swelling or bruising from filler can last several days.

Your article, Planning Injectables and Laser Before a Wedding, lays out how far ahead to book each treatment. The artist's, What to Tell Your Makeup Artist About Recent Treatments, covers what a fresh peel or filler means for the trial and the day itself. The look on the day belongs to the artist, and your injector sets the treatment calendar leading up to it.

Waxing Salons: The Weeks Off Before Laser Hair Removal

Many clients go to both waxing salons and med spas, and that overlap calls for some honesty. Waxing usually has to stop for several weeks before and between laser hair removal sessions. The laser also works poorly on light, gray or red hair, so plenty of clients stay with the salon.

Your article, Getting Ready for Laser Hair Removal, explains why waxing has to stop and what clients can do instead, usually shaving. The salon's, Waxing or Laser: Which Suits Your Hair and Skin, helps clients choose, including when waxing fits better. Clients a laser can't help stay with the salon, and your clinic sets the prep window for those it can.

Plastic Surgeons: When a Non-Surgical Treatment Isn't Enough

Clients a med spa can't fully help end up with plastic surgeons, and some of yours will eventually ask about surgery. Injectables or skin-tightening devices usually can't fix loose skin after major weight loss, for example.

Your article, When We Suggest a Surgical Consultation, explains in plain terms where non-surgical treatments reach their limits. The surgeon's, Injectables or Surgery: Which One Fits Your Goal, helps patients see where each option stops. Whether surgery makes sense is the surgeon's call, and your clinic can handle skin care and maintenance treatments once the surgeon clears the patient.

Pitching a Studio, Salon or Surgeon: What the First Email Needs

First emails land well when they show the article is about the partner's clients, not your treatment menu. Include these:

• The question you both hear, in the client's words. This becomes the article's title, and it shows you've listened to the same people.
• Who will check the medical details. Name your medical director or lead injector, since no studio or salon wants to publish treatment advice nobody reviewed.
• A note that you'll draft it. Tattoo artists and makeup artists rarely have time to write, and a draft they can edit makes saying yes easy.
• How you'd like to be linked. A phrase like "best Botox in town," reads worse than your clinic's name, and how to word a link request covers what to ask for.

Treatment Claims, Credentials and Photos in a Partner Article

Partner articles still advertise medical treatments, so your clinic's website rules apply on the partner's page too. Here are the problems that come up most, with the fix for each.

• Promised results. A makeup artist might write that filler "takes ten years off." Your reviewer should edit any line about results. Both articles should say outcomes differ from client to client.
• Who does the treatment. States and provinces have different rules on who may inject, run a laser or supervise. Use the credential your state requires to describe each treatment, and have your medical director approve the wording.
• Before-and-after photos. The client's written permission has to cover that article on that website, and the photos can't be retouched.
• Referral payments. Payments between medical practices and businesses sending them clients are restricted in some states. Keep money out of the partnership, and talk to your lawyer before any referral deal.
• A partner's own license. Most tattoo studios need a health permit or license from the city, county or state. Before your clinic's name appears beside theirs, check it.

Med Spa Owners' Questions About Partner Links

How long before a partner article helps a med spa in Google?

Usually weeks, not days. Finding the new page comes first for Google. Google's SEO Starter Guide notes that most new pages are found through links from pages it has already crawled.

That step gets help from the partner's link too. Any ranking gain afterward builds slowly and isn't guaranteed, so one article alone rarely shows a change.

Is it risky for a med spa to swap links with salons and tattoo studios?

The risky part is swapping links just to have them. A page of traded links to beauty businesses looks like the exchanges Google's spam policy describes, and readers skip it anyway. An article about fading before a cover-up, linking to you where a reader needs it, is something else: two local businesses answering a client's question.

Can a med spa partner with a dermatologist if both offer laser treatments?

Yes, if the article covers the part you don't overlap on. Dermatologists diagnose and treat skin conditions, such as a changing mole or severe acne, and some prefer sending purely cosmetic requests elsewhere. Both practices benefit from an article on when to see a dermatologist before a cosmetic treatment, even though each owns a laser.

Can a med spa use before-and-after photos in a partner's article?

Yes, if the client's written permission covers that article on that partner's website, not only your own site. Photos should be unedited and taken in the same light, with a note that results differ between clients. The photos still advertise your treatments, so ask your medical director to review the page as they would on your own site.

Where a Med Spa Finds Tattoo Studios, Salons and Surgeons Nearby

Most med spas know which tattoo studios and salons their clients use. Fewer know which keep a working website or would publish an article about a medical treatment. Reaching the person who decides at a surgical practice often takes a few emails.

Local Link Match also pairs med spas with estheticians, dermatologists, cosmetic dentists, permanent makeup artists, scalp micropigmentation specialists and hair restoration clinics, beyond the four here. Body contouring studios, weight loss centers and compounding pharmacies are on the list too.

Local Link Match suggests partners whose clients overlap with yours, favoring businesses with a real presence in their own town. Before signing up, you can browse the local matches for tattoo studios, makeup artists and salons.

Sign up when you want to contact one.