Many health and wellness web sites are always looking for ways to improve their Alexa ranking, Google ranking, social media skills, and SEO. The Tech Tools section of this web site will have basic tips from experts and non-experts alike who will share their successes with the audience of this blog. Hopefully, they will help anyone who has their own web site improve the sites popularity.

If you have a tip, use the contact link above to send it along.

1) Connect.

In the health and fitness industry, there are many cross-relationships you can take advantage of. With clients/patients, industry associations, neighboring businesses, vertical competitors/partners and various other players. Let me give you a real life scenario.

Imagine you lead an all-in-one alternative medicine pain management office. You offer chiropractic, physical and massage therapy, weight loss, acupuncture and various non-invasive procedures to heal your patients naturally. Let’s define your world of potential relationships you can tap into. All of these have direct and indirect impact on your brand and your website and should theoretically improve your Google, Alexa, etc. ranks.

Leverage client/patient relationships for reviews and honest feedback. These can be reviews/testimonials on your site, Yelp reviews, Zagat reviews, etc. Patients/clients can also use their web megaphones (their own blog, social networks, etc.) to talk about you. Ask politely to link to your site. (PRO Tip: Bad reviews are good too. Just be sure to address them positively to secure your online reputation).

Build relationships in ‘industry hot spots’ online. In the health and fitness industry, there are several high-authority sites and blogs which are readily accessible to anyone. Sites like WebMD, Greatist, etc. Reach out to their contributors and readers in a value-adding manner. Get your name out there ( in a non-promotional, value-adding manner). These relationships can lead to guest post opportunities, interviews, testimonials, etc. The more value you add for others, the greater your return. Think win-win-win for you, the site/blog and most importantly, the audience.

Tap into vendor/supplier relationships – If you sell products (or don’t), do some research on their site or inquire with the account mgr about co-op digital opportunities. If they love you or your business, they’ll be motivated to find ways to link to you or talk about you on social media.

Reach out to industry professionals for joint opportunities. There are tons of indirect competitors in health and fitness you can join forces with – hospitals, clinics, fitness stores, gyms, personal trainers, running clubs, etc. If your specialty is non-invasive back pain treatment, reach out to pain relievers in your space who treat other body parts. Exchange links to your websites, but don’t stop there. Refer patients to them directly. If there are personal trainers and/or gyms who have great programs on strengthening the lower back, team up with them. You get the idea. Think win-win-win for you, your partner(s) and ultimately the patient/client.

Industry associations and events – Join associations (both profit and non-profit) online and offline to increase your brand authority and exposure. Partake in conferences, expos and other events. Try to get your business listings on these sites when applicable (as a sponsor, attendee, speaker, etc.) As we’re a back pain clinic in this scenario, we can find creative ways to work with the American Chronic Pain Association. Oh look, they love linking to sites that reflect their values and vision.

Your city – Whether you have a physical location or strictly online, there is a real world, a real city out there you serve out of. Pay attention to your neighborhoods, local events, local media and local businesses that can benefit from something you offer of value. Find creative and helpful ways to get involved. You will feel residual effects both online and offline.

2) Simplify.

The health and fitness industry is loaded with concepts and theories that the end-user – the client or patient – is often overwhelmed by or does not fully understand.

Listen to your people! Find information gaps. Look at Quora and WebMD threads for questions. Chances are if 1 person has a question, others do too. Find creative ways to build content that answers these questions and solves problems. If you can simplify and solve problems, you can build your expertise. Naturally, others will link to you and talk about you and even buy from you.

3) Build.

Build your presence online via local directory listings, on sites where people inquire. Create a Google+ Business Page, Yelp page, Yellow Pages and submit your business listings (citations). This can be done manually or outsourced. I prefer you manually choose the ones you think best suit your business/audience. Be sure to list all your social media accounts too, if possible. IE, some sites allow you to post your Youtube channel, FB/Twitter/LinkedIn profiles. Take the extra step to include all of these.

Here are some great articles and tools to strengthen your local SEO through local citations:

– Discovering Local Citation Opportunities
– 10 Unorthodox Ideas for Local Citations
– Local Citation Finder Tool
– GetListed.org

4) Stop.

Stop spamming. The health and fitness industry is notorious for spamming the internet using a wide variety of tactics. I get it, it’s a competitive niche and industry. However, if you really care about building a brand with loyal patients and clients, stop looking for the easy way out. People have adapted to the noisy internet. They can sense all the BS claims about weight loss, supplements and alternatives.

Stop with the ugly sites. I look at most health and fitness sites and they all look the same: outdated with ugly designs, stock photos and impersonal messaging. Use a CMS to build your site like WordPress and you’re free to optimize your site with basic SEO elements that might otherwise pose challenge.

Design with your audience in mind. Show off real photos of real people you work with. Be transparent as possible about your services and your team. Stop promoting yourself and promote others.
Conclusion

Health and Fitness is an challenging field with many competitive players. However, it’s not impossible to build a brand that’s worthy of trust and authority. If you can convey trust to those that matter in your digital efforts, you excel. While the goal of increasing Google Pagerank and Alexa rank – ultimately traffic and business growth – is a plausible one, it shouldn’t be your primary goal. The primary goal is brand excellence. Everything else is a byproduct – a scorecard – of your excellence.

– Raj Shah is a web marketing consultant from Chicago, who believes in brand excellence. He conducts research on greatness in business on his blog. You can contact him on Twitter or on Google+.