How to rank on Google in 2024 for marital arts school

Being able to work with and speak to thousands of martial arts schools all around the world, including in the USA, has its perks.

While most school/studio owners have a tunnel vision into their business and marketing, we have the advantage of spotting upcoming trends and changes in the industry through data and feedback from thousands of schools.

One of these trends is the increasing difficulty of acquisition through channels like Facebook ads. I would say almost 99% of all martial arts schools have run or are running Facebook ads to increase enrollments, and it use to work great 2, 3, 5 years go. The lead costs were cheap, and students signed up.

But it's becoming more and more expensive to get a lead, and the lead quality has gone down. Getting Facebook leads to show up and close has become harder than ever.

There are many reasons, but in short, the market has become more saturated, everyone is using similar ads, and the overall cost per 1000 impressions on Facebook has skyrocketed.

Don't get me wrong, Facebook can still work, but it's just a lot harder, and for every dollar you spend, you get less back, and in most cases, nothing back, or worse, lose it all.

It's no wonder martial arts school owners have started to explore alternative solutions to growing or even maintaining their student base.

And that channel is none other than Google, or more specifically, local Google ranking.

Why?

Because people on Google are actively looking for your classes; they show up and stay longer.

There is a downside to Google as it's not as scalable, but it should serve as a baseline for your business as it will provide you with stability.

So, if your Facebook ads are not working right away, and you're panicking. How do you optimize and rank on Google in 2024?

Well, it's easier than you might think, but it does take a little bit of patience. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the art of getting your business ranked on Google/other search engines.

Unlike ads, SEO doesn't provide instant results. However, if you put effort into your local SEO ranking, it is a strategy that will continuously provide you results for years to come.

Here are the 7 MUST DOs to rank on Google in 2024:

(Note: I have organized the list in order of importance; the lower on the list, the less important it is. However, you should consider doing all of these consistently.)

1) Know your keywords

You cannot engage in any SEO without knowing the exact keywords you should rank for. Notice I didn't say which keywords you want to rank for, but rather which keywords you should rank for.

In case you're not familiar with what keywords are, they are essentially search terms that users would enter into Google to find a specific solution to their problem.

And not all keywords are created equal.

For example, a user searching for "martial arts" may only be interested in learning about martial arts, but a user looking for "martial arts school" or "martial arts classes near me" is specifically looking to join a martial arts school near them.

This is why it's critically important that before you engage in any SEO, you should first conduct your keyword research and uncover high-intent keywords such as "martial arts near me," "BJJ gym," etc.

Every market will be different; in some cities, BJJ may have more searches, while in others, karate will.

Do your keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner, which is free, and figure out the top 10 keywords you want to target.

2) Optimize Google Business Profile

A few years back, this was called Google My Business, and if that's what you're used to, it's the same thing. When it comes to ranking your business locally, you're not ranking your website but your Google Business Profile.

If you don't know what that is, I'm sure you have searched for "restaurants near me" and seen the top 3 - 10 results that show up on your Google map or something like the screenshot below.

These are local results, meaning Google is showing results that are near you by proximity, and usually only the top 3 to 4 results show up until you click the "see all" button.

This is why if you want to rank locally, you'll want to optimize your Google Business Profile, which isn't hard. Here is what you need to optimize:

Name of the Business: Ideally, you want a keyword in your business name. While you can add something like "John's MMA - Martial Arts School," this is against Google policy and can get your GBP banned. So, do this at your own risk.

Category: The categories are what tell Google what your business should rank for. You want to add as many categories that are relevant to your business. For example, often for Martial Arts Schools, people never add gym or self-defense, which are categories you can add.

NAP: NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number. This is not an optimization, but you'll want to make sure that whatever NAP you use on your GBP, you use on your website and everywhere else exactly.

Services: You'll want to spend some time optimizing all programs, classes, or services you offer. This is a great place to put all the keywords you want to optimize for as it naturally fits in.

Service Area: Add the area you serve and any surrounding area.

Q&A: Spend some time writing and answering your Q&A.

Other: Needless to say, you will want to make sure everything else is set up properly such as the website, description, hours, etc.

There are more ways to optimize your GBP, but these are the ones you would do once and only update if your business changes.

3) Get Reviews

Getting reviews is a significant contributing factor to ranking locally on Google. Not only should you aim to accumulate numerous reviews, but you should also strive to receive them weekly or monthly if possible.

Reviews not only help you rank but also assist prospective students in deciding to join your school rather than your competitor's.

Don't worry if you don't have a perfect 5-star rating. A few negative reviews can actually benefit you rather than harm you.

A study has shown that overall ratings between 4.5 and 4.9 outperform those with 100% 5-star reviews in terms of conversion. Of course, if you only have one review and it's a 3 or 4-star rating, that's not ideal.

However, if you have dozens or even hundreds of reviews with an average rating of 4.6, 4.7, or 4.8, that is perfectly acceptable.

Now that you understand the importance of reviews, how do you go about obtaining them?

In my opinion, it's as simple as asking for them by sending a text message or writing an email to your satisfied customers. Of course, if your customers aren't happy, refrain from doing so.

At Monstro, we provide all our schools with a Review Getting Campaign and our Reputation Manager, which work exceptionally well.

In many cases, our schools have experienced a 200% increase in reviews in just a few days, not to mention the automation that continuously garners reviews every single month. However, if you don't have access to such technology, simply use your phone and ask for reviews.

4) Optimize Your Website

"Wait a minute, didn't you just say ranking on Google is about ranking GBP, not the website?"

Yes, kind of. For local search ranking, the property that ranks is your GBP; however, your website influences that and can also rank organically, which appears in results below the local results (see image below).

While you're not directly or actively trying to rank your website, being able to rank your website organically will definitely influence your local ranking on the map. Besides, you will also be adding your website to your GBP, which people click on a lot. So, you'll optimize your website for SEO and conversion.

I'm not going into details on how to optimize your website as that can be a full course in itself. The key areas to focus on are speed, meta title, meta description, headline tags (H1, H2, H3), images, keyword density, internal linking, and copy.

Warning: many SEO experts might advise you to keyword stuff your website with phrases like "martial arts school near me".

This used to work, but it is considered to be bad practice now. Why? Because Google's advanced algorithms can detect attempts to manipulate rankings, potentially damaging your overall standing.

Instead, focus on writing good copy that attracts and converts your ideal prospects to join your classes, and if there are opportunities to naturally include the keyword, do so.

5) Posting Pictures and Content

Google considers engagement from businesses a key factor in assessing how active and engaged they are with their customers.

Consistently acquiring new reviews each month can boost your ranking, just as regularly posting fresh images and updates on your Google Business Profile can also positively influence your rank.

All you have to do is post 4 to 5 new pictures weekly and 1 to 2 new posts weekly. It's not difficult, but most martial arts school owners don't make it a habit to do so.

That's why, at Monstro, we've developed an AI-backed Social Planner that helps our schools generate and schedule posts in advance so they never miss a week. If you're interested in seeing how Monstro can simplify your Google ranking, book a demo call here.

6) Citations

"Citation" is a term used to describe online directories such as Yellow Pages, Yelp, Facebook, etc.

There used to be a time when getting listed on numerous directory sites online for your business with the correct NAP (Name, Address, and Phone) was all you needed to do to boost your local ranking.

However, this is no longer true. While it is still an important factor, we recommend that you focus on targeting only the top 100 citation sites. You can do this manually, which can take some time, or pay someone to do it for you.

Citations themselves aren't inherently remarkable; rather, the challenge lies in acquiring them consistently.

You can download our list of the top 100 citation sites in PDF format here.

7) Backlinks & Send Traffic

Last but not least, we have backlinks.

You may have heard of backlinks, but if you haven't, a backlink is a link that another website points to you. I'm not going to delve into the details of backlinks and acquiring them, as there is an entire industry and subject built around this.

But the idea is that you want to acquire a few backlinks back to your website and maybe even your Google Business Profile (GBP).

You don't have to get a lot, as you're a local business and not competing against top SEO players with hundreds of millions of dollars in SEO monthly.

However, you do want to actively seek out backlinks through local partnerships, local events, press releases, or guest posting on local blogs.

This is not easy, but it will help with your local ranking if done properly. I mention this last not to diminish the importance of backlinks, but because it is, in my opinion, the last thing you should optimize, as it is probably the hardest to do if you don't have any knowledge of SEO.

Fortunately, acquiring backlinks is not a must for local SEO, but if you want to dominate your competition, it is highly recommended.

What to do next

In short, it is my opinion that ranking on Google is the key to growing your martial arts school in 2024. It is something that, in my opinion, every local business should prioritize before attempting Facebook ads.

The best part is, it's not difficult! While you'll need to devote time and effort and have the discipline to do it consistently every single day, the rewards are well worth it.

If you want to expedite this process, book a demo and see how Monstro can simplify and save you hundreds of hours with AI. You can book a demo here.