I teamed up with Jack Wendt to conduct an in-depth SEO audit for Discover Strength Draper, a boutique personalized strength training gym in Utah.
Jack, who has a personal connection to the Draper location through his family, reached out to me for help assessing and improving the location’s SEO.
Overview of Discover Strength Draper Site
The site ranks for 789 terms; however, the Draper site achieves visibility for just six. There are many reasons for this, but the main issue is the site’s lack of power. Each location functions like a microsite, similar to what we’ve done for brands such as Allstate Insurance and Starbucks.
These microsites inherit limited authority from the main site, which itself lacks significant power to pass down.
Additionally, no links point to the Draper page, and SEO is heavily link-driven. Links from other websites boost what’s often called “link juice.” For example, a link from a DR 80 site like the Salt Lake Tribune carries substantial authority.
There’s only one link for Draper: a blog post titled “How to Create the Best HIT Workouts.” This post is from a DR 33 domain, but the specific URL linking to the Draper page has no authority. The link contributes only 0.2 authority units, with no associated traffic or keyword rankings.
Discover Strength Draper Keywords Overview
The page ranks only for branded terms like “Discover Strength Draper” but doesn’t show up for key local searches like “Draper gym.” Google doesn’t recognize the Draper location as a part of the Discover Strength franchise due to a lack of clear structure. Without the right context, Google mistakenly associates terms like “Discover UT” with tourism rather than a gym.
Currently, the page ranks in position 54, generating no traffic. This isn’t surprising because it’s just a single page on the main Discover Strength site, not a proper microsite. For high-end, boutique personal training targeting executives, the page should focus on personalized services, not general fitness terms.
To fix this, the Draper page needs more substance. It should include detailed bios of instructors, links to credentials, and dedicated pages for services or nearby locations like Riverton and South Jordan.
The website performs poorly, and the Google Business Profile isn’t helping.
Google determines local relevance based on the searcher’s location. For example, searching “Discover Strength” without specifying a city uses the IP address to display results, mixing website links, a local three-pack, and other information.
Google also answers common questions like “Who’s the CEO?” or “How many locations does Discover Strength have?”
Unfortunately, most of this information does not come from the official website but from external sources, such as Yahoo News or IFA, which may be inaccurate. This indicates Discover Strength isn’t providing enough content to answer these basic questions, forcing Google to fill the gaps.
The Google Business Profile for Draper shows 34 reviews, all of which are five-star.
While competitors like Lifetime or 24 Hour Fitness have far more reviews, the quality and engagement matter more.
However, reviews lack responses from the owner, and most are brief, with little detail or photos. High-quality reviews from credible users, like Google Local Guides, carry more weight, but none of the reviews here add significant value.
If Google were to rank Discover Strength for terms such as ‘high-end personal training‘ or ‘executive fitness programs,’ it would lack sufficient information about services and customer experiences.
Discover Strength’s central website is weak, and the Draper location’s page is essentially a basic landing page under the main site. Franchisees like Draper have no control or customization to build a robust microsite. Without better content, links, and engagement, both the central and local sites fail to rank effectively.
To improve, Discover Strength must create detailed pages for services, actively manage reviews, and allow franchisees more control to strengthen their local presence.
Next Steps to Improve SEO for Discover Strength Draper
To enhance Discover Strength Draper’s visibility and ensure better rankings, it’s essential to focus on strategies that improve website SEO, such as optimizing content, building authoritative links, and adhering to Google’s EEAT principles.
The key to improving SEO is storytelling. Feature an instructor’s journey, share client success stories like Steve, 52, who trains at the Draper location, and highlight personal transformations. These stories create a genuine connection with potential clients and improve local SEO by adding relevant, localized content.
Currently, Google lacks detailed information about Discover Strength, and that’s the issue. It’s not about needing a technical SEO expert—it’s about providing more content.
For example, I can demonstrate that I’ve been to Utah multiple times through stories and photos that showcase real experiences, as I did recently with Jack Wendt. These personal stories build credibility and authority.
Jeff should focus on showcasing local relevance through tailored content to attract more clients in Draper. This isn’t just an SEO challenge—it’s about telling the right stories and providing locally focused information that resonates with potential clients.
Regarding the website’s authority, Jack can leverage that authority if the site has a decent Domain Rating, such as DR 46 or higher. Linking back to high-trust domains, such as Free-eBooks.net (DR 75-76), is crucial. Free-eBooks.net, with half a million visitors daily, can help build links to the main site.
An effective way to build credibility is to create a book about the Discover Strength training model. This book can be shared online to improve local and overall SEO performance.
Currently, Discover Strength’s website lacks local credibility. There’s little information to explain why someone in Draper should choose this gym over others. There’s also no story about what makes Discover Strength unique or the company’s background and values.
What could set this apart is showing local connections and highlighting real people’s stories. For instance, how did Jeff start this business? Why is he passionate about it?
To take this further, running Dollar a Day ads in specific local areas could increase visibility and drive traffic. For example, we can target neighborhoods like Silicon Slopes, where busy professionals live and work. The ad could highlight a success story about a busy executive who made time for training, showing their transformation.
Additionally, creating local partnerships and leveraging local networks can improve credibility. If Discover Strength is part of the local Chamber of Commerce or has other local relationships, ensure those are showcased on the website. Local links are essential in sending signals to Google that the business is important to the local community.
Finally, I recommend collecting short, one-minute video stories from trainers, clients, and staff to generate more content and build trust. They can record these quickly and easily, and they don’t need to be of high production value.
These videos can then be repurposed into other forms of content like social media posts or website content. This forms what we call the “Content Factory”—a way to keep producing high-quality, engaging content that builds trust and authority over time.
Using the Content Factory
The missing element is the ingredients in the second step, “Produce,” of the Content Factory
Discover Strength Draper could utilize ChatGPT to generate the ingredients. For example, I can ask ChatGPT the following;
So, my friend Jeff owns the Draper location for Discover Strength, and we’re talking about the stages of the content factory. The first stage is that we’ve got to produce this content, showing the trainers, telling their stories about how they started it, and explaining how 30-minute strength sessions per week help busy executives gain control of their life and health. But there’s almost nothing there that’s searchable on Google.They have very little information; they basically have a landing page on the main Discover Strength franchise site. But we want to empower Noah to collect all these videos, which we can then repurpose into blog posts, their GMB, YouTube, and then run Dollar a Day ads to help them get more clients.
And here’s the ChatGPT response.
Jeff’s team can systematically produce authentic stories, videos, and blog posts that resonate with local audiences by following the Content Factory model. These assets can be repurposed across social media, Google Business Profile, and targeted ads to drive local visibility and engagement.
Discover Strength Draper can boost SEO and attract more clients by focusing on these key steps:
- Increase Local Links: Build links to the Draper location to boost its online authority and help it rank for local terms such as “Draper gym” or “personalized strength training in Utah.”
- Local Success Stories: Share authentic local stories of clients and trainers from the Draper location to increase engagement and help the site stand out in local searches.
- Local SEO Optimization: To improve local search visibility, focus on creating content that highlights the Draper location specifically, including the gym’s services, staff, and unique features.
- Expand Google Business Profile: Actively manage and expand the Draper Google Business Profile by encouraging detailed reviews and responses to enhance local credibility.
If you’d like to explore your SEO and marketing in more detail, the Power Hour offers a chance to address your challenges and gain clarity on your next steps.