Rank In Search If You Have A Fitness Business or Training Business. This is a guide on local seo for personal trainers.
It’s not easy being a personal trainer. You have to deal with all sorts of people, manage their fitness routines, and keep up with the latest exercises so you can provide them with the best possible service.
If you’re also trying to grow your business, it can be hard to find time for SEO at all! But SEO is an important part of growing your business online. In this article, I’ll talk about SEO basics for personal trainers and what they should know if they want their website to rank high on google search results pages (SERPs).
What is Local SEO?
There are two types of SEO. Local, and National. This article is focused on local SEO and is meant for personal trainers, fitness coaches, and gym owners that have a physical location and want to get leads from Google maps.
Local SEO – Local SEO is the process of ranking your Personal Trainer website in Google maps for local keywords such as “personal trainer near me” or personal trainer Chicago IL” Local SEO always has to do with geographical location.
Why Personal Trainers Should Invest In SEO?
There are more than 200 million people who search for fitness exercises on google each month. And with so many of these prospective clients, the competition is stiff. But by investing in local SEO, you can rank higher and get ahead of your competitors to land those valuable leads.
1) IT’S GROWING – By investing in Local SEO techniques, personal trainers will have access to a pool of online users looking for services that they specialize in. Yellow pages are dead and Google maps are in. If you’re not utilizing Google My Business to get new clients you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
2) IT’S FREE – Personal trainers can rank higher and grow their business faster by making sure their website’s information is easily accessible through Google maps on mobile phone searches. It’s literally free traffic to your website and the more people that see it, the better your rank will be.
3) FAST RESULTS – Local SEO is the quickest way to results. You can start seeing new calls come in and rankings in as little as a week.
The Most Important thing you need to know about Local SEO is that there are 3 pillars (Proximity, Prominence, Relevance)
There are three different pillars in Local SEO. These three pillars will determine everything in regards to your SEO efforts. If you get these three right and optimize accordingly you will be able to attract leads for FREE in Google maps.
Proximity
Proximity refers to the distance between your location and the searcher. If they’re close then you will most likely rank at least on page two of Google Maps for that specific keyword. See below how to choose the right local keywords.
You want to find a keyword that will attract the people you’re trying to target, and then optimize your website for it. For example, if I’m in Chicago IL and I’m looking for SEO services near me with my city as an important feature of their SEO service, then SEO for personal trainers would be a keyword I’m looking for.
This pillar is about your website content. You want to build links with other websites that are relevant to you and optimize them so they will rank higher on Google search results pages (SERPs). For example, if my business was SEO services near me Chicago IL
Prominence
Prominence is the quality of being prominent or standing out in a particular setting. In SEO, prominence equates to positive feedback from search engine algorithms. Prominence is important because it can go a long way in showcasing your business on the first page of Google Maps and connecting with new clients.
Some Factors of Prominence are:
- Reviews – The number of positive reviews is a factor and the more 5 star reviews you have the higher Google will rank you in Local search.
- Social Signals – Mentions about your website on social media pages coming from other sources help the algorithm rank you locally.
- Links – website links that come from other websites help in ranking you higher in Google Maps.
Relevance
Relevance in SEO refers to how closely your business satisfies a particular search. Pretty much all of this will be based on the content of your website and your Google My Business page. Text, Images, Menu Items, and Maps all determine how you show up on the local map pack.
Local SEO for Personal Trainers – The Definitive Guide To Google Maps
Rank In Search If You Have A Fitness Business or Training Business
It’s not easy being a personal trainer. You have to deal with all sorts of people, manage their fitness routines, and keep up with the latest exercises so you can provide them with the best possible service.
If you’re also trying to grow your business, it can be hard to find time for SEO at all! But SEO is an important part of growing your business online. In this article, I’ll talk about SEO basics for personal trainers and what they should know if they want their website to rank high on google search results pages (SERPs).
What is Local SEO?
There are two types of SEO. Local, and National. This article is focused on local SEO and is meant for personal trainers, fitness coaches, and gym owners that have a physical location and want to get leads from Google maps.
Local SEO – Local SEO is the process of ranking your Personal Trainer website in Google maps for local keywords such as “personal trainer near me” or personal trainer Chicago IL” Local SEO always has to do with geographical location.
Why Personal Trainers Should Invest In SEO?
There are more than 200 million people who search for fitness exercises on google each month. And with so many of these prospective clients, the competition is stiff. But by investing in local SEO, you can rank higher and get ahead of your competitors to land those valuable leads.
1) IT’S GROWING – By investing in Local SEO techniques, personal trainers will have access to a pool of online users looking for services that they specialize in. Yellow pages are dead and Google maps are in. If you’re not utilizing Google My Business to get new clients you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
2) IT’S FREE – Personal trainers can rank higher and grow their business faster by making sure their web site’s information is easily accessible through Google maps on mobile phone searches. It’s literally free traffic to your website and the more people that see it, the better your rank will be.
3) FAST RESULTS – Local SEO is the quickest way to results. You can start seeing new calls come in and rankings in as little as a week.
The Most Important thing you need to know about Local SEO is that there are 3 pillars (Proximity, Prominence, Relevance)
There are three different pillars in Local SEO. These three pillars will determine everything in regards to your SEO efforts. If you get these three right and optimize accordingly you will be able to attract leads for FREE in Google maps.
Proximity –
Proximity refers to the distance between your location and the searcher. If they’re close then you will most likely rank at least on page two of Google Maps for that specific keyword. See below how to choose the right local keywords.
You want to find a keyword that will attract the people you’re trying to target, and then optimize your website for it. For example, if I’m in Chicago IL and I’m looking for SEO services near me with my city as an important feature of their SEO service, then SEO for personal trainers would be a keyword I’m looking for.
This pillar is about your website content. You want to build links with other websites that are relevant to you and optimize them so they will rank higher on Google search results pages (SERPs). For example, if my business was SEO services near me Chicago IL
Prominence –
Prominence is the quality of being prominent or standing out in a particular setting. In SEO, prominence equates to positive feedback from search engine algorithms. Prominence is important because it can go a long way in showcasing your business on the first page of Google Maps and connecting with new clients.
Some Factors of Prominence are:
- Reviews – The number of positive reviews is a factor and the more 5 star reviews you have the higher Google will rank you in Local search.
- Social Signals – Mentions about your website on social media pages coming from other sources help the algorithm rank you locally.
- Links – website links that come from other websites help in ranking you higher in Google Maps.
Relevance –
Relevance in SEO refers to how closely your business satisfies a particular search. Pretty much all of this will be based on the content of your website and your Google My Business page. Text, Images, Menu Items, and Maps all determine how you show up on the local map pack.
Some Factors of Relevance include:
- Text – Your text should include search terms and relevant local pages as well as topics pertaining to your business category. This goes for your website and your Google My Business page.
- Images – Images of you and your business build relevancy and proof not just for the user but for the Googles algorithm. You’ll want to be sure to include an ALT description with relevant text to each image on your website as well.
- Menu Items – These should match up with your business category, you’ll want to include search keywords if at all possible. I suggest a locations page with a dropdown for each location you want to serve. You can include information relevant to that location as well, such as things to do, popular places to visit, and more. This will help Google understand where your business should show up on the map.
Each of the Three Pillars has its own Nuances: Here’s how to optimize for each!
HOW TO INCREASE PROXIMITY WITH LOCAL SEO
How to choose the right local keywords.
The key is to use keywords that are specific to your area but also a keyword people in your area are searching for. Here’s how you can choose the right keywords.
- Download this free chrome extension from SurferSEO. This extension will allow you to enter the area you are looking for keyword suggestions and it will give you a list of related keywords that people in your area might be searching. It will also tell you the volume of searches for the keyword and how many websites are ranking the first page on that search.
- Now type out different things you think people would be searching to find you and write down the search volume for each of those queries
On-Page Optimization for Local SEO
This is mainly for your website, but it also applies to the text on your google my business page.
It’s important that you optimize this content with keywords that are relevant to your industry and location.
You can include these keywords in the following ways: in headings, paragraphs, links to other pages or subjects, among other areas of interest.
Titles – Use keywords as best as possible (and remember SEO!) This will encourage people to view your webpage by showing up well if they have keywords like SEO for personal trainers etc. in their search terms. You want people to find what they’re looking for and more importantly than be desperate enough to do a general Google search
Website Structure
The structure of your website is important because it should be written with keywords. It’s a good idea to have keywords in the title and other places as well. The body content should be written with the same level of thought, using the keywords throughout for maximum results. That will promote better, easy searchability by the different search engines that may rank you online in page rankings.
Another thing to consider when structuring your website is where social media icons are placed on each page: You want them up near navigation or at least near some form of navigational links so there’s an easy way for people to like or share posts about you as their scrolling through your website; don’t forget a badge somewhere (or mention) that includes the
Creating Local Pages To Expand Your Visibility In Maps
Creating geographical pages about your city is an easy way to expand your reach in Google Maps. By providing visitors with information that is only relevant to a specific location, Google can pick up where you are geographical.
Google can see that you are an expert in that local area. You will get more “points” than your competition and start to rank in those areas that you address on your website as a result!
GMB Optimization
The key to optimizing your Google Maps business listing is posting high-quality content with relevant keywords. The more quality content you post, the more indexed it will be by search engines, and therefore the higher ranking your business will get in searches.
HOW TO INCREASE PROMINENCE WITH LOCAL SEO
Develop Citations and Links
Never pay for a listing that will not drive traffic and conversion. Free listings are readily available. Some directories charge a fee. Google Analytics is the best tool to identify your online reach in an area that can be accessed by Google Analytics. It also helps develop citations and links to increase your rankings on Google’s site.
There is a special term coined NAP which stands for Name, Address, Phone number. When doing citations you want to make sure you are precisely consistent in using the same exact NAP for all listings.
To develop citations you can get a list of these free websites that let you get a citation from them. Simply visit Bright Local site, and register your business for a free listing. Simple as that!
Ask For Reviews
Use Review Software For Automation
Reviews are a key factor in prominence. Google will rank you higher if your website has more reviews and if they’re positive reviews. You can also use review software to help with this, as it takes some of the manual labor out of it for you.
Let’s say I have a personal training company in Chicago IL and I want to target clients near me. I would want to find keywords within my industry that focus on the geographical location and on my city specifically.
I would want to make sure that these keywords are used throughout my website, including in the title tag, meta description, URL, etc. I would also want to integrate them into my social media platforms so that when people mention my company or follow me on
Conclusion
How To Track Your Results
The best way to track your Local SEO results is to use a tool called Local Viking. Local Viking lets you take a screenshot of the Google Maps Pack and it will tell you exactly how many impressions your listing has, what position on the map pack that comes in at, which keywords are ranking for that specific keyword search.
It also lets you know what other sites are ranking ahead of your website so you can better understand where to focus your efforts!
The best thing about Local Viking is that you can see a grid view of the local map and it literally shows the exact position you rank on Google in each area within a 50-mile radius.
This gives you a graphical view of what someone searching for your business will see.
Who Can You Trust To Get Help With Your SEO Efforts?
Hire someone that can clearly demonstrate competence in the areas above without tons of mumbo-jumbo techie jargon. Does the person you are hiring have a proven track record of successful SEO Campaigns? Do they send monthly reports and if so what do those reports look like? I work with Personal Trainers and Gym owners exclusively to improve SEO.
Want to learn how to do Local SEO yourself? Here’s My Free Guide.
No Time to do it yourself? I can get you ranking fast.