Does competition for your local personal training business seem to be more fierce than ever? With the increasing number of gyms and fitness professionals joining the industry, it is becoming more and more important to optimize your marketing strategy and get more traffic to your fitness website.
The advantage of running a local fitness business is that your website doesn’t need to appeal to everybody on a global scale; you just need to target the right people in your location.
If you're trying to attract more local leads are ready to buy your services, Google My Business is the ideal advertising tool for you. Here's how to opimise your Google My Business page to get more traffic to your fitness website.
What if I'm An Online Personal Trainer?
If you advertise online personal training services on your website, does it really matter whether the website visitors are local or from half way around the world.
In our experience, local leads are often the best source of online training clients because they already know, like and trust you. Plus, it make implementing a hybrid options very simple and easy.
In our experience, local leads are often the best source of online training clients because they already know, like and trust you. Plus, it make implementing a hybrid options very simple and easy.
Step 1. Understanding Local Searches
When you search for a service on Google you will see three business listings in detail underneath the Google map in your search. These top three businesses are often called the ‘Google 3 Pack.’
The businesses that are highlighted in this three pack are the websites that receive the most clicks on a Google search. Google will only display the businesses that have gone above and beyond in optimizing their local SEO and business listing.
In order to become part of this Google 3 Pack you need work on your listing in a number of ways. Not only do you need to include your industry, location and leywords, but you also need to boost the number of reviews, pages and websites linked to you.
The good news about this Google feature is that the majority of local businesses haven’t even claimed their listings. This means that you already have a head start against your direct competitors. All you need to do is improve your listing and make a few tweaks to increase your prominence.
If you haven’t yet claimed your listing, don't worry, it's completely free and it's one of the cheapest ways that you can get more traffic and clients for your business.
Step 2. Add Your Business Information to Google My Business
The first step to get a Google My Business page live and ready to receive visitors is to actually conduct a Google search to ensure your business doesn’t already have a listing.
Sometimes, if your business has been around for several years or more, Google may have already listed your business and you just need to claim it.
To find out whether you're listed or need to create a new listing, head over to the Google My Business page for adding and claiming GMB listings and enter your business name and address.
Sometimes, if your business has been around for several years or more, Google may have already listed your business and you just need to claim it.
To find out whether you're listed or need to create a new listing, head over to the Google My Business page for adding and claiming GMB listings and enter your business name and address.
As you enter your business name you'll be able to see if Google already a listing for your business. It may also notify you that someone else already claimed your business. If that happens, follow these steps.
Next up, fill in the rest of the info as comprehensively as you can. Your business information, particularly the Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP) plays a vital role in your Google listing. Google wants to see all the information your prospect clients need in order to answer their questions and take the next step with you.
This will include your website address, opening hours and other contact information. Eventually you will also be able to add information about the busy times of day and how long people generally book appointments for.
Finally, you'll need to verify your business by receiving a postcard with a code on it. This is important. Google won't publish your listing until this is done.
Step 3. Make Sure Your Website Matches Up!
Although we are talking about Google My Business listings here, it is very important to consider your website because we're ultimately trying to get more website visitors for your personal trainer website.
With Google’s algorithms becoming more and more clever, you need to make sure your Google listing and website information match up.
With Google’s algorithms becoming more and more clever, you need to make sure your Google listing and website information match up.
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This means including your business name, address and phone number on your website and all other information people need to know.
It is also a good idea to embed a Google Map of your business location into your website too, as Google really likes this!
Step 4. Add Images
Your Google My Business listing won’t be complete without relevant images related to your business. You won’t be able to attract the optimum number of people to your website if you aren’t using images on your business listing so viewers can relate to you straight away.
Uploading several pictures can dramatically improve your listing, as long as you are choosing the correct ones.
Uploading several pictures can dramatically improve your listing, as long as you are choosing the correct ones.
Choosing different types of images will give your potential client a good idea of what your fitness services are about.
Use exterior photos of your business place, action pictures of your clients and interior pictures of your studio or training facility.
Your customers will want to get a feel for the atmosphere so they know what to expect when signing up.
Step 5. Add Categories in Google My Business
If you haven’t already explored the categories element of your business listing, now is the time to get in the know. They will be a vital aspect of getting noticed by your customers.
Many local businesses choose to ignore categories completely which is why they aren’t getting as much traffic as they might hope to. Google have explained a handy way of selecting the categories that are relevant for your business. Choose the category that completes the following sentence:
‘This business is ….’
Don’t try to answer the question:
‘This business does ….’
This will help you to be more specific to the services that you offer, rather than the features you have.
Many local businesses choose to ignore categories completely which is why they aren’t getting as much traffic as they might hope to. Google have explained a handy way of selecting the categories that are relevant for your business. Choose the category that completes the following sentence:
‘This business is ….’
Don’t try to answer the question:
‘This business does ….’
This will help you to be more specific to the services that you offer, rather than the features you have.
Using the right categories will ensure your business gets noticed in a Google search. You don’t want your potential customers to miss out on your offers because you failed to get the categories correctly matched.
Step 6. Get Google Reviews
Google Reviews in Google My Business will be a make or break for your personal training company. People want to know that they are paying money for a trusted service rather than a second rate company. In a survey conducted by Bright Local, customers read ten reviews on average before making their mind up about a business.
When people were asked what they pay attention to when checking reviews, the second most important aspect after the star rating was how many reviews the business has.
When people were asked what they pay attention to when checking reviews, the second most important aspect after the star rating was how many reviews the business has.
Reviews put a whole new perspective on your business and the more positive, the better. Reviews are also one of the top ranking factors that Google looks at when they are making their decisions. The more positive reviews your business has the higher the chance you have of appearing in the top three.
This means that you need to start asking your customers for reviews once they had enough experience with your services. A good idea is to send a follow up email or text message after their session so that they can review the service whilst it is still fresh in their head.
Step 7. Get More Business Listings
A final touch to optimize your listing is to focus on your name, address and phone (NAP) citations. These are mentions of your business name and address on other webpages; there doesn’t even need to be a link to your website.
This is why your NAP information is so important in your listing and your website. If it isn’t consistent people are going to get spellings wrong and struggle to find your website. In order to earn a higher ranking on Google, you should definitely work on getting as many citations as possible.
This can be done by listing your business on other websites such as Yelp, Foursquare or TripAdvisor. You will need to create accounts with these sites and include all of the relevant business information. Although, this can be quite time consuming, it will be worth it in the end.
This is why your NAP information is so important in your listing and your website. If it isn’t consistent people are going to get spellings wrong and struggle to find your website. In order to earn a higher ranking on Google, you should definitely work on getting as many citations as possible.
This can be done by listing your business on other websites such as Yelp, Foursquare or TripAdvisor. You will need to create accounts with these sites and include all of the relevant business information. Although, this can be quite time consuming, it will be worth it in the end.
Take Home Message
Go through each step that has been mentioned above and watch your rankings increase as time goes on. Keep a close eye on your competitors and always strive to keep your spot in the top three Google pack. Optimizing your Google My Business page can be a quick and simple task that is well worth it for your business in the long run.
Remember, that the combination of a strong website and business listing can never be underestimated. Local SEO might take a while to get your head around, but your business will soon be easier than ever to find.
Remember, that the combination of a strong website and business listing can never be underestimated. Local SEO might take a while to get your head around, but your business will soon be easier than ever to find.
