As a fitness professional, you probably already have your own personal trainer website. Maybe you've even done some research into the best content marketing strategies.
But how much do you know about SEO?
SEO is a technical term that's used by many but understood by few. With so much competition online, however, you can't afford to be in the dark. Personal trainer SEO is crucial to success in today's tech-savvy world.
So what exactly is SEO? Why is personal trainer SEO so important? And what are some tips you can use to optimize SEO and increase traffic to your website?
Read on for everything you need to know about personal trainer SEO.
What Is SEO?
Before we delve into the specifics of the fitness industry, let's first define SEO.
SEO stands for "search engine optimization."
All major search engines, like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, show primary search results. How does the engine decide which results to list first?
You guessed it - SEO. Based on each website's SEO, the search engine decides which sites are most relevant to the user. These sites get ranked and shown on the first page of search results.
It is possible to pay to have your site listed on the first page. For the purposes of this article, though, we're focusing on organic search results. This means the likelihood that your website shows on the first page without paying to place it there.
How does this translate into the real world? Consider an example.
Why Is SEO So Important?
Let's say a personal trainer named Joe starts a business in a big city like Miami.
He creates a website called "Personal Training by Joe." He writes a page about himself and his credentials. Maybe he even uploads some videos of his favorite workout routines.
The website goes live and Joe sits back, waiting for the calls to roll in. He waits hours, then days, then weeks. Before he knows it, months have gone by, and not one person has called.
What went wrong? Joe forgot all about SEO.
Being discovered online isn't as simple as making a website and waiting for clients to find it. With over 1.2 billion sites on the web, yours will never get seen if it isn't search engine optimized.
To rank higher in search results, Joe's website needs to "speak" a language that the search engine understands. Joe has to give it the incentive to rank his website above other personal trainer websites.
How can Joe (and you) accomplish that? Read on for our best tips for improving your personal trainer SEO.
Top Tips for Personal Trainer SEO
1. Optimize Your Local Listings
In a recent survey, over 30 million Americans said they're serious about starting an exercise program. Chances are good that many of these people live in your area.
As a personal trainer, your goal is to advertise your business to those who live in your city. To reach them, you need to rank high in the local search results.
Here are a few ways to boost personal trainer SEO for your locale:
- Claim (and optimize) your Google My Business profile
- Get reviews on Google+, Yelp, and other sites
- Get listed in local business directories
- Seek coverage from local newspapers or magazines
- Optimize title tags with local keywords
- Feature content specific to your area
It's very difficult to dominate search results for a state or nation-wide search. Target local SEO instead, since the majority of your clients will probably live nearby.
2. Take Your NAPs Seriously
No, we're not talking about an afternoon siesta.
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number. For the sake of search engine indexing, it's essential that your NAP appears exactly the same in every online listing.
Let's say that's Joe runs his business at 321 Main Street in Miami Beach. When he researches different sites, he finds his address listed as:
- 321 Main Street, Miami Beach
- 321 Main St, Miami Beach
- 321 Main St., Miami
- 321 Main Street, Miami
The differences may seem minor, but SEO disagrees. A search engine will not read Street and St the same way. It also does not consider Miami and Miami Beach to be the same city.
Take the time to find every website that mentions your business. This likely includes review sites, local directories, and the Yellow Pages.
If you find any citations that need correcting, contact the host and ask them to fix the error. This small effort will result in a huge boost to your personal trainer SEO.
3. Harness the Power of Social Media
As a personal trainer, your relationship with your clients is about as "personal" as it gets.
Social media is a powerful tool for starting new relationships and strengthening existing ones. An estimated 72% of adults in the US use Facebook, making it an ideal platform to find new clients.
Social media isn't limited to Facebook. Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram are all excellent avenues to boost your personal trainer SEO.
Which of these social media channels does your target audience use the most? Do your research and find out. Then you can create and share content on those channels.
Remember that being a personal trainer is all about fostering trust. When potential clients research you and find an active social media presence, you're one step closer to earning their trust.
Whichever channels you use, don't forget to use relevant hashtags. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- #fitness
- #personaltrainer
- #goals
- #health
- #motivation
- #getfit
4. Create Authoritative Content
Another way to increase your personal trainer SEO is to become an authority in your field.
Think about how much information you're bombarded with every time you go online. How much of it is actually useful to you?
If you want your visitors to linger on your website, you've got to create content that's worth their valuable time. Command attention by providing information that's interesting and relevant.
Try adding some or all these features to your site:
- Well-researched landing pages (800 words or more)
- Daily or weekly blog posts (800 words or more)
- Outbound links to authoritative sites
- High-quality photos and videos
- Client testimonials
- Infographics
- GIFs
The more valuable information you provide on your website, the longer visitors will remain there.
5. Target Local Keyword Phrases
Targeting local keyword phrases is a powerful way to boost your personal trainer SEO.
Let's go back to Joe. He's done some research and created a list of local keyword phrases people are searching for.
These might include:
- Best personal trainer in Miami
- Miami personal trainer
- Miami fitness expert
- South Florida personal trainer
- Personal training in Miami
Now that Joe knows what phrases people are actively searching for, he can sprinkle these keywords throughout his website.
Where and how should Joe use these keywords? Here are the five most important places to incorporate keywords:
- URL: www.joeswebsite.com/miami-personal-trainer
- Page Title: Where to Go for Personal Training in Miami
- Image Titles: Miami_fitness_expert.jpeg
- Image Alt Tag: Include versions of your keywords in the alternate text.
- On the Page: Aim for a keyword density of 1-2%. (Example: 10-20 times in a 1,000-word post)
You may feel tempted to place as many keywords as possible onto your website. Don't do it. Google can "flag" your site for keyword stuffing, which will hurt your personal trainer SEO.
6. Develop Backlinks
In a market as competitive as personal training, you need some solid backlinks to boost your website's credibility.
Backlinks are just that - links back to your website from another website. Google and other search engines place huge importance on backlinks when it comes to site ranking.
How can you develop backlinks? Network, network, and network some more.
Reach out to local businesses, newspapers, and magazines. Ask about featured listings. Offer to backlink to their website in return.
You might also consider reaching out to other health and fitness related fields. Could you network with gyms, spas, or holistic clinics in your city? These places may happily offer you a backlink on their website and/or refer clients your way.
7. Optimize Site Speed
The average person now has a shorter attention span than a goldfish.
This means you have a few seconds at most to capture their interest and draw them into your website. If your home page doesn't load quickly, most visitors will close it out and move on to the next site.
Site speed is also crucial to personal trainer SEO. If your site is slow, it's difficult for search engines to scan it. When it's too hard for the search engine to do its job, it will "punish" your site by ranking it lower.
Ideally, your website should load in two seconds or less. If yours is slower than that, here are a few ways to speed things up:
- Enable site compression.
- Deactivate and delete unnecessary plugins.
- Install a caching plugin.
- Keep your site updated.
- Use excerpts on the homepage.
- Split comments into pages.
- Don't upload videos directly onto your site - link to YouTube instead.
Also, since more users are accessing the internet on mobile devices, make sure to optimize your site for mobile use. Search engines favor websites with responsive design and reward them with higher rankings.
8. Optimize Images
Optimizing your images will not only make your site run faster, but it will boost your personal trainer SEO.
Ideally, you should feature beautiful images throughout your site. Attractive photos will draw visitors in and keep them on your site longer.
The problem with large, detailed images is that they can significantly slow your site speed. It's important to note that it's not the size of the photo as it appears on your site, but rather the file size of the image itself.
The larger the file size, the longer it takes to load. There are many tools and plugins available that can reduce these file sizes by 50% or more.
This reduction is undetectable to the human eye, but it makes a big difference to search engines. They'll appreciate your efforts and reward you with better rankings and improved personal trainer SEO.
9. Create Content for Your Locale
As a personal trainer, you obviously want to include plenty of fitness-related content on your website. Whenever possible, though, boost your personal trainer SEO by featuring content that's unique to your area.
Is there a 10K or a Tough Mudder competition coming up? Feature an article on it and list how your services can help them prepare for the race.
If you're still working on backlinks, this is a great opportunity to network with other local professionals. Perhaps you could feature an article about:
- Life coaching
- Diet assessment
- Nutrition coaching
- Massage therapy
- Acupuncture
- Yoga
- Tai Chi
- Pilates
Better yet, get certified in some of these modalities yourself. Then you'll have even more services to offer your clients.
As you create content that's catered to your area, over time your inbound leads will naturally increase.
10. Make YouTube Videos
A sure way to boost your personal trainer SEO is to create and share your own YouTube videos.
Videos will engage your audience and keep them on your website longer. It also offers a better user experience, since many today prefer watching a video to reading an article.
Another great thing about videos is they're easy to share. High-quality videos with in-depth content circulate quickly on social media and can even "go viral."
As a fitness expert, you have plenty of topics to talk about. Here are a few video ideas to get you started:
- What Type of Training Will Help You Achieve (Goal)?
- The Best Foods to Eat After a Workout
- Are You Struggling to Stay Motivated? Try This!
- Benefits of Having a Personal Trainer
- Why Exercising Helps You to Live Longer
- How (Your Client's Name) Changed His Life Through Personal Training
Final Thoughts
The suggestions above are a just few key ways to improve your personal trainer SEO.
Whether you're Joe in Miami or Sue in Seattle, we guarantee these strategies will drive more traffic to your fitness website.
Are you looking for more ways to boost your personal trainer SEO? Would you like fresh ideas for your website?
Be sure to check out our recent post about design inspirations for a great personal trainer website.