7 Steps to Increase Your Gym’s Google Reviews and Improve Your Ranking
As a boutique fitness studio owner, you likely want to boost your Google search results in order to rank higher. In a perfect world, instead of spending thousands on Facebook ads, your gym members would attend a fitness class at your studio, love their experience, and immediately post a glowing review on Google. Potential customers would then discover your fitness studio from your five-star Google reviews, and the cycle would repeat itself.
Unfortunately, you know that this best-case scenario is usually the exception. If you want to improve your chances of new clients finding you in an organic Google search, you’ll need a clear fitness marketing strategy to boost gym reviews. Studies show that focusing your marketing campaign on acquiring testimonials pays off- businesses that display reviews, even as few as five, can increase conversion rates by 270%.
One: Plan Your Strategy
As a coach, I often see events and other gym strategies fail because of a lack of runway (not enough time) or a lack of follow-through (not enough information). We’re running our fitness studios like established businesses, which means a solid marketing strategy and execution- no firing off a last-minute email the night before.
While planning your gym’s review drive strategy, take a moment to determine your review goal. Rather than throwing a campaign together and accepting what you get, decide your target number and work to make it happen. Most of us achieve better results when we have a guide.
Remember that most consumers need at least five contact attempts before they engage, so I like to start by quickly jotting down what my touch points will be on a lead sheet or google document. My favorite review drive strategy is three emails in seven days plus personalized text follow-ups for select clients and in-studio communication- flyers and verbal. As always, you should customize your marketing plan to fit your gym.
Two: Inform and Remind
Most campaigns fail because the clients simply forgot, not because your members are uninterested. Like other marketing strategies, you’ll need to start by educating your clients on what your review drive entails. Create your studio signage for your review drive and post them anywhere your clients congregate.
Then draft your emails and keep them concise, upbeat, and mutually beneficial. Depending on your business’s style and relationship with your clients, that may take a few different tones:
The no-nonsense informer
“Google has a new algorithm update- help us keep our ranking! Please click below to leave a quick review about your experience as a member so that we can continue building and working with you for years to come!”
The friendly bargainer
“It’s time for our annual review drive! Please help us continue to grow by leaving a review here. To show our appreciation, we’ll enter you into a contest to win a free class!”
The flatterer
“Please help us find clients who are just as wonderful and committed as you by leaving a review!”
The next-level campaigner
Record a Bomb-Bomb video (you could also use Bonjoro or Vidyard) that opens up in the email, asking clients to leave a review in a quick 60-second appeal. Eighty-seven percent of video emails get clicked, so it’s an intelligent strategy for your last email to gather up any stragglers. (Each program has a free trial!)
Choose a variation of the approaches above, but remember to be encouraging and convincing in your messaging.
Three: Make it Easy
Your job as the studio owner is to remove all the barriers for your clients to leave a review. We don’t want them looking for how to comply with your request- it should be accessible and readily available.
Check your links in your email and make sure they go directly to your review form.
Post a QR code to the review link in a cute frame at your desk or taped to your studio walls.
Include the link in your Instagram bio for social media sharing
Four: Recruit Your Teachers and Staff
You can send emails every day, and one of your clients will still tell you they didn’t know about your review drive. Your staff is your best asset for achieving your studio’s review drive goal is to get your staff involved.
Remind teachers to announce the review drive before and after class. If a client arrives early, your staff can request reviews with a quick, “would you mind taking just one minute to leave us a quick review by scanning this QR code? You’ll be entered to win a new yoga mat!” Your review marketing strategy is multi-dimensional, so remember where your clients receive most of your messaging- your gym.
Five: Sweeten the Deal
Sometimes the best way to convince your clients to leave a review is by incentivizing it. Your gift can range from a small gesture that everyone receives- like a $10 studio credit to a larger raffle- like one free month off their gym membership.
You may be surprised by how little you need to give away to encourage reviews. Your clients love your studio, and most of them are intrinsically motivated to support your fitness studio. You don’t need to destroy your profit margins to convince them to leave a Google review, but you do want them to feel like their time is appreciated.
Six: Social Media Strategy
This next step to improving your Google search results is crucial if you have a social media presence. Using your stories, take a screenshot of each new Google review and add a quick thank you message and how many reviews are left to reach your goal, like this:
Each time you get a new review, update the stories so your clients can see how they are tangibly contributing to your business.
Next, type your review in a Canva template and post the story to your review highlight.
Eighty-five percent of customers stated they trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends, so this is a critical two-for-one action that maximizes each review’s marketing impact. When your potential clients check out your Instagram profile, we want them to see all of the testimonials from clients speaking directly to their concerns and showing how much they love your fitness business.
Seven: Respond to Reviews
Google has disclosed that responding to negative and positive reviews increases your ranking, and twenty percent of customers surveyed expect a reply. Therefore, it’s best practice and in your studio’s best interest to respond to reviews promptly.
A seven-step review marketing campaign may seem like extra work on your full plate as a fitness industry owner. Still, when you maximize your reviews for multiple platforms and ask happy clients to take a moment to notice what they love about your studio, you are genuinely making the most of your time and marketing effort for current and future members.
