What makes a great health club website?
Today there is nothing more damaging to a business than not having a website, except perhaps having a poor website.
Gone are the days when a website can just be an ad for your health club or a simple landing page with nothing more than basic information. Today’s health club and its website needs to be a hub for all things fitness education–each club should be a mini-media company in addition to the best provider of services and programming.
A well-designed and constructed website is the first step to being the area’s authority on all things health and fitness, and perhaps, increasing revenues at the same time.
Here are 5 ways to kick-start your website from a placeholder to a hub.
1. Update often. Too often club owners take a post it and forget it attitude when it comes to their website, only updating quarterly schedule changes. Updating certain aspects of a website to ensure that users are getting the best experience possible which will, in turn. result in improved sales and a better online presence. Let members know the website (and social media as well) is how to find out about closings, changes, special promotions, and most importantly fitness-related news and tips.
2. Utilize great content. When updating the content of a website, it is not important to ensure the content is relevant and fresh and also well crafted. New search engine algorithms require that content be well written for the human eye rather than for the search engine spiders. The days of SEO stuffing, as it was called, are over. The focus should be on original, quality content.
3. Add new elements. Websites should not only be well-written but should also include infographics, pictures and videos and other design elements that attract and keep visitors engaged. These elements can keep your website not only high in search engine rankings, but also in people’s minds when they are looking for the latest fitness trend, exercise how-to and more. And while this shouldn’t be new, If you aren’t blogging yet start today. Consider hiring a professional writer to blog and write your website so you are assured of top-notch content.
4. Offer online training. Be it a webinar on eating for spring or ongoing “personal” training for the Boston Marathon, having a reason for members and prospects to continue to come to your site will increase your credibility, search engine ranking and sign-ups.
5. Let them join online. It may mean changing some of your sales structure or posting your prices (which some states and local governments are requiring), but in today’s instant gratification of one-click buying you may see memberships grow with members that may go elsewhere if forced to leave their home.
