Local marketing is something that all personal trainers need to at least consider carefully, especially if you provide face-to-face training in your local area but also if your provide online personal training. Local optimization is beneficial because it enables you to target potential clients genuinely interested in your services and it's a lot easier to rank for local keywords because they are not as competitive.
However, local optimization requires a meticulous and considered approach and continuous work on several SEO tasks. If you don't get many local leads through Google, check out these tips to help your ideal clients find you easier.
1. Use Local Keywords on Your Website
The first thing you need to do is optimize your website for local traffic. This means figuring out what keywords your ideal clients in your local area would search when looking for services you offer.
If someone is searching for personal trainers nearby, they will use Google or other search engines on their computer or phone and look up 'personal trainer location'. So you want to make sure that your website has those keywords mentioned in strategic places on the pages, like in the header of the Home page, a title further down, an address in the footer, and the meta tag of that page.
Check out how often this site mentions their service and location on the home page:
If someone is searching for personal trainers nearby, they will use Google or other search engines on their computer or phone and look up 'personal trainer location'. So you want to make sure that your website has those keywords mentioned in strategic places on the pages, like in the header of the Home page, a title further down, an address in the footer, and the meta tag of that page.
Check out how often this site mentions their service and location on the home page:
You can use short-tail or long-tail keywords. Ideally, you'd like to target keywords that aren't targeted by as many fitness businesses in your area. Long-tail keywords tend to be more effective in achieving that goal.
Long-tail keywords are expressions that contain 3+ words with a particular intention to target potential clients. Short tail keywords are shorter and generic, and as a consequence, they are very competitive. They can also result in irrelevant traffic to your website because you do not fully tick all the boxes that the person searching was looking for.
This is why it makes sense to target long-tail keywords with a local element to make sure you target a concrete client base and reach the right audience.
Example Short-tail Keyword:
'personal trainer'
Google will show you the results based on your device's location. In the below example we are in London and you can see that two of the top three positions are taken by Ultimate Performance gyms connected to locations in the City.
'personal trainer'
Google will show you the results based on your device's location. In the below example we are in London and you can see that two of the top three positions are taken by Ultimate Performance gyms connected to locations in the City.
Example Long-tail Keyword:
'small group personal training in Ealing'
Here it's clear that Google brought up three local businesses that offer the service.
'small group personal training in Ealing'
Here it's clear that Google brought up three local businesses that offer the service.
2. Make Your Social Media Business Accounts Local
Sprout Social's 2021 report on The Future of Social Media showed that 78% of consumers are more willing to buy from a brand, and 77% will choose a brand over a competitor after a positive experience with a brand on social media.
Now, this is huge, and it looks like it will only get more critical as we move towards an even more digital lifestyle. Whether your ideal clients use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok, statistics show that being present as a business will become imperative in the future.
So how can you make your business social reach your local people? You can do many things, including posting content that provides value to locals and using hashtags that include your location in your bio and posts.
For example, you can create a local eating-out guide with suggestions of healthy meal options in the restaurants nearby and keep promoting it via your social media channels using the right hashtags and keywords. You can also add #yourlocationfitness hashtag to any workout video you share. The #torontofitness hashtag is pretty popular, so see if your location has similar too.
So how can you make your business social reach your local people? You can do many things, including posting content that provides value to locals and using hashtags that include your location in your bio and posts.
For example, you can create a local eating-out guide with suggestions of healthy meal options in the restaurants nearby and keep promoting it via your social media channels using the right hashtags and keywords. You can also add #yourlocationfitness hashtag to any workout video you share. The #torontofitness hashtag is pretty popular, so see if your location has similar too.
3. Make Use of Local Directories
Local business directories are basically digital yellow pages. Their purpose is to show key information about your business to people who want to learn more about your fitness business. Business name, address, and contact number are the bare minimum you'd like to add to your profile, but ideally, you'd add as much information and detail as you can.
This way, you can generate backlinks to your website and also put your name out there for people to find. You probably already heard about Yelp, for instance, but Google My Business which is now being renamed to Google Business Profile, is also a local directory. You don't need to create dozens of profiles, but it will be essential to find a handful of options with a good reputation that the people in your area use for checking out local businesses.
This way, you can generate backlinks to your website and also put your name out there for people to find. You probably already heard about Yelp, for instance, but Google My Business which is now being renamed to Google Business Profile, is also a local directory. You don't need to create dozens of profiles, but it will be essential to find a handful of options with a good reputation that the people in your area use for checking out local businesses.
4. Optimize Ads for Local Traffic
When you decide to create online ads for your business, you can choose to include your location in the target criteria. Two of the biggest providers are Facebook Ads and Google Ads. They both allow you to select the location of your targeted audience.
Paid ads are highly effective at making sure that you reach your target consumer base. Plus, this is an excellent way of getting quick returns. You want to make sure that your ad is optimized for the right target market so you would get a return on your investment pretty quickly.
So, to ensure you profit from your ads, you need to make sure that they are tailored to attract your ideal clients in your area. If they are not, you could spend a significant amount of money on ad campaigns that are simply a waste of money because people worldwide are clicking on them. Luckily, both Google Ads and Facebook Ads make it very easy to set your location, so it's worth learning to use them correctly or finding an expert to help you with it.
Paid ads are highly effective at making sure that you reach your target consumer base. Plus, this is an excellent way of getting quick returns. You want to make sure that your ad is optimized for the right target market so you would get a return on your investment pretty quickly.
So, to ensure you profit from your ads, you need to make sure that they are tailored to attract your ideal clients in your area. If they are not, you could spend a significant amount of money on ad campaigns that are simply a waste of money because people worldwide are clicking on them. Luckily, both Google Ads and Facebook Ads make it very easy to set your location, so it's worth learning to use them correctly or finding an expert to help you with it.
5. Build Up Local Reviews
It is also essential to make sure that you encourage your clients to leave stellar reviews on your local directories that you can use as testimonials on your website as well.
Reviews work incredibly well because they help people to get a picture of your brand as a trustworthy one. The more people rave about the results they achieved while working with you, the better for your reputation and your local ranking. This is something that Google is going to look on favorably. This will help boost your local search engine marketing efforts because they will pop up whenever someone finds your Google Business Profile or other local directory accounts.
Reviews work incredibly well because they help people to get a picture of your brand as a trustworthy one. The more people rave about the results they achieved while working with you, the better for your reputation and your local ranking. This is something that Google is going to look on favorably. This will help boost your local search engine marketing efforts because they will pop up whenever someone finds your Google Business Profile or other local directory accounts.
We also highly recommend that you spend some time answering reviews that other people have left about your services. If someone has posted a lovely review about you, thanking them is polite and shows that you care about their effort in sharing their experience.
If someone leaves a negative review of your services, it can be tricky to take. However, rather than simply ignoring it, it is good to reach out to the customer to see if you can come to some resolution. There have been many incidents whereby a negative review has resulted in the person becoming a longtime loyal customer because of how the business owner handled it.
Even if the customer does not respond or is not taking your efforts in a good way, the mere fact that you have reached out to them to try and come to a resolution will show your brand in a positive light because it indicates that you want your customers to be happy and that you are prepared to do whatever it takes to rectify any potential issues.
If someone leaves a negative review of your services, it can be tricky to take. However, rather than simply ignoring it, it is good to reach out to the customer to see if you can come to some resolution. There have been many incidents whereby a negative review has resulted in the person becoming a longtime loyal customer because of how the business owner handled it.
Even if the customer does not respond or is not taking your efforts in a good way, the mere fact that you have reached out to them to try and come to a resolution will show your brand in a positive light because it indicates that you want your customers to be happy and that you are prepared to do whatever it takes to rectify any potential issues.
