What Is Local SEO and Why Is It Important to Your Club?

Don’t panic!

You don’t need to be a geek to do this!

No keywords… meta tags… algorithms… required.

What is SEO?

SEO is a set of practices designed to improve the appearance and positioning of web pages in organic search results and does require a great degree of “Geek”. On the other hand, Local SEO does not require you to have an inner Geek.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO...

• is all about increasing online search visibility so your club can be found by nearby online searchers.
• helps you optimize your website to rank better in search results and reach your local audience. By optimizing for your city and address, you help people find your CLUB online and get them to visit it offline.
• is important because it is an effective way to market your club online to attract prospective members.

What Does a Local Search Look Like?

If you’re asking, “What is local SEO?” you’re probably wondering what a local search looks like on a search engine like Google. Local search uses specific keywords tied to locations or local businesses.

The most common phrases people use when searching locally include:

• “near me”
• “in [city]”

Both phrases generate search results focused on a specific regional location. 

DIY LOCAL SEO

How to do Local SEO for your club?

Let’s keep it very simple. Google Business Profile Is a MUST!

Google is the largest and most important search engine in the world. 92.41% of the search engine segment is controlled by Google.

5 Easy DIY Steps to create your Local SEO

01 Set up your Google Business Profile or claim it if it already exists.

To set up your Google Business Profile, simply follow the directions Google provides, which will get you pretty far. But keep these tips in mind as well:

1. Make sure your name, address, and phone number (i.e., your "NAP") are accurate and exactly the same across all of your online listings.
2. Choose three to five categories that focus on what your club provides rather than the results you help your members achieve.
3. Keep your description between 100 and 200 words—long enough to share important company details, but short enough to cater to miniscule attention spans.

02 Choose Keywords for your website

A keyword is a specific word or phrase that an internet user will type into a search engine.

While Google doesn't use the keywords meta tag in our web search ranking, it does seek to find keywords used in other places.

How to incorporate keywords for local SEO

Once you’ve selected keywords, you’ll need to incorporate them in relevant places on your site. You can use them in your title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and body copy.

That being said, be careful not to overuse your keywords. Using keywords excessively with the goal of boosting your rankings is known as keyword stuffing, and can result in a Google penalty, which will ultimately harm your ability to rank in search results.

Make sure that as you incorporate keywords, you only do so where they make sense naturally, and don’t disrupt your visitors’ reading or site experience.

03 Secure citations and links

CITATIONS

A local citation is any online mention of the name, address, and phone number of a local business. Citations can occur on local business directories, on websites and apps, and on social platforms. Citations help Internet users to discover local businesses and can also impact local search engine rankings.

Some Online Directories which provide useful citations

1. Facebook Pages
2. Instagram for Business
3. Google Business Profile
4. LinkedIn Company Directory
5. Apple Maps
6. Yelp
7. Bing
8. Yahoo! Local 
9. Nextdoor.com
10. Patch.com

When securing citations, make sure your NAP is identical across all directories.

LINKS

A link is earned anytime an outside website links to yours. Links can be acquired via online directories, blog posts, web pages, etc.

04 Create great content

Now it's time to create great content so that you can rank well in search engine results, drive traffic to your site, and turn casual visitors into new members.

A few tips for you:

• Keyword optimize your content: Create content—blogs, YouTube videos, podcast episodes, etc.—using your keywords
• Create for humans, not robots: Create content that's easy to consume, then sprinkle in keywords when appropriate.
• Aim for internal and external links: By linking to relevant content on both other websites and your own, you'll signal to search engines that your site can be trusted.
• Share your content: Once your blog, video, or podcast is created, share it on social media… wherever you can get people to see it!

05 Encourage reviews

Member and guest reviews are a big deal when it comes to your local SEO strategy for two reasons:

1. They prove to search engines that your club actually exists.
2. They reassure potential guests that your club is legit… safe… user-friendly

Get club members involved and get them to leave reviews. Then be sure to respond to their reviews which is a golden opportunity to include keywords.

With a little club, team effort, your local SEO will rock!