SEO for gyms and nutrition coaches is more important than ever. As they day to day tasks take over, many gym owners and nutrition coaches fail to prioritize the actual process it takes to get new members or clients. Relying solely on referrals and walk ins is not a good long term plan. Those eventually run out and don’t come around in volume enough to rely on as a main source of people to help.
Without a constant flow of new members, the business will eventually die. This being said, SEO, aka search engine optimization, is an extremely important part of how to potentially get clients. Prioritizing and setting up a plan to work on an SEO strategy is time well spent that will pay off with your business getting noticed!
In this blog post we will discuss several ways to optimize SEO starting with the simplest methods first!
What Is SEO For Gyms & Nutrition Coaches?
Showing up first on a Google search is the ultimate goal!
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing online content in order to increase visibility on search engines and attract more organic visitors. SEO for gyms and nutrition coaches can help you reach a larger audience, boost your web presence, generate leads and ultimately grow your business.
By creating quality content based on relevant locations, keywords and topics, you can make sure that prospective clients are able to find you quickly when they’re searching for services in your area related to fitness or nutrition coaching. Ultimately, SEO is an essential part of any successful marketing strategy – it has been proven time and time again.
Why Is SEO For Gyms & Nutrition Coaches Important?
Having an effective SEO strategy is essential for gyms and nutrition coaches to stay competitive. With so many local competitors out there, having a plan that allows your business to stand out from the rest in search rankings is absolutely crucial. SEO enables businesses to reach their target audience more easily and efficiently.
For example, when potential customers are looking for local businesses related to nutrition or fitness, a business listing with strong SEO strategies will show up higher in search results on search engine platforms, and have a better chance of being seen by potential customers. In addition to improved visibility in searches, SEO also helps create trust among customers who may not be familiar with your brand or business. Customers today rely heavily on online research before making any purchase decisions – by investing in SEO, you can make sure your gym or nutrition coaching services stand out from the crowd and that customers trust what they find.
Ultimately, SEO is an invaluable tool for gyms and nutrition coaches to attract more business and build their brand.
Without further ado we will get right into the 5 tips to get started with SEO and get noticed by local customers. If your businesses is not doing #1, then you need to seriously up your game.
Steps To Get Started With Improving Your Gym SEO: Ranked From Easiest To Hardest
Step #1 – Set Up And Optimize Your Google Business Profile Listing
If you have a physical address and phone number, making sure your Google Business Profile listing is updated should be the first place to start! Local SEO is huge! If a business is updated with Google, the location of the business shows up in Google Maps and in searches when people are searching locally. “Gyms Near Me” or “Nutrition Near Me” are how a lot of people use search engines to find nutrition coaches, a gym or fitness studio.
Google Business Profile is a FREE yet an often overlooked, powerful tool that can help nutrition coaches and gym owners improve their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. By updating your business information on Google My Business, you can make sure that potential customers are more likely to find your business before others when searching online.
In addition to making it easier for people to locate your services, your GBP also allows you to showcase reviews, post updates about current promotions or events, and even respond directly to customer inquiries. Having a Google Business Profile helps build trust with prospective customers by providing them with the latest information about what you do, and how they can contact you. All of this exposure adds up over time and will result in increased brand awareness and higher sales.
How To Optimize Your Google Business Profile Listing
The first step is to click this link to ensure your Google Business Profile is set up or claimed. After this step is taken care of, further optimization strategies should be taken to attract more website visitors.
As a reminder, this is all FREE!
Edit Your Profile
On your business profile page, Google allows you to edit your business name, business category, business description, opening date, contact information, physical location, service area, business hours, holiday hours, accessibility, and amenities.
No stone should be left unturned here. Make sure your service pages are updated with pricing.
Add Photos & videos to your business profile
Photos are an essential part of a successful Google Business listing. Through captivating visuals, you can showcase powerful testimonials and client stories. Showcasing someone else’s success story helps others relate to that person. In potential clients mind they are thinking, “If that person can do it, I can to.”
Not only do photos give potential customers a glimpse into your business, but they can also provide valuable SEO benefits. By uploading quality images to your GBP listing, you can increase the visibility in local google search results, boost organic traffic and conversions, and improve your overall search engine rankings, especially to your local audience.
I add a task to my calendar every other week to upload new photos to my GBP listing. This creates consistency and ensures I will not forget.
Respond To And Ask For Reviews
Did you know that your online reputation matters!? Google is the place of choice when clients or customers are searching for a service or business. Sixty – three percent of clients will check your reviews before even visiting your website! This is why we suggest you get consistent reviews from your clients!
How do you get reviews if your clients aren’t leaving them? Simply ask! People are busy, and unless they are business owners themselves, they don’t realize how positive reviews can help your business.
At HSN and Live Active 563, we use Push Press Grow, a client relationship management software for gym and fitness studio owners to help us ask for reviews. We schedule out our requests in our software and we customize the request to fit our needs.
For example, a request for a review could say something like “Hey Jenny, we love that you are having so much success with your nutrition and fitness. Would you mind writing us a quick review about how the nutrition program has helped you? Doing so will help inspire others to do the same.”
If you don’t have a CRM, adding the task to your calendar on a recurring weekly basis will help remind you to ask for reviews. My suggestion would be to assign a few letters of the alphabet to each week and run down the list of clients for that week who haven’t given a review. Shoot them a text and ask for a five star review! It’s that simple. The only thing they can say is no – or just not respond. For reference – my own sister hasn’t left a review yet for my business yet and I’ve asked her about 5 times!
After you receive reviews or testimonials, showcasing them and telling your client stories in social media and marketing is important! People buy from people and when others show their success, it bodes well for the integrity of your business.
Responding To Reviews
Responding to your reviews after you receive them is extremely important! In doing so you create an environment and reputation of caring about your clients and what people say about you. When future consumers see this on your business page you become like-able and people trust you.
Inevitably you will receive a negative review. It can be tragic however responding tactfully to them is just as important as responding to the positive ones.
Add Services To your business Listings
Google allows you to add services to your listings page. Simply create a category or heading and list your services and pricing underneath each category. There is also a place to add a description for each service.
Set Up Your Booking Link
Making it simple for people to sign up with you is imperative. Potential clients could easily set up free intro appointments with you using a booking link if you add one to your profile. You have the option to use Google to book appointments, or if you are like us, we use Push Press Grow and link our online calendar to our profile on Google for booking.
Step #2 - Start Using Social Media Accounts Consistently
If you’re a gym or nutrition coach, don’t underestimate the power of social media. It can be an incredibly valuable resource if leveraged correctly, so make sure you stay consistent with your accounts and use them to effectively tell the story of your business. With effective optimization strategies, businesses in the health and wellness industry will be able to gain more customers, drive traffic to their website, and grow their customer base considerably.
Instagram – Start Creating Reels or Tik Tok
Instagram created the Reel in 2020. Ever since then it’s taken short form video by storm competing with Tik Tok and now YouTube. Because of the competition surrounding reels, Instagram pushes reels into the algorithm more than traditional posts.
This means if you create reels consistently your content has the potential to reach more people than just a regular post in your feed. Rumor has it that Google is working to start indexing Instagram reels which will allow them to show up in search results.
Just like all the Google things we discussed above, add tasks to your calendar to create one reel per week. When doing that consistently, add in two. If you are an HSN Mentoring client, you get sample reel templates in your monthly marketing content.
YouTube – Start Creating videos!
YouTube is owned by Google so anytime you post a video in YouTube – the content will eventually be indexed, and start showing up in search results. Adding a calendar task to remind you to create content is going to be key.
One amazing feature that YouTube is now really starting to promote is YouTube Shorts. Think of Shorts like an Instagram reel. Users have one minute to create meaningful content that catches viewers attention and keeps it. YouTube makes video editing easy and offers a great video editing feature to their short creator app, just like Instagram and Tik Tok.
Again, because of the competition with short form video amongst Instagram, TikTok and now YouTube, shorts are being pushed into the algorithm and new YouTubers content is getting noticed more than it used to.
Long form video content is also great when creating a YouTube channel however it’s not as easy for people to create and edit. Especially gym owners who are always busy with clients, and are typically creating and editing this content themselves. Starting with shorts is a great way to get some small wins. One great feature YouTube has is that it allows you to use snippets of your long form video content to create a short.
Step #3 - Make Sure Your Website Is Updated With Keywords
Adding keywords to your website pages is an important step in improving your SEO. Keywords help search engines like Google to identify the content of a webpage, allowing them to determine how relevant it is to certain search queries. By including keywords specifically related to your gym’s services AND location on each web page, you are helping search engines to index and rank your website more effectively. This will result in increased visibility and traffic from potential customers looking for what you have to offer.
Doing research into the most effective seo keywords for your niche can be highly beneficial in any website optimization strategy, as these are the words that users are likely to enter when searching for something related to your business.
One great way to determine what keywords to add to your site is to consider how you search for a gym when you are traveling.
Check out my website page for the SWEAT Bootcamp we offer. It says “Bootcamp classes in Bettendorf, IA.” I have the class name and our location all in one longtail keyword.
Our website builder and CRM manager, Push Press built our website and optimized it with keywords that were relevant in searches for our area and online. If you don’t have a website provider to help you with updating keywords for your site, check out Fivvr.com. They have a directory of a ton of freelance SEO and website specialists that can help you update your website in no time at all!
Step #4 - Start Blogging For Your Business
Blogging is an extremely powerful tool for business owners. When potential and current clients can go to your blog for a resource to their most vexing questions, it begins to build trust and show you as an authoritative figure or expert in your field.
Benefits of blogging for your business are…
Boosts website visibility and reach
A blog is a great way to improve the SEO of your business’ website, as it enables you to add more relevant keywords and content which will help search engines recognize your website. This can be particularly useful for businesses in competitive markets such as gyms, as it gives them an edge over their competitors in terms of website ranking and visibility.
Connects with customers
Blogging provides an opportunity to share stories that are unique to your business, allowing you to engage customers on a personal level. This connection can lead to greater customer loyalty, promoting trust and providing a platform for customers to give feedback which can subsequently inform product or service development.
Builds expertise & authority
Posting content related to your industry can help establish you as an expert in the field, which could be beneficial for attracting new customers. This authoritative presence can also help potential customers make informed decisions when choosing between different businesses.
Increases website traffic
Creating quality content that is optimized with relevant keywords can drive more organic traffic to your website, leading to increased visibility and sales. Additionally, by creating content that resonates with readers, they’re more likely to share it with their networks, further increasing the reach of your business.
Diversifies marketing efforts
A blog provides a platform for businesses to diversify their marketing efforts beyond traditional methods such as email campaigns or ads. By having consistent content published on a regular basis, businesses can attract customers in different ways and thus increase their customer base.
Generates leads
The content published on a blog is often the first time a potential customer sees you, and they not may not have heard about your business before. By having compelling content that drives readers to take action, such as subscribing to an email list or signing up for a free trial, you can generate more leads from people interested in what your business has to offer.
How Do I Get Started With Blogging?
Blogging can be daunting for gym owners or nutrition coaches because it takes a bit of time. And, many fear they have nothing to write about so they don’t start. 8.5 billion searches per day happen on Google. I found that number by Googling it! There are many expensive keyword research tools on the market to try and figure out who is searching for what and how often, however when just starting out, try the free things first.
A few best practices when considering what to write about are to write about topics that people are trending on or talking about. How do you do this? It’s simple… Here are a couple tips.
Listen to what is going on around you. Discussions about protein, exercises, recipes and food are happening everyday between your clients. Use those topics. It will give you more than enough to write about for years.
Google “lose fat.” When you type those words in a list of related topics comes up. Those related topics are what people are searching for on Google.
Go to ahrefs.com/. Here you can type in a keyword you think would be good to write about and discover how many other people in the world are searching for it on a regular basis.
Check out Answer The Public. This website allows you to type in a topic. When you do a wheel pops up of all the questions people have related to your topic.
Take A Blogging Course: I HIGHLY recommend Blog Growth Engine
If you offer online personal training or nutrition coaching, or sell some type of online course related to nutrition and fitness like we do at HSN Mentoring, then taking a blogging course would be very beneficial.
A blogging course will teach you about keyword research, blog structure/on page SEO, back links and more. It will help you learn how to get your blogs to rank on the first page of Google so search engine users pick you first!
I’m able to write and optimize this blog now because I took a blogging course to help me write blogs for my gyms website and my personal website. Freelance writing to help spread the word of nutrition and wellness is now possible too.
Conclusion
If you are looking for more clients, and I think all of us are, then there is no excuse to not start some of these simple SEO strategies today. They are ranked in order from easiest to accomplish to most difficult to accomplish. Begin by updating your Google Business Profile and optimizing it. Set a day and time to each week to take and upload some pictures or videos and get your services updated immediately!
DM me if you are struggling and I can help walk you through it!
