Lucky for some - 13 Top Tips

1 Spiders   None of this stuff is as scary as it sounds, including this arachnid term. ‘Spiders’ are used by Google to index hundreds of thousands of pages across thousands of machines. They are looking for key words to help rank web pages.

2 Key words  You need these on your website and you need to use them in your social media. Think about the kind of things people will search for about you. Words such as ‘pub’ ‘beer’ and ‘live sport’ are a good place to start. Write out a list of key words that apply to you. Can you find all of these on your website or social platforms?

3 ‘Near me’ and ‘How to’ This is how a huge amount of search terms begin. The former is what many people are looking for on Google. The latter is the most common start to phrases typed into YouTube.Can you think ‘how to’ create content across your various channels to reach those who are searching for a venue like you?

4 Google Trends This awesome little tool can tell you what terms people are searching for so you can apply them to your content. 

5 Be mobile friendly  Who doesn’t have a smartphone these days? The chances are that people will find you first on a mobile or tablet.This means your website needs to be ‘responsive’, that is to say that it needs to change shape to fit on the device your potential customer is using. 

6 Reviews are good for you  Trip Advisor may well be the bane of your life but Google trusts it and other review sites such as Yelp. More reviews mean you are more likely to be found in searches.

7 Claim your business... Whether you like it or not there will be information about your business out there on the web. It’s far better if you can claim some control over what appears first in searches. Claiming your ‘Google My Business’ listing is one simple way of doing this.

8 ...and update it  You can improve your Google My Business page by adding in the facilities you offer. Do you have WiFi? Are you dog-friendly? Have you got easy-access toilets? Do you welcome away fans? Some of these may seem obvious, but the more you add the greater the profile of your business will be online.

9 1hr 48mins  That’s the average length of time someone from the UK spends on social media every day. Your customers are already on there, so you should be too.

10 Don’t sell, inspire  Think of social media posts as conversational. You (probably) don’t give it the hard sell when a customer walks through the door. Stick to a similar approach on social media so that your online presence reflects your business and your values.

11 When to post?  Think about your members (and potential members) and when they are likely to be online. The middle of a gripping Champions League game may not be best, but perhaps you can reach them at half-time or after the final whistle.

12 Measures of success  Don’t get too hung up on how many followers you have but do use analytics to measure how your posts have performed. What kind of content is generating engagement and impressions? See what works and plan a social media strategy around this.

13 Don’t post after five drinks!  Would you say what you are planning to post in a bar full of people? If not, maybe you shouldn’t be posting it!