What Keywords Your Ideal Clients Are Actually Searching For
Keyword research advice for PTs usually starts with "personal trainer near me" and ends with "weight loss coach." Which is precisely why it's useless to you.
The clients you serve search differently. Their searches are longer, more specific, and often shaped by what they're trying to avoid. Here's what they're actually typing, and how to show up for it.
Why Generic Fitness Keywords Don't Work for Inclusive PTs
Generic keywords carry generic assumptions. "Personal trainer" searches are dominated by results promising fat loss and transformations, because that's what the market optimises for. Even if you ranked for those terms, you'd be attracting a stream of enquiries from people looking for exactly what you don't do.
Your advantage lives in the specific searches, where intent is high, competition is low, and the person searching is already looking for your values.
The Search Terms Marginalised and Neurodivergent Clients Actually Use
They search by approach: "weight-neutral personal trainer," "anti-diet PT," "HAES personal trainer UK," "body-neutral fitness coach."
They search by identity and need: "personal trainer for neurodivergent adults," "ADHD friendly personal trainer," "autism friendly gym sessions," "plus size personal trainer," "personal trainer eating disorder recovery."
They search by fear, and these are the most overlooked: "personal trainer who won't make me lose weight," "trainer who won't comment on my body," "gyms for people with anxiety," "personal trainer for beginners scared of the gym."
And they search questions: "what is a weight-neutral personal trainer," "how to find an inclusive PT," "do I have to be weighed by a personal trainer."
Every one of these is a piece of content or a page heading waiting to exist.
How to Find Your Own Keywords Without Expensive Tools
You don't need paid software. Start typing your specialism into Google and read the autocomplete suggestions, which are real searches. Check the "People also ask" and "Related searches" sections on the results page.
Then go where your clients talk. The exact phrases people use in community threads when asking for trainer recommendations are your keywords, in their natural habitat. Note the vocabulary: whether they say "plus size" or "fat," "neurodivergent" or "ADHD," matters for matching their searches.
Finally, mine your own enquiries. The words new clients use to describe what they were looking for are the best keyword research you'll ever get, and it's free.
Where to Use Keywords Once You Have Them
Page titles and main headings first, because they carry the most weight. Your homepage should contain your primary keyword (specialism plus location). Your about and services pages carry the approach terms. Articles and FAQs answer the question searches, one question per piece.
Write for humans first. The goal is copy that naturally contains the words your clients search, not copy stuffed to please a robot. If a sentence reads awkwardly, rewrite it.
Keywords to Avoid (Even Though They Get Traffic)
"Weight loss" terms, obviously, and their euphemisms: "toning," "body sculpting," "shred," "transformation." Even ranking accidentally for these attracts mismatched enquiries and muddies what your practice stands for.
Your keyword strategy is your positioning, written in search terms. Make sure every term you target is a client you actually want.
The Not So Typical® PT Network directory is built around these values-based searches, which is part of what makes a listing work harder than generic visibility.
