Use Keyword Research to Boost SEO and Drive Traffic to Your Fitnes Studio

Last Updated on 8 October, 2025

Considering Google processes over 63,000 searches per second (or 5.6 billion searches a day!), a robust search engine optimization (SEO) strategy will ensure your website doesn’t get lost in the crowd. Don’t fret if you’re new to SEO. While the concept sounds technical, it encompasses several simple methods that could boost brand visibility.

Most SEO strategies revolve around keyword research. As the name suggests, this involves finding out what kinds of search terms web users are typing into search engines to find services like yours. The better targeted the keyword phrases on your website, the more likely you are to satisfy search engine algorithms and draw attention to your brand.

So, if you’re wondering how to go about conducting research and attracting as many fitness clients as possible, we’ve put together a helpful guide to get you started. Spoiler: SEO keyword research is a little more complex than making a few educated guesses!

1. Brainstorm topics that resonate with your target audience

Before you look at the more technical aspects of how to do keyword research, you must first delve into the minds of your potential customers. Obtaining a clear picture of the kinds of people who use your fitness business will help you understand their search intent and generate keyword ideas that speak to their needs.

If you occupy a relatively niche space, such as the senior fitness market, coming up with some initial keywords should be fairly straightforward. If, on the other hand, you’re unsure who your typical member is, it’s worth scouring your client data and taking note of their average age, income, gender, and fitness goals.

You may also wish to circulate a client survey to better understand your audience’s needs and motivations. If your client base is relatively diverse, you can use this data to split members into several groups. Once you’ve completed this step, create a comprehensive list of keywords for every client segment.

Example SEO Client Segmentation

Segment:	Seniors
Age:	55+
Income:	Variable, some fixed income. Median $50,000 per year.
Fitness Goals:	Flexibility, balance, stability, physical therapy, low-impact cardio, low-impact weight lifting, walking, jogging, Tai Chi, Yoga
Relevant Keywords:	senior fitness class in [location], senior fitness class online, senior exercise classes for beginners, Is 70 too old to start exercising?, What is the best fitness program for seniors?

2. Include a mix of long-tail and short-tail keywords

Keywords can be a single word, a short phrase, or a whole question; it’s just what people type into a search. Incorporating a balanced array of long-tail keywords (3+ words) and short-tail keywords (1-2 words) will help you capture as many search engine users as possible.

In fact, more than 54% of search queries are at least three words, and long-tail keyword searches have a click-through rate of 3%-5%, which is greater than basic searches. Why? Because the more complicated the question, the less likely the answer is to be fully summed up in the summary snippet.

Short-tail keywords

Short-tail phrases often include place names or the names of specific services, such as yoga or kickboxing. It’s usually most helpful to target short-tail keywords on your site’s main landing pages. Here are a few examples:

• Fitness clubs in Omaha
• Yoga class in Nebraska
• 24-hour gyms in Omaha
• Late-night gyms in Nebraska
• Gyms for seniors
• Fitness center with pool
• Pilates class for beginners

Pro tip: While people may search for “fitness club near me”, putting that keyword into your pages or metadata won’t help you rank in local searches. Search engines fill in that “near me” with pages that have keywords of nearby locations.

Long-tail keywords

Most long-tail keywords nowadays take the form of questions. The keywords are usually best to target with a blog, article, or news update on your site. They typically require a little more discussion than short-tail keywords. While they’re often more educational in nature, they can be a great place to display your expertise to both new clients and search engines. Some examples are:

• What to expect in a fitness class?
• How many times a week should I do a fitness class?
• Is it better to work out in the morning or at night?
• low-impact exercises to help recover from surgery
• Does walking count as cardio?

Such specific keywords are less likely to appear on competitors’ websites than more generalized keyword phrases. As such, they’ll help your site rank highly when a potential customer searches for your specific services.

Bonus context: Container keywords

Container keywords are less specific; they’re large ideas that “contain” the root of many other keywords. They include phrases such as:

• Gym
• Fitness studio
• Yoga
• Workout
• Gym membership

Unsurprisingly, there is much more competition for these keywords, but they’re also much less likely to be of use to you. Think about who is more likely to be a good client for you, someone searching for “gym” or someone searching for “gym in [my city]”.

It might be useful to label the container keywords in your strategy to help you focus on your main keyword goals, but you shouldn’t spend time trying to rank for them.

3. Research your competition using tools for keyword research

So, you’ve peppered your website with appropriate keywords and are starting to see results. Congratulations! But you shouldn’t stop there. It’s possible to hone your keyword research for SEO even further through competitor research. Competition represents the driving force of SEO, so analyzing what your rivals are up to will help you stay ahead of the game.

Fortunately, there are tons of keyword research tools available to help streamline this task, many of which you can use for free! As well as generating potential keywords for your web copy, SEO tools can offer insights into which keywords competitors are using and whether their efforts are effective.

Assessing which keywords are helping your competitors rank highly allows you to develop a smart SEO plan and alert you to any effective keywords you’re missing out on. Also, tracking competitor activity will help you identify gaps in the market.

Top free keyword research tools

So, now you know why competitor research is so important. What are the best free keyword research tools available? Here are our top picks:

• SEMrush: SEMrush is renowned as one of the best SEO tools on the market. While many of its services require subscriptions, SEMrush allows newbies to try its keyword tools for free. Its features allow users to automatically generate keyword combinations, learn how to rank for competitors’ most profitable keywords, share keyword research with others, and find metrics about individual keywords, including competition level, search volume, and much more.
• Ubersuggest: As one of the favored tools for keyword generation, Ubersuggest is a godsend if you’re struggling to think of relevant phrases. As well as providing a list of keywords, you’ll be able to see the search volume, competition level, and seasonal trends for each phrase.
• Moz: Moz offers a Keyword Explorer to help you discover the best keywords for your business while assessing key metrics such as keyword difficulty. Its Competitive Analysis tool also provides valuable intel, such as your top competitors and keyword gaps of which to take advantage.
• Soovle: Soovle allows users to generate handy lists of top search terms for specific sites, including Google, Bing, Amazon, Yahoo, YouTube, and Wikipedia.
• AnswerThePublic: AnswerThePublic tells you the most popular questions and phrases people type into search engines when researching a specific topic. You can use these top phrases to create a list of keywords that work.

4. Generate even more ideas with Google

Have you ever begun typing within the Google Search bar, only to have Google finish your sentence? Google’s autocompleting search feature will display frequently searched keywords. So, try typing in your topic into Google. You may be pleasantly surprised by what other keywords you can use.

How else can Google help? Once you hit “search,” scroll down to the bottom of Google’s results page for a list of related searches. You may find even more keywords to add to your list! All of the related questions listed in the search are also related keywords.

In addition, let’s not forget about Google Keyword Planner, another free tool you can use. While it’s designed for businesses that want to display paid Google ads, it’s also helpful for finding keywords for SEO.

Pro tip: Try using both an incognito window and a window in which you’re signed in when looking for new keywords. Google will tailor your results to your past searches and location when you’re signed in, so using incognito allows you to access another set of more generalized keyword suggestions.

5. Assess whether your keyword will rank highly

As we’ve already mentioned, metrics can help you decide which keywords to use by assessing their efficacy and whether your competitors are using them. But which metrics should you track? Here are some of the most helpful:

• Search volume. This metric tells you the number of times users search for a specific keyword every month (or an alternative timeframe). Try to use keywords with a sizeable search volume, but don’t be too ambitious. Small fitness businesses that target very popular keywords will fail to outrank the stiff competition!
• Traffic potential. Traffic potential tells you how much organic search traffic a particular page, or group of pages, will generate via Google’s SERPs per month on average.
• Intent. Search intent refers to the reasons people search for services like yours. For example, certain keywords may lead Google to conclude that someone is looking for a yoga class in a particular city. Tailoring your keyword research around search intent will help you capture key audiences.
• Keyword trends. SEO tools, most notably Google Trends, can tell you helpful information about a given keyword, including interest over time and interest by region. Analyzing trends will tell you whether a given word is up-and-coming or past its best.
• Ranking difficulty. This metric tells you how difficult it would be to rank in the top ten for a given keyword. This metric is worked out using information such as domain authority and how often the top rankings shift. If your chosen word is super competitive, it’s worth generating alternatives.
• Cost per click (CPC). CPC tells you how much advertisers are prepared to pay for a paid search advert using a given keyword. While this figure may not directly affect your SEO strategy, it can help determine which keywords generate the most value.

6. Where should you be placing your keywords?

Once you’ve come up with a list of relevant keywords, you must prioritize them in order of importance. Firstly, you must come up with a focus keyword. This term will play a foundational role in your SEO strategy and help Google understand what your website offers. Here’s where you’ll need to use this word:

• Web content: Try to weave your primary keyword throughout your site content, particularly your main landing page. Just make sure that your prose sounds natural, and that your keyword strategy isn’t too obvious to readers.
• Header tags: Adding your focus keyword to your headings will help your site rank for that specific word. Remember to incorporate the phrase into titles (H1s), subheadings (H2s), and smaller subheadings (H3, H4, etc.).
• Optimized URLs: To optimize your URL, include your primary keyword and keep it under 60 characters in length.
• Meta description: A meta description tells readers and search engines what your page is about. Using the keyword will help attract relevant audience members. Ideally, keep it under 160 characters in length.
• Alt-text: Try to use the keyword in a natural way in the alt-text of an image. Make sure it still describes the image for anyone using a screen reader.

Feel free to sprinkle keywords throughout your website, wherever it feels natural, without going overboard. Stuffing your content full of keywords will make your sentences clunky (or even unreadable), alienating any potential customers. This consequently pushes your website further down the SERP rankings because Google’s algorithm dislikes poor-quality content.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to ace your keyword research!

As you can see, keyword research is vital for any SEO strategy and could help you attract more prospects, leads, and clients. Just remember to use a keyword research tool offering plenty of support and information, as this will help you generate the best keyword ideas for your fitness business!

Of course, great SEO doesn’t stop at keyword research. This is where WellnessLiving comes in. Our Reserve with Google integration can help you create a high-quality Google Business Profile that attracts local clients and improves your reputation.

What’s more, our full-service website agency, Presence™, and SEO audit tool will help you create blog posts that boost your search rankings. To find out more about SEO, check out our other blogs on link-building strategies, general SEO, and local SEO.

Interested in learning how WellnessLiving can grow your business? Book a free, no-commitment demo today!