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SEO for gyms: how to be confident you're getting found by potential members near you

By 
Corey Loehr
 / 
March 21, 2022
 / 
Gym Marketing
7 Steps for opening a Gym

Many gym owners have the question: “Is SEO for gyms worth my money or time” in mind when starting a fitness business. A major reason why most of them have this confusion is because of Google algorithms, which are continuously changing. According to expert marketers, determining whether SEO is worth your investment or resources solely depends on the marketing goals of your business. 

Fitness businesses need to understand that SEO for gyms is not what marketers claim it to be. It is not magic that can instantly solve all your business marketing problems, nor is it a static product. However, it is a science that is continually evolving practices that require fitness studios to focus on gym marketing trends, patterns, and potential dangers. 

So, if you’re curious to find out if SEO is a good monetary investment or not for your fitness business, we have you covered. Keep on reading to find out why SEO for gyms is important and how you can be sure that potential members in your area can find you.

What is the difference between SEO and local SEO for gyms?

As mentioned earlier, it is essential to optimize your website for various search engines so that people can find you online. In this way, SEO for gyms plays an important role in the marketing strategy of any fitness business. 

Knowing the costs to open a gym can help you determine the budget you need to allocate for your gym's marketing strategies, including SEO and local SEO. Not integrating SEO into the content of your site means your business is missing out on plenty of prospects who may be local but aren’t aware that your business exists. Before you invest in an SEO strategy, understanding the difference between SEO and local SEO is crucial.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to the services that help businesses drive organic traffic to their websites by ranking them appropriately on Google and other search engines. It is a useful tool to provide better user experiences. 

Know that user experience is an extremely important ranking feature of SEO. It has become even more important since Google switched to making websites’ speed a ranking factor. If you want SEO to enhance your bottom line, your business website must be able to handle its organic traffic and funnel it towards sales.

No matter how strong your call to action is or how many times you have repeated your contact information on the website, if it doesn’t have organic traffic to help you, there is only a slim chance that online users will find you. Put simply, SEO is a tool that sends non-paid and organic traffic to your business website.

Local SEO

Local SEO refers to the subsection of search engine optimization that focuses on various geographical components of business search. Local SEO is a practice in which marketers can optimize websites for local search results. It helps them increase traffic and visibility to the site. Plus, it is great to improve foot traffic to any brick-and-mortar business.

SEO for gyms - importance of address standardization when listing on directories

A directory listing is typically a “local business listing” that has the NAP (name, address, and number) of your business with some basic information about your business. Though it is just the initial information, NAP is critical for the success of local SEO.

Practically, you may find many online directories active in your area. Most of these directories are free. For instance, Yelp, Bing, Google, YP.com, and LinkedIn are some popular online listing directories you can use to list your gym with its standard address. They are great to amplify the visibility of your business. However, you must also know how to manage and respond to negative reviews of your fitness business on social media.

Note that the effect of the directory listing is exponential on your gym’s online visibility. If you use a Google My Business (GMB) listing, it can offer your business the opportunity to create a directory presence online. You can maintain it with regular updates and feedback from customers. 

Interestingly, there are hundreds of web dictionaries you can use for the address standardization of your fitness studio.

What directories should you be listing on?

Google My Business

Google My Business is, without a doubt, the grandad of the web directories. If you’re a search engine optimization professional, you must know the vast benefits of listing your gym on Google My Business. It has climbed high in relevance as one of the best local search ranking factors.

Google My Business is the largest search engine and the best way to ensure that your fitness studio shows up for the majority of the people seeking good fitness centers near their home.

Yahoo

Yahoo is the third most used and popular search engine that has more than six daughter directories. That means listing your gym on Yahoo can be an excellent way to make sure your members-to-be find you.

Yelp

Like Google My Business, Yelp also reigns supreme. It is a review site for local businesses which makes it a reliable place to be found by your potential customers or members. In 2020, Yelp claimed 211 million reviews and more than 35 million app users.

Hot Frog

Did you know that more than 1.6 million visitors or users search the 125,000 listed businesses on Hot Frog?

Whether you’re a seasoned fitness trainer, or sole practitioner with a physical address, you can add it to the listing for free.

What components of my website should be optimized?

Millions of gyms and fitness studios are on the web. You must show up in organic search results to increase your customer base. Regardless of the amount of money or time you invest in branding and designing your website, it will remain invisible to users if there is no focus on SEO.

If you are wondering about the components that should be optimized to improve organic search on your website. Here is what you need to focus on:

  • URL Structure
  • Page titles
  • Keywords
  • H1 tags
  • Alt Text.

What are the best ways to improve my website's SEO performance?

Looking for ways to improve the SEO performance of your website?

The best way is to hire a professional SEO specialist who can help you improve your websites ranking. If you don’t want to pay a SEO specialist, try these ways to upgrade your website’s SEO.

  • Publish authoritative, relevant content
  • Update the content on your website regularly
  • Use alt tags
  • Update 
  • Metadata
  • Use tools like SEO checker to find SEO performance of your site.

Summing up

If you have a good marketing budget, SEO is definitely worth your time and resources. Thus, the article explains how you can make sure your prospects find you online by optimizing SEO.

SEO for Gyms - Links

https://www.webfx.com/martech/tech/website-grader-tools/

https://www.commonground.digital/seo/seo-for-gyms-a-3-step-guide-to-new-membership-sign-ups/

https://creatitive.com/seo-for-gyms-why-your-business-needs-it/

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