I’ve got a gym website in Houston, Texas, and for some reason, it’s not ranking for any of the keywords I’m targeting. I’m covering all the technical and content SEO steps (main keyword in the h1, title, description, etc.), the site loads fast, and my technical score is good (915/1000). But I’m still not ranking for keywords with moderate difficulty (20 or under). What are some things you’ve done for local SEO that really helped you rank in a large market like this?
Is it about high-quality backlinks and Google reviews? Does it take a long time (over 6 months)? Should I focus on a bunch of small keywords with low competition?
How old is the site? It takes time, even if you’ve done all the right SEO steps. For a keyword like ‘gym in Houston,’ which has a difficulty of 12, it’s still not easy to rank. You’ll need local citations, backlinks, and some PR (like sponsoring local events). Google My Business (GMB) reviews are huge too. Keep building out content, like service area and class-specific pages with unique content.
SEO is a long-term game. Even if you do everything right, factors like strong competition or Google’s algorithms can slow things down. Focus on local backlinks and optimize your GMB profile—get reviews from your members with keywords like ‘personal training’ to rank better for those terms. Fresh, high-quality content is also key to keeping users engaged.
Did you submit your sitemap to Google Search Console? Make sure you’re not blocking any important pages with the robots.txt file. Focus on niche-related backlinks and create more high-quality content. Also, check for keyword cannibalization and implement schema where possible. Local SEO is important too, so optimize your GMB and get listed in local directories.
Check Google Search Console to see what keywords you’re close to ranking for. Focus on optimizing those pages by tweaking the titles, headers, and content to rank higher for those keywords. It’s an easy way to boost traffic for terms you’re already close to ranking for.
Since you’re targeting a local market, sign up for Google Business, Yelp, and local directories. Sounds like you’ve done enough on the site itself. You could also try running some Google Ads to boost visibility.