It should be no surprise having a website for personal trainers is a must, especially if you want to train more clients. Even if you are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat, you need to have an effective personal trainer website. A website adds a level of legitimacy and can be a terrific way to share what you know and who you are.
Think of the website as important as your business card, perhaps your digital business card. This is a place where you can control your message and your brand that is portrayed to clients and potential clients looking for your services.
When people search “personal trainer” in your area, do you want to come up in that search…. Yes, of course!
Having a website isn’t a guarantee to get you more business though. Personally, I’ve come across more sub-par websites of personal trainers than good ones.
5 Tips For Building an Effective Personal Trainer Website
1. Be Unique. What makes training with you different than going to someone else? Most websites say the same thing.
Everyone mentions what services they offer but few really say anything about how they can help. Think through the lens of a prospective client, what would make them want to pick up the phone and call you to get started?
2. Contact info. If a prospective client has to search and search for your phone number or email, then you most likely will lose their potential business. Put your contact info at the top of every page and in easy find areas in numerous spots on the site.
3. Clear and concise. I used to think writing paragraphs looked better and more people would read. Sadly they do not. People tend to skim information; less is more.
4. Visual. Videos are very powerful. We live in a very visual society and having footage of testimonials or action shots of what you have to offer can help potential clients imagine what’s like to train with you.
5. Links to social media. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more make it easier than ever to connect with people.
Promoting Your Personal Trainer Website
After building your website comes the business of making sure it gets seen.
If your website isn’t showing up on the first page of the search engine results (hint: Doubtful that it will right away) then you may have some more work to do. And, it takes a thought-out marketing plan. Not just wishful thinking!
How Search Engines Work
Search engines use algorithms that essentially send out millions of “spiders” to crawl every website, collect data, and return that data to the user. To get a better understanding of this let’s try a little “what if”.
What if…
It’s New Year’s day and my first resolution is to get in shape. It’s been one of my resolutions for the past 20 years, and for the past 20 years, I’ve failed. But this year is going to be different. I realize I can’t do it on my own. This year I’m going to get some help. So, I hop on my computer, go to Google and type, “I need to lose weight.”
After a couple of irrelevant websites, a cheesy YouTube video, and a rather disturbing blog, I realize I may need to be a bit more specific. So, I type into the search bar, “personal trainers.”
Immediately Google spiders scour the world wide web, find websites with the keywords “personal trainer”, sort them to fit my location, and deliver the results back to me with the websites they deem to be most relevant and credible at the top of the list.
Since I live in a world of instant gratification, I click on the first link that seems relevant (skipping the ads of course), give that gym a call, and set up an appointment.
Here’s the problem: that link I clicked on didn’t take me to your website. Your website wasn’t on the first page so I never even saw it. In reality, you may be a better fit for me, but Google didn’t see it that way, so neither did I.
Become More Attractive to Spiders
First figure out what terms people in your area use to find a fitness facility. Google offers a free keyword tool that will help you figure this out. Make sure those keywords are used in prime locations on your site while adding value to the visitor.
Be Where Potential Clients Are
Unless you are trying to attract international clientele, make sure your business is synonymous with your city in the eyes of search engines. Google, Bing, and Yahoo all offer local business listings.
Link Up
Links are very important. They are like flies to a spider. The best links for you will come from other fitness (a.k.a. relevant) websites.
One way to accomplish this is by getting a blog post published on a reputable fitness website (like ours!). Another, and very valuable, solution is to get listed on as many directories as you can.
Find directories that allow you to add content. These directories are highly optimized and are often featured at the top of search results. Use directories that will help the spiders draw a connection between your location and your industry (fitness). Provide as much information as they allow. Before you start, create a Business Listing Profile document.
You didn’t build your fitness business in the middle of a field without any roads leading to it. Don’t leave your website out to pasture. Put it where people can find it. These three steps will move you in the right direction.
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Ian Nimblett, CFSC, CSCS, NFPT-CPT and is a functional strength & conditioning coach, personal trainer, and author. He is the founder and owner of Premier Fitness Group LLC in South Salem, NY, a world-class functional training facility that provides private, semi-private, and group training.
