Why do you need a website for your Pilates business?
It’s easy … to attract new clients of course.
One of the common mistakes that a lot of business owners make is thinking that opening a website is the only thing that they have to do to be found online. Unfortunately, there is a lot more involved than just putting together a couple of images and adding a few paragraphs of text. There are close to 1 billion websites on the internet right now but only a handful of those will ever pop up on the first pages of search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. Competition is tough and you must use every resource available to you to make your website as search engine friendly as possible.
Today we are talking, visiting and reviewing Avril Waller Health & Fitness website. Here is part of an email that I got from Avril:
“I’ve run a franchise with Rosemary Conley diet and fitness clubs for 19 years and last year she went bust, so have gone out on my own. My members have been very loyal to me but need new blood. Have been learning more about FB and paid to go on a course on Mailchimp to keep in touch with my members but not getting anything back. It’s like talking to a blank wall. People like, but do not comment on FB or my webpage. I’ve probably got about 15-20 inquiries from webpage in the last 11 months. So I feel like I am talking to myself and no one is listening!!!”
Avril’s website is built on Weebly – a website-builder platform that is easy to set up but difficult to rank well on search engines. At the time of this review, Weebly actually performs better than other website builders like Wix or Squarespace because of the technologies that they use.
Website builders can be the only budget-permissible option for many Pilates professionals who need to create web presence for their services. They are easy to use, they are affordable (some of them even offer free plans), and they claim to offer every possible tool that you might need on your website. However, most of the websites set up through those services still look very cookie-cutter or lack the personality that professionally built websites would have. While I always recommend to go with a stand-alone website (PilatesBridge offers website development packages and maintenance for Pilates professionals – click here) I understand that in some cases cheap website-builders are the only way to go.
Today we will focus on the ways to improve rankings and overall layout of a Weebly-built website.
Website that we are reviewing – http://avrilwallerhealthfitness.weebly.com/
Highlights of the video review
- Do not use .weebly.com domains for your business. These domains are more difficult to rank, they are difficult for the clients to remember and they make your business look less professional. Instead if using www.avrilwallerhealthfitness.weebly.com switch to www.avrilwallerhealthfitness.com even if it means paying a little extra for the Weebly package.
- Use simple non-distracting backgrounds. Solid light background is the best way to go in most cases because it is easy for our eyes to see the contrast between the dark text and the the light background.
- Improve page titles to include location-based keywords. In Avril’s case, I would focus on “Pilates in Carrickfergus” or “fitness classes in Carrickfergus.” Example of a home page title: Pilates and Fitness Classes in Carrickfergus – Avril Waller Health & Fitness.
- Add page descriptions in the advanced settings of the Weebly control panel. Link mentioned in the video – http://www.longtailpro.com/weebly-seo/
- Write descriptive texts (a minimum of 250-300 words) on each page.
- Add newsletter subscription to the home page to increase visitor engagement and connect with new potential clients.
- Make blog posts longer (between 600 and 1100 words each) to produce quality content that Google LOVES. Make blog posts worth sharing and linking to by adding engaging images and practical tips.
- Find the rest of the tips and ideas in the video review of the website.
Next Step for You
Share your thoughts or impressions about the website in the comments.
Or ask any questions that you might have.