In honor of Halloween, let’s talk about a scary subject for gym owners with websites — far more terrifying than ghosts or goblins, or Jason or Freddie. We’re talking about search engine optimization (SEO).
It’s actually not scary at all. It’s simply creating readable, searchable content so your visitors can:
- Find basic information about your location, hours and how to contact you.
- See your schedule.
- Book classes, or buy memberships and retail products.
If your SEO is good enough, you’ll rank high on search engines like Google, and people will easily find your business.
Here are five good ways to improve your SEO:
Use the right search terms.
Research the keywords people use when they look for your service and business. Sometimes that’s as easy as typing in your city name and the service you provide (think “San Diego barre”). Get a Google Analytics account to help you find out what these keywords are. After finding out, use them across your website, especially in headers and page titles.
Start a blog.
Boost your SEO by starting a blog and regularly updating your website with fresh content. This will increase your ranking for certain terms and lets search engines know what your site is about. You can also use relevant posts (“five reasons why San Diegans love barre,” for example) to promote your business and turn readers into clients.
Improve your linking.
Having links to your site shows a search engine it can be trusted. Reach out to partners in your community, like visitor’s bureaus and chambers of commerce, and ask them to link to your site. From there, seek out other businesses with similar customers (for instance, a yoga studio could partner with a nearby gym where members go for cardio) and see if they will link to your business, and vice-versa.
Don’t overdo it with photos and graphics.
A page with too many images could be slow to load on a computer or phone screen. Try to stick to an 80:20 ratio of words to images on any given page.
Be responsive.
Roughly a third of Google searches take place on mobile devices. Therefore, you want your website to be mobile-friendly, or “responsive.” Search engines penalize sites that aren’t. If you built your site with WordPress, plenty of plugins are available to help make your site responsive.
Practicing good SEO will let the search engines know your site is a useful, safe place to send users. Using these tips will not only help you attract more traffic, but also make your site more useful for your visitors. For Halloween and beyond, good SEO is all treat, no trick.
Kyle Magin is a senior copywriter for MINDBODY. Contact him at kyle.magin@mindbodyonline.com.
