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Gym SEO - Letting New Members Find Your Gym, Fast!

How are new members finding your gym? While some may simply be intrigued by your brick-and-mortar gym while passing by and others may work from recommendations from friends and family, it can’t be denied that the internet, search engines, and social media are huge driving forces for foot traffic in the fitness industry in 2021. Having an online presence is pretty much essential for any local gym in the modern age.

Before a new member comes to your gym, they’ll probably perform a Google search to check out your opening times, who the gym owners are, and whether you offer what they need, such as Crossfit or social fitness clubs. If you don’t show up on that Google search, then their trust and confidence in your gym are shaken – and they may even find other gyms with better SEO optimization and opt to visit them instead. For general Google searches from potential members who don’t know about your gym yet, having good search engine rankings is essential.

But how can you optimize your gym SEO? We’ll guide you through the essentials of gym SEO today, but NetLocal is an SEO agency that employs SEO experts who can take you through this process. Consider getting an SEO audit today and learning how you can improve your gym website’s optimization. But let’s dive into how to generate new members for your gym through SEO today.

Fitness SEO to generate Leads & foot traffic

Being found high in the “natural” web results in a local search for the services and products that you offer lends credibility to your business. Click through and conversion rates tend to be much higher for this type of search traffic. Our locally targeted search engine optimization is designed to reach customers searching for your services and products in your service area.

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The Basics Of Digital Marketing For Gym SEO - Local SEO & Social Media

You may have already dabbled into using the likes of social media to advertise your gym to the online world, but have you been considering gym SEO alongside flashy posts? Whether you’re using Instagram, Facebook, or even LinkedIn, you can make use of SEO keywords within your text content on social media, such as captions, bios, and comments, with a keyword planner to keep your SEO strategy new and fresh. However, which SEO keywords should you be using?

It’s a valid question and one that gym owners ask Local SEO experts like NetLocal every single day. In short, you need to create an SEO keyword strategy that replicates what your potential new members are searching for when they’re considering gyms.

Why should you care about what people search? Well, Acquisio reports that search engines are ‘the most frequently used channel to find local business information’ with ‘87% of respondents [saying] they used a search engine to find a local business’. That’s a major segment of your potential members who will be searching up keywords related to your business – so why wouldn’t you utilize these keywords?

There’s a very easy way to form a local SEO keyword strategy that works for your gym. It can increase memberships and increase both the amount of traffic you get to your gym website as well as actual foot traffic, but it’s deceptively simple. All you need to do is consider your business’s location and the services that you offer – because that’s exactly what your potential new members will be searching for. With local SEO, you have to get into the mind of whoever is searching for your business.

For example, a local search might contain the search terms ‘Crossfit gyms in Washington’ or ‘gyms with personal trainers in LA’. With these specific keywords, people can specify what sort of gym they want as well as where it needs to be in order to be convenient for them. If that combination leads to your gym, then that’s the perfect outcome – but potential members will never find your gym if you’re not using relevant keywords in your content, whether it’s the homepage of your gym website or your latest social media post.

Common Keywords For Gym SEO Services - Appear In Local Search Engine Results & Improve Your Google Search Engine Ranking

It can be difficult to work out what your potential members are searching for sometimes, so we’ve decided to make that job a little easier for you. Through keyword research, we’ve collated a list of the top-searched keywords related to gym SEO. Your small business could benefit massively from including some of the following relevant keywords in your SEO strategy.

  • Gym With Pool
  • Gym With Crossfit
  • Gym With Sauna
  • Gym With Childcare
  • Gyms With Personal Trainers
  • Gym With Basketball Court
  • Gyms Open 24 Hours
  • Gyms For Teenagers
  • Boxing Gym
  • Fitness Gym
  • Fitness Center Gym

If any of these specific keywords apply to your local business, then you should take advantage of them in your SEO strategy and use them across your social media content as well as on your web pages. By performing some keyword research of your own, you can further improve your SEO strategy.

Simply imagine that you are a potential new member for your gym and begin a Google search, then check the recommended searches that appear. These can be used as keywords. You can also check the frequently asked questions box on the first page of Google search results for more ideas. NetLocal can assist you with building up a solid keyword strategy for gym SEO – it’s one of the many SEO services that their experts are excellent at.

How Can I Market A Local Gym Through Search Engines? - Google AdWords, Business Listings, Gym SEO & More

As with anything, there isn’t just one way to market your gym as a local business. If your local SEO keyword strategy is strong, then that’s one column of your digital marketing dealt with. But what about actual advertisements? That’s where one of the market leaders in online marketing comes in: Google AdWords.

If you haven’t heard of Google AdWords before, then now is the time to get familiar with this incredible advertising service. Why is it such a great service? It is predicted that business owners who use Google AdWords get $2 for every $1 that they spend on the service. Furthermore, Google AdWords is easily scalable, meaning the advertisements can fit your budget – however, you should keep in mind that a lower budget may not achieve the same results that a higher budget does.

So, how do you get started with Google AdWords? It’s a pretty easy process – make an account and then get started with your advertisements. You’ll ‘bid’ on keywords (which is where your local SEO keyword strategy from earlier will come in handy) and use their pay-per-click (PPC) model to pay for the clicks, or results, that you get. On average, one click in the fitness and health industry costs business owners $1.98, according to Statista.

These clicks aren’t what would be called ‘organic search results’, as your website will appear as a search result advertisement rather than a genuine search result, but both types of search results can be beneficial to your business. To build up more organic search results, focus on your local SEO strategy and optimizing your gym website with local and specific keywords.

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Google My Business - Setting Up A SEO Business Listing To Market My Local Gym Through Search Engines

Another Google service that you can use to increase traffic to your gym website and also in-person traffic is Google My Business. You may also hear Google My Business accounts being referred to as business listings or business profiles – these are the rectangular box that appears when someone searches for your business with information such as opening hours and membership prices available in one place.

Once you create a Google My Business account, you’ll have to verify it. This is for security reasons and protects you from competitors or fraudsters taking over your Google My Business listing. Verifying your local business by mail is one option, but some businesses can also verify by email or phone. Most gyms, however, will want to verify by mail. After verification, you’ll be able to update information such as your business name and add information like the hours that you open (and any special opening hours).

You can also add posts to your Google My Business listing, which can be a good opportunity to utilize your local SEO keywords as well as commenting on local events (like fundraisers or festivals) to show potential members that you’re an active and engaged member of your local community.

When your business listing appears, it will also show any customer reviews that your gym has gotten – you’ll have the chance to respond to them as well. Positive reviews can be great, as they’re genuine testimonials from your members, and you can clear up any misunderstandings from more critical reviews as well. Having your contact information (such as your address, phone number, and email address) displayed on your business listing is also crucial for members to be able to get in touch with any queries or worries that they have around memberships, your location, accessibility, and much more.

Gym SEO FAQ - Common Questions About Marketing A Local Gym With Search Engine Optimization

Some gym owners might be struggling to picture themselves as the lead in their digital marketing SEO campaign for their local business, even though they truly want their local gym to succeed in 2021. That’s perfectly okay! We know that some aspects of gym SEO can be tough to understand and that not everyone is an expert at web design and social media. This is where the SEO agency NetLocal can help you out, so you don’t need to wander around in the dark when it comes to your SEO strategy.

However, if you’re simply struggling over a few digital marketing concepts, we might be able to help out. We’ve listened to gym owners and picked up on some key questions that they ask SEO agencies frequently – if you’re scratching your head over an online advertising conundrum, then we might have the answer right here!

Your gym website might be one of the most important aspects of your digital marketing strategy. By including your local SEO keywords in your homepage, headers, and meta descriptions, you’ll build up a stronger page SEO strategy that should see your website rising through the Google search results pages. At the same time, try not to ‘keyword stuff’ by putting so many local SEO keywords into your content that it sounds unnatural and stilted. Focusing on the brand voice that you want to put across to both potential and current members should help to avoid keyword stuffing.

Another SEO tactic to improve your website is working on your link building. You can do this by ensuring that other websites link to your website and that those websites are reputable. These links are called backlinks and can improve your own website’s reputation with search engines like Google, leading it to be ranked higher on the search engine results page.

But how do you get other websites to link to your website? You could just ask them (especially if you know the website owners in some capacity) but you can also engage with guest blogging. This is where you write a post on another business owner’s website, likely on a topic that links your businesses such as a local event or an aspect of your business. You’re creating content for them as well as ensuring that you can get a backlink from their website in return for the post, so it’s a win-win situation for both parties!

It’s the question on every local business owner’s mind when they set up their website and wait for results: how many of my visitors are actually going to become customers? This is a difficult metric to gauge, but there are several things that you can do to increase the likelihood of visitors to your gym website becoming customers. The main one is turning your website into a mobile-optimized website.

This means that your website will be friendly for users on mobile devices and that they’ll have the same (if not better) experience on your website as someone using a desktop device. There are several aspects to mobile optimization, and some website builders may have options to improve mobile optimization in their settings. In general, though, we have some guidelines for mobile optimization.

Firstly, your pages need to load in three seconds or less. Any longer and you’ll lose the interest of users on mobile devices who expect quick loading times – and can often get quick loading times on other optimized gym websites. As well as this, you may want to use larger font sizes than you would usually consider to make sure that mobile users, who will be looking at your website through a much smaller screen than a desktop, can read all of the content easily without needing to mess with zoom options.

Finally, make sure that you’re careful with how much content you’re putting on each page. This includes both images and written content, since both take up space on a user’s screen – and you have to remember that a user on a mobile device does not have much screen space to begin with. Try to spread content out with generous spacing and across multiple pages to reduce how crowded the screen looks, giving your users a much more aesthetically pleasing experience.

Gym SEO Strategies - Search Engine Optimization For Local Gym's Seo

Although it can be intimidating to begin pushing into the world of gym SEO to better your business and build up an online presence, many would consider it a necessary step for any local business in 2021. However, you don’t need to become an SEO expert overnight – instead, you can rely on the help of NetLocal, an SEO agency that has specialists in gym SEO ready to help out your local gym. If the thought of going through every step of digital marketing for your local gym makes you feel miserable, then reach out to NetLocal and let us handle your SEO strategy today.