Coaching marketing
SEO for
coaches.
SEO for coaches means having a page for each situation you coach, written the way people search for it, and being easy for Google and AI tools to understand and recommend. One thing catches online coaches out: Google's rules say a Business Profile needs in-person contact with customers during stated hours, so online-only coaches can't have one. They have to win through their own site, directories and mentions elsewhere.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 2 November 2026.What people
actually search.
'Life coach' is crowded with directories. The situation searches are where a single coach can win: 'how to change careers at 40', 'first time manager struggling', 'how to grow my business past one person'. Those searches are less crowded and closer to a decision.
Build a page for each kind of situation you coach. Name it in the searcher's words. Answer the questions they have before they'd hire anyone: what coaching would involve, how long, what it costs, and who it's not for.
Can you have a
Business Profile?
Google's guidelines say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. Online-only businesses aren't eligible.
So a coach with a studio or office, staffed during stated hours with permanent signage, qualifies and can show the address. A coach who travels to clients qualifies as a service-area business and hides their home address. A coach who works only on video calls doesn't qualify, however tempting it is to list a home address.
Can Google and AI
find you?
Start with eligibility, then tick the basics.
Findability check
Can Google and AI
find you?
First, whether you can have a Google Business Profile at all. Then the basics that help Google and AI tools recommend you.
The directories
problem.
Search a local coaching term and you'll typically see directories and marketplaces near the top, not individual coaches. They have a lot of pages and a lot of links.
Two responses. Be listed on the ones buyers trust, like your training body's directory, with the same details as your site, and collect reviews there: in a US survey, 97% of people read reviews for local businesses. Then win the specific searches the directories don't cover well.
Google's own guidance is to write for people first, showing first-hand experience. A coach explaining a situation they deal with every week has an edge a directory listing can't match.
Being recommended
by AI.
People ask ChatGPT and Google's AI how to choose a coach and who to see. In a US survey, 45% had used AI tools for local recommendations.
AI tools lean on clear, consistent information and on what other sites say about you. The guide to how ChatGPT recommends businesses goes into it. For coaches, podcast guest spots, articles and association listings do double duty: they build trust with people and with AI.
What I see most often
What I see
on coaching sites, for search.
- 1
One page for everything
Every kind of coaching on the home page, so nothing ranks for any specific situation.
- 2
A fake address for the profile
Online coaches listing a home address to get on Google Maps, against the rules and at risk of suspension.
- 3
Blog posts nobody searches
Inspirational posts with titles nobody would type into Google.
- 4
Different details everywhere
Old business names and locations on directories, which confuses Google and AI tools.
The honest bit. SEO takes months. A coach starting from nothing should pair it with referrals and LinkedIn while the pages build up.
Questions
people ask.
Can an online coach have a Google Business Profile?
No. Google requires in-person contact with customers during stated hours. Coaches who meet clients in person, at an office or at the client's location, can.
How do coaches get found on Google?
With a page for each situation they coach, written the way people search, answers to cost and process questions, consistent details across directories, and mentions on other sites.
Should I list on coaching directories?
On the reputable ones, yes, with the same details as your website. Your training body's directory is a good start.
How do I get recommended by ChatGPT?
Be clear and consistent about who you coach and on what, answer the questions people ask, and get mentioned on other sites. The ChatGPT recommendations guide explains how it picks.
Related
Keep
going.
Get a free
search audit.
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.