Are You Guilty of these Search Engine Optimization Mistakes?

While you’re way ahead of most martial arts schools if you have a website, you still need to apply fundamental search engine optimization elements to help get higher rankings.

Having a higher rankings for your targeted keywords will help you to drive more qualified people to your website from within your geographic area.

However, in order to do this, you have to build your website in such a way to make it “search engine friendly.”

That process is called search engine optimization.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, or SEO as it is often called, is the process of structuring your website to be able to be easily found and ranked in the search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo for targeted keywords or keyword phrases.

NOTE: Keyword is something like “Karate” a keyword phrase is something like “San Diego California Karate.”

Following are five common SEO mistakes I see on martial arts schools websites. Many more posts on this subject are to come.

1. Not including keywords people are searching for on your site

Your potential customers sit down, turn their computer on, fire up their browser and type some words into Google to find your business.

What are those keywords?

Most people don’t know the name of your business so that isn’t what you should focus on. So what should you focus on? Being the solution to their problem (Martial arts lessons) in the geographic location they live (City/state).

Be sure to read my post on “title tags” to learn the right keywords to use in your title tag. The good news is that those words are the same as what you’ll want to have in the content of your website.

2.  Targeting the wrong keywords

Often times, owners target the wrong keyword terms. They are too generic and think by having “X” or “Y” on the page that is all they have to do. Or, they emphasize the name of their system.

If you live in Westminster Maryland you shouldn’t be targeting that by itself. Nor should you be targeting “Martial Arts” by itself. A much more potent way is to combine those two into one powerful combination - Westminster Maryland Martial Arts.

3. Not including the targeted keywords enough on your page

You have to put your targeted keyword phrase on the page more than once in order for the search engines to know those keywords are important to your page. As an idea, list your keyword in the following places:

1. Title Tag
2. Headline (H1 tag)
3. Sub headlines (H2 tags)
4. In the 1st paragraph
5. In the middle paragraph
6. In the last paragraph
7. File name of the HTML page (example: www.yoursite.com/keyword.html)

That said, you want to have a keyword density of about 3-5% on average. No more.

Keyword density = How many times a given keyword or keyword phrase appears on a page compared to all other words on the page.

However, the most important thing to do is make is read naturally. Don’t stuff keywords! A quick test to see if you’ve done too much is to read it out loud. You’ll know when you have over done it when you hear yourself say “did I really just say that keyword five times in two sentences?”

4.  Using the same title and description tag on every page

Each page needs to have its own unique title tag and description. Both the title tag and description tag need to describe what can be found on each page. And, I wouldn’t let your software auto generate this information, either.

Do this by hand and pick one keyword phrase per title tag. Then repeat that keyword somewhere in your meta description, preferably near the beginning.

Again, read my post on “How to Boost Your Search Engine Rankings with a Title Tag.”

5. Poor content structuring

There is a basic hierarchy with respect to content structuring that can help your organic rankings:

1. Primary headline – In HTML this is represented as <h1></h1>. Should only be used once on a page.
2. Sub headlines – In HTML this is represented as <h2></h2>. Can be used more than once.
3. Paragraph – In HTML this is represented as <p></p>.
4. Ordered and unordered lists – In HTML this is represented as <ol></ol> and <ul></ul> respectively.
5. Bolding- In HTML this is represented as <strong></strong>.
6. Italics – In HTML this is represented as <em></em>.

The HTML of a page with this markup could look something like this:

<h1>Westminster Marlyand Martial Arts</h1></div>

<h3>Learn Martial Arts at Carrol County Kenpo Karate</h3>

<p>This paragraph explains why people need to take <strong>martial arts lessons in Westminster Maryland</strong></p>

<p>Here is a list of important stuff:</p>

<ul>

<li>Martial Arts for Kids</li>

<li>Martial Arts for Adults</li>

<li>Self-Defense Lessons</li>>

</ul>

<p>Don’t forget, this <em>Westminster Martial Arts</em> stuff is important!</p>

And the final output would look like this (based on my CSS stylesheet on my site. Yours might look different):

Westminster Marlyand Martial Arts

Learn Martial Arts at Carrol County Kenpo Karate

This paragraph explains why people need to take martial arts lessons in Westminster Maryland.

Here is a list of important stuff:

• Martial Arts for Kids
• Martial Arts for Adults
• Self-Defense Lessons

Don’t forget, this Westminster Martial Arts stuff is important!

In short, the search engines send automated bots called “spiders” to your website and they crawl all of the pages on your website then they store the results they find.

Whenever someone does a search, the search engines are actually returning results they have stored in their servers about your site and others like it.

Structuring your content correctly makes the search engine’s job easier and is the basis of search engine friendly design. If you don’t structure your content properly, it will be harder for them to accurately spider, and therefore index, your pages. And that can only hurt you when it comes to your sites search engine rankings.

Most martial arts sites I review only use paragraph tags and bolding on their pages. There is a lot of opportunity for your website if you’re not doing the rest. Be sure to emphasize the keywords or keyword phrases you are targeting, not just a sampling of random words.

A Final Note on Timing

Note it can take a couple of months for your rankings to change in the search results. The search engines do this on their own time so don’t expect immediate results. In time, however, you should start to see things climbing higher. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Did this post help you better understand search engine optimization? Let me know in the form of a comment below!

Popularity: 15%

Top 10 Marketing Martial Arts Posts of 2009

It’s now 2010 and I can’t believe another year has whistled by! I can’t believe I was able to get out over 50 posts last year given that I just started my own stand alone martial arts school. The frequency of posts declined as the year went on but I was still able to write some good quality posts that received a lot of traffic.

The following posts are rank ordered by unique page views. Many of these posts have several comments from our readers. If you haven’t left your comment, you can still add to the conversation at the bottom of each post.

So, without further ado, here is a round up of the top ten posts in 2009 from Marketing Martial Arts:

1. All Professional Martial Arts Schools are McDojos
If you are in business and accept money for martial arts lessons then you might just be a McDojo. Right?

2. Make Your Martial Arts School More Successful in 2009
If you are scratching your head about how to get more sign ups in the New Year so you can increase your martial arts school’s profitability, here are some solid marketing ideas to help you hit the ground running.

3. 50 Killer Ideas for Building a More Profitable Martial Arts School
Here is a list of things that can help you become even more profitable in your business so you can work towards more time off, spend more time with your family and lead the kind of lifestyle you want.

4. How to Create an Irresistible Offer Your Prospects Can’t Refuse
Creating offers that your prospects can’t refuse is one of the best things you can do to attract potential new students.

5. How to Make a Living Teaching Martial Arts
Making a living teaching the martial arts can be hard as hell. There is a lot you have to learn in order to be successful. Not only do you have to be a decent martial artists, you also have to be good at instructing, business, scheduling, marketing, finances, and more. Are you up to the task?

6. Should You Join a Martial Arts Marketing Association?
There are several martial arts marketing associations to choose from and it may or may not be right for you and your martial arts school. Learn how to evaluate them before joining.

7. 3 Factors of Successful Martial Arts Marketing
In order for any marketing system to bring in new students, people must first know, like and trust you.

8. 3 Referral Marketing Systems that Can Help Make it Rain New Students
Stuggling with getting referrals at your martial arts school? Here are three ideas to help kick start your referral program!

9. 35 Direct Response Techniques that Improve Response Rates
If you’re looking for ways to increase response rates on your website, direct mailer, flyer or any marketing piece for that matter, this post will definitely help you get ideas.

10. The #1 Mixed Martial Arts Marketing Mistake and How to Correct It
While the last on the list, this topic is gaining momentum among even traditional martial arts schools who are adding MMA type classes to their curriculum.

Which was your favorite post for 2009?

Popularity: 7%

7 Often Overlooked Martial Arts Marketing Tools

Here are seven marketing ideas you might not have considered (or haven’t done yet) to help attract new prospective martial arts students this year.

1. Advertise in city publications

These are usually cheaper than your city’s newspaper and can be a good resource for prospecting. Print publications are hurting right now due to online competition now is the time to get some good deals. You might even be able to get a deal where you are both in their printed publication and their online equivalent.  Worth looking into, none the less.

2. Go door to door

While many talk about this idea, few actually do it. While dropping off flyers, door hangers or postcards in area neighborhoods is not as targeted as doing direct mail (because you don’t know who lives there and if they specifically match your demographics) it can still be a relatively decent way to stir up some interest.

3. Do direct mail

Doing direct mail can be cost effective and usually frightens off most martial arts school owners. However, you success is all in how you segment the list you buy, present your irresistible offer and the design your mailer.  Remember, sending one mailer might be enough.  It can take up to 7 times or more before someone breaks free from their comfort zone to respond. That’s not to say you want to send the same mailer seven times, it’s more about making seven points of contact.

4. Network with local businesses

Networking with businesses who are around you is a great way to get referrals. Plus, if you use their services or buy from them, they are more likely to refer people over to your martial arts school. You can even start a local business networking group where you meet once a month to talk, have speakers, introduce new businesses and exchange information.

5. Advertise on your vehicle

Wrapping your vehicle is gaining a lot of momentum and becoming more affordable. Plus, you should be able to write off the cost of your car and gas if it’s you rolling billboard. The photo above is a great example of getting people’s attention using this newer medium.

6. Local coupon mailers

I’m talking about Money Mailers or ValPak type mailers. You might even have a lower cost local option available in your area. These can be a little expensive but you have segmenting options available to help reduce waste and reduce costs so you reach your exact target market. I don’t see any martial arts schools in my area doing this and might be a great way to break through in your area.

7. Decorate your front windows
If the only thing you have on your front windows is your logo and hours it’s time to consider adding some marketing punch. Hire a window painter and advertise your current special… feature your after school program… the dates and costs of your next trial program… whatever… just make sure it’s noticeable and in vibrant colors. You should consider swapping this out quarterly to keep things fresh.

Popularity: 8%

Top Posts for December 2009

Here are the top 5 posts for Marketing Martial Arts in December 2009; according to how many times they were uniquely viewed by our visitors:

1. 10 Types of Irresistible Offers You Can Make to Prospects
2. 50 Killer Ideas for Building a More Profitable Martial Arts School
3. 10 Essential Martial Arts Business Questions for 2010
4. Email Marketing that Gets Prospective Martial Arts Students to Respond
5. Top 8 Pages Every Martial Arts School’s Website Should Have

What’s next? I will do a round up of the top 10 posts for 2009 here later this week. I also have my series on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) we’ll be kicking off here shortly.

As always, thanks for reading Marketing Martial Arts!

Popularity: 6%