Everyone knows that a website and online presence are necessary for any business, including a fitness center. However, digital marketing is a bit overwhelming, and can become a bit confusing and frustrating. Should you pay for PPC search traffic or invest in native social advertising? Should you focus more on blogging or social media marketing? Underlying all these marketing strategies is making sure you are targeting a mostly local crowd, and not wasting money on a global audience. Don’t you agree?
When you are looking information, what do you do? According to Google, during the course of the day, the typical person is grabbing their smartphone and looking for everything from “how to whiten teeth” to “what to do this weekend”. Moreover, the typical users want information that is relevant to them, their neighborhood, and their community. When a person seeks information on their fitness center and gym options, local search optimization ensures your website shows up on their search results page.
Basic local SEO will first concentrate on website design elements. Local keywords are added to page titles and descriptions, and a designer will embed structured data markup data. Your business name, address, and phone number are visible. Additionally, a Google or Bing map is added, along with outgoing links to local resources. All these elements inform search engines that you are targeting a local market.
The second stage of local search optimization targets online directories, such as Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, and Foursquare. Search engines compare and contrast from online directories, using the data to augment their own. It is critical all the information on each are identical, and matches your website. Make sure your hours, payment options, and business categories are all correct.
Finally, there is the creation of locally relevant content. Google and the other search engines love fresh, new content. The more web pages you have, the more search engines will identify you as authoritative, giving a boost to your website within search results. However, in order to attract those most likely to buy a fitness center membership, most of your content must have local relevance. For instance, a blog entry entitled “How to Burn More Calories in Yourtown, USA” can discuss how many calories a person can burn hiking a local trail, playing 18 holes at a local golf course, or completing a bicycle tour of local historic attractions.
Why Local Search Optimization Will Help Attract New Customers to Your Fitness Center
- Local users are using the internet to find locally relevant information
- Online local marketing is highly targeted and timely
- Mobile is the largest segment of online search and it is focused on feeding immediate needs
- Optimizing for local search provides a better return on investment
- Many local search strategies are free or low-cost
- Customers rely on search engines to find local businesses
What haven’t we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like to talk about local search optimization and your fitness center, or a related topic, please contact us.