Recently, one of my VIP clients read an article about SEO — search engine optimization — and quickly went down a rabbit hole trying to figure it out for her new coaching business. And it stressed her out.
I assured her that we had already addressed important aspects of SEO by doing market research on her chosen target audience. We’d applied what she heard from them to develop the language for her Signature Program, web copy — everything!
Beyond that, she could put off digging further into SEO … maybe forever. Her relief was palpable.
The reality is for a unique service business like coaching, especially in its early days, SEO is a hit and miss prospect at best.
You’ll be glad to know that this episode doesn’t get technical about how SEO works so you can let your left brain relax.
That said, if you are online to attract coaching clients you need to know a bit of intuitive SEO for your business.
Is it Best to Attract Coaching Clients Slowly or Quickly?
When I first launched Prosperous Coach, I started with a membership program. That was ambitious! I figured my association with the coach training school that I wrote curriculum for and a monthly webinar guest spot would flow thousands of coaches right into my Coach’s Power Path program.
When it didn’t quite happen that way, someone encouraged me to hire an SEO consultant to help me get more traffic to my sales page.
$6000 and 6 months later I had no better traffic or enrollment, even though we followed all the guidance. I vowed then that I would not ever again push money into SEO or any kind of advertising.
When I differentiated myself from all the other mentors for coaches out there by focusing in on the coaching niche problem, which no one else wanted to tackle, Prosperous Coach landed on the first page of Google without investing in sponsored ads!
That only lasted a few years until the internet became well and truly swamped with … everything!
Now, on a good day my hundreds of keyworded articles, targeted web copy and social posts about coaching niches might land me on the 4th page of Google with a search for “coaching niche”.
I don’t sweat that. It’s not the sandbox I’m playing in. In fact, I would say that SEO is a cold and impersonal sandbox to play in.
Still, some clients do find me through Google searches.
But you know what? I’ve realized that, unless they dig into my podcast, they are rarely ideal clients. If they just jump onto my website and apply for a Discovery Call, there isn’t enough trust built for the fit I seek for my VIP program.
Does that surprise you?
Like I did, you may be thinking that the fastest, shortest route to enrolling clients is the best way to fill your coaching business with paying clients. Well, if you are offering online training, maybe so. In other words, if you don’t need to have a relationship with your clients, fast attraction will work for you.
I can say with certainty that for me the longer, slower attraction methods work best. And that’s why I take the time to deliver a podcast episode every week. I am serving all listeners with free value but what is going on beneath that is that my ideal clients are realizing, in their own time, they want private VIP support to build their coaching business.
Do you want fast clients or clients who know you are ideal for them through your nurturing?
Coaching is a Unique Service
SEO is a straight forward concept for companies that sell well known commodities or easily understood services.
If you are looking for an electrician, plumber, tree trimmer or yoga studio you know what words to type into your browser. Or you might skip the search entirely and just get a recommendation from a friend.
You also know exactly what to search for if you want a new iPhone, suitcase or sheets. You might type in “iPhone 14” or “carry-on suitcase with wheels” or “light blue bamboo sheets” to narrow down your search.
With products and services like these you will quickly find possibilities and then your other preferences will kick in as you bounce quickly onto and off of sites to find your ideal product.
But is it as likely that your ideal client will search on Google in the same way? What, will they type in “coach” and find you? No.
And not even if you add a fill-in-the-blank term before coach like “transition coach” or “confidence coach” are they likely to find you that way in the first few years unless you pay for the privilege of being on page 1.
Organic SEO takes a lot of time and congruence to build.
And that is exactly what I suggest coaches do —
build SEO organically through keywords.
You have to start by targeting a narrow viable audience. Develop a unique niche that fits their BIG problems and most urgently desired outcomes. Then create content online — social posts, articles, podcast episodes, videos — using the keywords that fit those things. Contextualize everything in that way over and over.
Don’t fall into the trap that I see so many coaches do of using broad, abstract language that could attract anyone. That will not help the search engines index your business and it won’t help your ideal clients find you.
Powerful Questions to Help You Use Keywords for Your Coaching Niche
Ask yourself these questions to help you put online the best keywords that will help you build SEO:
What does your audience want urgently right now? Be specific.
What specific BIG problems are in the way of that urgent desire?
What words do they use to describe those urgent desires and pain points?
What keywords would your target audience likely search for? Expand from that.
To answer these questions meaningfully, you have to think like your audience
and not like a coach, which is the first pillar of smart marketing for coaches.
If you know WHO you are trying to attract and demonstrate that in everything you do online from your web copy to your social posts to your free offer and more, you will build SEO the organic way and attract clients who are ideal for you.
Then hopefully, instead of just grabbing your free offer and bouncing away, your WHO will become a follower and resonate with your posts, podcast episodes – the things you share in good faith to build trust with people who truly relate to your brand.
Stay inspired and make things happen!