10 Tips for Improving Your Gym Blog

Your gym blog is one of the most important pieces of your gym marketing. It attracts visitors via search engines and can be used to communicate value to both potential new and existing gym members. Despite its importance, may gyms and health clubs don’t do a very good job of blogging.

1. Keywords

Keywords form the crux of a good blog post. They keep you focused and prevent you from straying away from your topic. But keywords are also essential from an SEO perspective. By focusing on a single keyword and using it periodically in your post, Google will recognize your content and rank it accordingly. The higher quality the content, the more likely you are to rank higher in Google and other search engines for that and other targeted keywords. The higher you’re ranked, the more traffic you’ll get to your gym blog (leading to more potential customers).

2. Blog Title

The title is the most prominent piece of a search engine result. You want to convey what the post is about in a manner that will get people to click on your post. The types of posts, and therefore titles, that tend to work best are “How To” posts, list posts (“7 Ways To…”), or questions “Where do I…” Play around with your titles and your content and see what works best. Just make sure to include your keyword in your blog title.

3. Headers

Headers, or h-tags, help separate your content into chunks that your reader can easily digest. The h-tags essentially title the sub-sections of your post that support your main post title. You want to make sure that you are providing a few headers inside your post so your reader can understand the sections and thoughts your blog is presenting. Headers make it easy to know when one thought/section has ended and another begins.

H-tags also serve a double purpose for SEO purposes. You want your keyword to appear in your h-tags as well. When you layer your keyword into your post title, h-tags, and body you’ll create a hierarchy that Google will understand and help assign value to.

4. Value

Length doesn’t really mean anything if you aren’t delivering value. Writing 2,000 words on your trip to the barber likely isn’t very interesting to your gym members. A 500-word post on technique for a tricky move will deliver far more value. The trick is to make sure that you’re niching your content and matching it to your persona. Your goal should be to deliver as much value as possible to your target market as possible – and don’t worry about anyone else.

5. Length

How long should your gym blog post be? The answer is: it depends on what you’re trying to do. If you’re trying to attract new members, you’ll likely want a valuable piece of content with your keywords sprinkled in throughout. The average target for a piece of content like this should be 800-1000 words. Lengthy, but your keyword will be repeated several times and you’ll be delivering great value to your readers.
Other types of content can be valuable from an SEO perspective and shouldn’t be short. Save the brief updates for Facebook. You’ll want these posts to be 500-800 words. These posts can be targeted at either existing members or used to draw in new members.

6. Links

Linking inside your post is essential. You don’t want your blog post to be an island. Include links in your content to other relevant content on your website and also to other respected sites. Google recognizes you as connecting and providing value. Your users will appreciate that they can find more information on topics relevant to them.

7. Emphasis

Use emphasis to your advantage. Approximately 55% of viewers will spend less that 15 seconds on your website. Make it easy for them to scan and see if there is enough value to read more. You can do this with headers (as mentioned above) and also by bolding key takeaways in each post. This will make scanning easier and maximize the 15 seconds visitors will give you.

8. Images

Images are one of the best pieces of content you can have. The brain processes image 60,000 times faster than text. Images truly are worth a thousand word, or maybe more. They can reinforce a point you’re making or they can be used to aid scanning. To make sure your images are having the greatest impact, make sure they are clear and in focus. You can touch up the color and contrast in simple programs or on your smartphone. You don’t need a fancy DSLR to make these work for you. Take your phone’s camera and get in your gym and start taking some photos!

For SEO purposes, make sure that you have your keyword in the title and the description of the image. This is just one more place you can insert your keyword!

9. CTAs

What do you want your reader to do? You can direct them to download a free ebook or guide or you can ask them to share the post with their friends. The point is – people want to know what they should do next and they only know this if you tell them. Make the calls to action clear and direct. A well-designed graphic for a CTA will help your click rates but at the same time, you don’t need to invest that much to see results.

10. Share & Subscribe

Don’t isolate your content. Make it easy for people that enjoyed your content to share it with their friends. Don’t miss out on the chance to capture their email address with a subscribe form. The main point to take away here is to not get in your own way when it comes to getting publicity for your post.

Final Thoughts

Your gym blog should be a source of valuable content to your website visitors and a source of new gym member leads. Many gyms try blogging but don’t see a return on their time. These 10 tips will make sure that your gym blog is working for you and not just sucking your time.

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