Visual content is critical to reaching your audience. Words are valuable, but visual content gets attention right away. As you build your gym’s presence online, don’t overlook the importance of creating content that’s highly visible and instantly attention-grabbing to a local potential patron who is scrolling social media.
Visual local SEO strategies for gyms create an opportunity to not only rank in the search engines but also make people want to be a part of your program. With gyms, that feeling of belonging is critical to express, and visual content allows you to do that instantly.
Using images and videos as a component of your local SEO strategy helps drive consumers to your gym. Consider how important it is for you when considering a new service. If you need to visit a healthcare provider, a short video of the doctor explaining the procedure puts you at ease and helps you to better understand what to expect.
Images and videos can help create better client engagement and build your gym’s ability to attract and retain a local customer base. In gyms, where staying top-of-mind is critical, these visual components can play a big role in your success.
Understanding the Role of Visuals in Local SEO
Optimizing images with local SEO can improve how well your website ranks in the search engines. That helps to get more locals to visit your website. The key is to ensure your website is directly impactful to the local patron you want to welcome with a membership. When you achieve this, you’ll keep visitors engaged in your business and more likely to refer it to others.
High-quality visuals instantly appeal to someone looking for a gym. For example, when your website photos depict a modern gym with great equipment, smiling people, and an upbeat atmosphere, that helps influence those who visit your site to join as well. It creates a positive customer experience.
Consider the opposite. If a gym does not have photos or videos, you have no idea about the condition of the location or what’s offered beyond what’s stated. That’s not going to encourage patrons to join.
Visual Local SEO Strategy
How can you blend local SEO tactics and the power of visual content to drive more engagement and increase your gym’s membership ranks?
Consider the following ways visuals can complement and build your local SEO efforts.
Visual SEO Tactics for Your Website & Blog
Your website is the face of your gym to potential new patrons. It needs to create a clear image of what people can expect if they sign up. To do this, focus on these areas:
- Use high-resolution, relevant images on your website’s home page. These should be instantly appealing to someone who reaches your home page.
- Ensure your appointment booking page for gym programs or your trainer consultation pages have clear images of the location, and those people patrons may be meeting with.
- Use your About page to clearly demonstrate who the leadership, trainers, and managers of your gym are. This breaks down walls for prospective members.
- Create a visually appealing and locally relevant website design, such as using local images or photos of the exterior of your building.
- Incorporate local landmarks into the images on your site, including what’s nearby or what plaza your gym is in. Consider providing images of local events your members participate in as well.
- Use local imagery in your video content (and photos), which you will then utilize in blog posts. For example, if your members compete in a local event, capture photos of that event to use as imagery in blog posts.
- Build your local stories through visual content. Have a local who grew up in the area talk about the importance of your gym in their life, perhaps as a documentary-style testimonial with a video that’s shot within the community.
- Use videos and images on your website to showcase your brand and the personality of your gym members.
- When creating file names for images and meta descriptions, use location-specific keywords with city names to clearly mark where they took place.
In addition to this, ensure all of the visual imagery you are using is very specifically on-brand. That is, you want to be sure it is communicating the same message on your website and blog (and all other locations where prospective clients can engage with you).
Visual SEO Tactics for Your Directory Listings
Directory listings are a powerful tool for building your local SEO as well. They allow you to be ranked within the community’s directory listings for the services you offer. As a gym, you’ll want to focus on Facebook, Yelp, and similar platforms.
- Upload visually engaging images to these directories. Make them of your location, services, and program offerings.
- Document through images the quality of customer service and support, trainers working with patrons, and the success your patrons have.
- Showcase the success your members have achieved due to your involvement. This will help demonstrate the level of skill you offer.
Make sure the branding across all platforms is the same. You should also communicate your message the same across all directories to help build your brand.
Visual SEO Tactics for Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is a valuable tool that will attract clients (and members) to your website and your location. It is a free listing tool that allows you to demonstrate what your business is, what it offers, and what customers can expect from it. To utilize visual strategies here, focus on these tips:
- Use high-quality photos of the gym and its members (with permission) to help showcase what your location offers.
- Use uploaded videos to break down training programs, provide trainer interactions, or document testimonials from your members.
- Encourage your gym members to rate your gym on the Google Business Profile site. Then, ask them to add photos of the gym that they took. That helps to build credibility.
Keep your Google Business Profile up to date. When someone arrives at your business, they should see what’s in the photos. That helps encourage them to share their own images.
Visual SEO Tactics for Your Social Media Profiles
Social media is all about engagement, and visual content is one of the most effective ways to do this. Social media requires more constant attention, but you can use a much wider range of visual content to reach your audience in a meaningful way. Consider these strategies to do that:
- Create highly engaging social media posts. For example, every post on your page (or most of them) should include a local shot of your gym, a piece of equipment, a patron working out, or even the location itself. Be sure these are specific to your location and not photos of other gyms.
- Utilize all social media platforms where your potential members may be. That may include Instagram (great for images and reaching a wider audience), Facebook, and YouTube. These sites are excellent ways to provide storytelling marketing. Photos and videos can help showcase what people are accomplishing within your location.
- Encourage your community to share photos. When you’re using social media, ask gym members to post a photo in the comments or leave a review with a photo.
Visual SEO Tactics for Your Online Ads
Online advertising can be a core component of building your local SEO. It allows you to target people who are specifically looking for gyms within your area. There are various ways to do this, including using images.
For example, your online advertising could use any of the following images to help make sure locals know you are within their community:
- Local lingo, especially on locations or people’s names
- Landmarks in the area
- Your company’s logo, if it’s recognizable (such as the sign outside)
Use any imagery that’s specific to your business. This is not the best place to use stock photos. Instead, make it highly authentic to ensure people know exactly what they will find at your location.
In addition to this, you’ll want to run ads on Google, Facebook, and other platforms to drive engagement. It’s a good idea to continuously adjust your strategy with new videos and content to bring in more people. The same photo gets old and is easy to pass up on over time.
Measure and track success
Once you have a program in place, it’s time to start working towards successful marketing campaigns. To do this, you’ll want to incorporate engagement metrics into your visuals. Use tools that help you see how people are connecting with your images, what’s getting shared on social media, and what gets people to click on it.
Over time, you’ll adjust your visual content strategies to improve performance data overall. That way, you’re getting the most out of every dollar you spend.
Use Visual Local SEO Strategies for Gyms That Work
Localizing your online presence means incorporating visual content that reflects your location and the services you offer. Take the time to create high-quality images and videos that reflect your business.
Surefire Local can help you with the process. We help small businesses establish their online presence by creating local signals across all platforms that help search engines and potential patrons find the gyms they need and want to work with, driving up membership.
Attend a Surefire Local demo now to check out how our all-in-one marketing platform works for gyms like your business.