Local SEO Mistakes You're Probably Making for Gyms/Fitness Centers

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When someone searches for a gym, they usually look for a gym nearby. If you own a great gym and wish to have a better influx of customers, you need to up your local SEO game. 

Below are a few mistakes you can avoid to capture the attention of your target audience.

11 Mistakes to Avoid When Doing Local SEO for Gyms/Fitness Centers

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1. Set up the Same Page for Different Locations

If your gym or fitness center is at more than one location, don’t present all of them together. This limits your benefits regarding Google search because you clubbed all the pages. 

Instead, if you have separate pages for each location, you can optimize your strategy locally for each page. This will give you more scope to rank up on Google when someone looks up a Gym or Fitness center in their area.

To-Do This, Here Are Some Tips You Can Follow:

• Develop different web pages for different locations considering all of them as separate entities.

• Target long-tail keywords specific to that location.

• You can attract a larger audience from different locations by creating location-specific content.

2. Give an Overview of the Services

Most fitness centers or gyms just touch upon different services they are offering. It is a mistake to avoid. 

After all, customers are curious to know more about the services they’ll get once they enroll in it.

Here Are A Few Examples:

• If someone searches Zumba classes near me and you have a dedicated page for it, it will capture more attention than your competitor’s website that briefly mentions it.

• If someone is looking up yoga classes for pregnant moms and you are offering a special session for would-be moms, then you can expect more hits on it than any other web page.

• If a customer is looking for a membership in your gym and your page lists different memberships you offer for singles, couples, families, etc. Then it’s great, and you got your audience.

3. Forget the Contact Us Page on the Website

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to lose most of your potential customers. If a customer wishes to come in for a trial session in your gym or fitness center but cannot reach you, he is gone. 

Customers want to call and check for the details before visiting your gym or fitness center. But if you do not have a dedicated contact us page, you lose out on your customers big time!

Here Are Some Tips That Can Help You Out:

• Proactively tell your location. Show it on a Google Map with a pin marking your fitness center, making it easier for your users.

• Provide more than just one contact information. Give users your mobile number, email address, landline number, etc.

• Give additional information, such as how far the gym is from a popular landmark or center of the city.

Read: Get to Know 15 Incredible Features of Google Maps

4. Skip out Multimedia Content on the Website

Remember, when customers surf your website, they are not there to just read. Visuals create an intense psychological impact on them. 

If they can see a combination of images and videos on the website and supporting text, it will enhance their experience. 

Moreover, when they engage with any visual content will also increase the session time on your website.

Here Are A Few Things That You Can Do To Enhance User Engagement:

• Upload videos of the gym trainers guiding the people working out. You can even record body transformation videos for your customers.

• Use keyword-rich alt text with the images that you are uploading.

• Upload gifs and infographics on the website. This will make your web pages more interesting and engaging.

5. Not Showcase a Virtual Tour

A virtual tour is a great way for beginners in fitness to have a close-to-real experience. It gives them a sneak peek into the workout sessions and increases their chances of joining your gym. They get a feel of what it is like to be in the space. 

Moreover, customers begin to imagine how they will spend their time being a part of it. Ensure you capture people working out, machines, services you offer, etc.

Here Are Some Tools:

• 3DVista Virtual Tour Pro: This tool helps you create virtual tours which are interactive and, therefore, best to engage your users.

• Makevt: It is a free tool to help you create panoramas. In addition to that, you can upload them directly on the website and your social media handles.

• Eyespy360: It is a free-to-use tool. The good thing is that you can use Info Labels to specify the gym's equipment types.

6. Avoid Case Studies

If you wish to invite more people to be a part of your gym, then capture inspiring case studies and upload them on your website. What can motivate them better than the journey of someone they can relate to. 

You should be able to capture the emotion and struggle that they have been through to attain the desired goal. It will connect with the users.

Here Are A Few Tips For Breaking It Down:

• Capture the ‘before’ picture and initial training sessions. Capture data, including weight, calorie-burning rate, workout time, etc.

• Show progress over a while. Showcase how consistency, the right training, and diet improved the person’s physique.

• Show transformation. Upload the ‘after’ picture. The data should show the difference and how it aligns with the customer's aim.

7. Neglect Customer Reviews

Consider these the voices your potential customers will trust more than what you tell them through your website. 

Register your website on as many platforms as possible for more visibility, so your gym shows up on Google. 

Your customers are like the ambassadors of your fitness business. So, when they talk about your services, it matters.

Here Are A Few Tips For You To Keep In Mind:

• Collect as many good reviews as possible from your happy customers. This builds faith in your potential customers to be a part of your fitness center.

• Never turn a blind eye to the negative reviews. They can affect your reputation more than you can think. So, it is always good to develop a solution for such reviews that you receive.

• Treat both appreciation and criticism alike. Do not get overwhelmed by any of those, and respond to these reviews as soon as possible.

Read: Reviews & Its Role in Local SEO

8. Regress Website as per Local Keywords

Using local keywords is one of the best ways to reach out to a maximum of your target audience. Local SEO keywords can help you boost the rankings in a limited period. 

All you need to do is optimize your meta title, meta descriptions, tags, and alt texts accordingly. 

For example: ‘Fitness center’ is a generic keyword, and tough to beat the competition. However, the ‘core fitness training center in Seattle’ can help you get better reach.

Here Are Some Tools To Help:

• Google Keywords Planner: This tool comes in handy to help you understand the average monthly searches and local keyword suggestions as per the trend.

• Ahrefs Keyword Explorer: It helps you judge your keywords based on the difficulty parameter. You understand whether your web page will be able to rank up for a certain keyword or not.

• Keywords Everywhere: It is a free chrome extension to give you suggestions on different long-tail keywords for your target keywords.

9. Exclude Changes as per Mobile

The entire SEO game has changed since most users search for a website on mobile rather than a desktop or other device. For instance, you must be mindful of the mobile's white space. 

You need to ensure the fitness videos and images you upload are responsive and quick to load. The text explaining diet or subscription models should be crisp and legible.

Here Are Some Tools To Help Your Website Attain Mobile-Friendliness:

• Google Site Mobile Test: You need to paste web page URLs that tell you whether it is mobile-friendly.

• Chrome Dev Tools: It helps you make the necessary changes to improve the speed of your website on mobile.

• Gator Website Builder: This tool helps you build a mobile-friendly website with more than 200 templates available for you to use.

10. Disharmonize Website for Voice Search

Search is getting more advanced these days. People don’t have time to type and just wish to say it and get the information right there. 

You need to optimize your website for voice searches because people wish to speak to their phones rather than type on their screens. Therefore, voice assistants like Google Echo and Alexa have become increasingly popular daily. 

Here Are Some Tips And Examples That You Can Follow:

• Now the search has become conversation-based rather being keyword-based. People talk to these devices in an informal tone.

• For example, users won’t say ‘gym operating hours’; instead, they will say, ‘Ok, Google, which gym is open late at night near my house?’ 

• You can use platforms like AnswerThePublic to better understand what kind of questions your customers are searching for.

11. Omit GMB Listing

A GMB listing is a must to attract the local audience in your area. Ensure you add all the details to your GMB listing. It has the power to attract your customers both online and offline. 

Always look out for positive reviews. People who look up to your business always want to know what other customers say.

Here Are Some Tips:

• Claim your business listing: Once you give in all the details, you need to claim your business. It is a verification that means you own it.

• Keep updating: Adding all the details and claiming your listing does not solve the purpose. You need to keep updating the details. For instance: your contact information or address, etc., if it changes.

• Make a good first impression: The images and videos you choose for your GMB listing must be good quality but real. They should be able to provide an actual feel of the space.

Read: Step-by-step Setup Guide for Google My Business Set up

Key Takeaways

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1. Present all your gym locations separately. This allows you to optimize each page and improve your rank on Google.

2. Give details about your services at your gym or fitness center. It will attract more users.

3. Make it easy for your customers to reach you with a separate contact us page on the website.

4. Give a virtual tour of the space to inspire your potential customers to become a member of the gym.

5. Record and upload body transformation videos to attract more footfall on your website.

6. Capture customer testimonials. It inspires more customers as they can relate to their stories.