Your website acts as a 24/7 digital advertisement for your flight school, but it's not useful if prospective customers can't find it. You need a strong internet presence across search engines and social networks to attract potential clients and grow your flight school's enrollment. Here are three simple ways you can improve your flights school's online marketing and help prospective customers find your website.
Search engine competition is high for general search terms such as "flight school," plus a generic ranking gets you traffic from all over the world. Even if you invested substantial resources into optimizing for a generic keyword phrase, the traffic you get might not be from potential clients interested in flight training in your local area.
Instead of these broad keyword phrases, focus on phrases your local customers might use to find you. These longer, specific keyword phrases are called long-tail keywords and are more likely to attract relevant visitors. You'll also have less competition for these keywords, as you only need to beat out other local flight schools instead of the entire world. Use phrases such as the following to improve your local ranking:
Put these targeted keyword phrases on every page of your website and blog. But remember that you're writing for real people, not search engines—keywords should guide your content, not overwhelm it.
Google's search engine pulls information from Google Maps and other Google services when people search for terms that have local results. Your flight school should be listed on Google Maps so prospective customers can get all the relevant information when they're looking for your targeted keyword phrases or your flight school's name online.
You can add your flight school on Google Maps by accessing the Google My Business page. You'll need a Google account to use this service. Sign in if you have one or sign up for a new account. In addition to Google Maps, you can use this account to manage your flight school's presence across all of Google's services.
After signing in, you'll be taken to a dashboard page. There's a menu with several options in the upper-left corner of this page. The Add a Location menu option walks you through the process of adding your flight school to Google Maps.
The number of social media website and platforms can be overwhelming, but don't let that stop you from using this channel to help people find your business. The fact of the matter is that most flight schools will be best served by focusing their social media marketing efforts on Facebook. Unlike other social media outlets, Facebook is actively used by the people who are likely to start flight training. Your school's target demographic profile will depend on the kind of training you offer, but here are two broad examples of the users on Facebook that might be interested in learning to fly:
These numbers come from Facebook's Audience Insights tool.
A Facebook page for your flight school gives you valuable opportunities to engage directly with potential clients, post interesting content, create events, and gain online reviews. If you haven't already, you should set up a Business Page for your flight school on Facebook. Some of the most important information you can include on your page is your address, hours, availability, and pricing. Add content to your Facebook page, such as videos or photos of your flight school, posts that highlight the success of your customers, links to your website content, status updates, and conversation starters.
Effective online marketing is key to growing your business. However, it can be hard to know where you should spend your limited time and resources. By optimizing your website for local search terms, adding your flight school to Google Maps, and focusing your social media efforts on Facebook, you'll get a few quick and easy wins to improve your flight school's digital marketing strategy and help future pilots find your website.