How to grow your group online

March 18, 2026

Most community leaders are great at building something people love in person, but invisible online. When someone in your city searches "run club near me" or "hiking group in Denver," your community should show up. For the majority of groups, it doesn't.

The good news: you don't need a marketing background, a budget, or even a website to fix this. The strategies that actually move the needle for local community growth are free, take less than an hour, and work whether you're running a run club, a photography group, a book club, or any other real-world community on Heylo.

This guide walks through exactly what to do, prioritized by impact, so you can spend less time on marketing and more time doing what you're actually good at: bringing people together.

TL;DR: The 3 highest-impact actions

Claim your Google Business Profile. It's free and puts your group on Google Maps and local search results.

Rewrite your Heylo group description with searchable keywords. Google indexes your Heylo page, so make the description count.

Cross-link everything. Connect your Heylo page, social profiles, and any other web presence so Google sees them as one entity.

Claim your Google Business Profile (the biggest free win)

If you do one thing from this guide, make it this. A Google Business Profile (GBP) is what powers those local results you see when you search for a business or organization on Google. It shows your group on Google Maps, displays your hours, links, photos, and reviews. It is completely free.

Most group leaders don't realize they can claim one. You are not a business, but Google doesn't care. If your group meets regularly in a specific area, you qualify.

Here's how to set it up:

Go to business.google.com and sign in with any Google account.
Enter your group's name exactly as people know it.
Choose a category. "Community organization," "Social club," or "Nonprofit organization" all work. Pick the one closest to what you do.
For the address, you have two options. If you meet at the same location every time, use that address. If your location varies, choose "I deliver goods and services to my customers" and enter your city or metro area instead.
Add your Heylo group link as your primary website.
Add a phone number or leave it blank. Google will verify your listing by mail, phone, or email. This can take a few days.
Once verified, upload photos from your events, write a short description with local keywords (more on that below), and encourage a few members to leave Google reviews.

Why this matters so much: Google trusts its own platform. A verified GBP listing gives your group a presence in local search results and Google Maps, where most people start when looking for things to do near them. Groups with even a handful of reviews tend to rank higher than those without.

Write your Heylo group description like Google is reading it (because it is)

Your Heylo group page is already indexed by Google. That means the words in your group description directly affect whether your group shows up in search results. Most group leaders write descriptions for existing members. Instead, write for the person who hasn't found you yet.

Here's what to include:

What your group does, using the words someone would actually search. Not "we're a community of like-minded individuals," but "a weekly run club in Austin, Texas for all paces."
Where you're located. Include your city, neighborhood, or region. Be specific. "Brooklyn, New York" is better than "NYC area."
Who it's for. Beginners? Women? Over-40 athletes? Say it clearly.
How often you meet. "Every Saturday morning" tells Google this is an active, recurring group.

Heylo group pages are built with clean URLs and structured metadata, so the SEO foundation is already in place. Your job is to fill in the description with the right keywords.

Example: "Midnight Runners is a free fitness community in London, Manchester, and cities worldwide. We host weekly outdoor workouts combining running, bodyweight exercises, and social connection. All fitness levels welcome."

Compare that to a vague description like "We're a fun group that loves to move and meet new people." The first version will rank. The second won't.

Cross-link everything you have

Search engines build trust by seeing consistent references to your group across the web. Every link between your profiles reinforces that your group is real, active, and worth surfacing in results.

Here's the checklist:

Heylo group page: Add links to your Instagram, website, or any other profiles in your group description or pinned content.
Instagram / TikTok / Facebook bio: Link to your Heylo group page.
Google Business Profile: Set your Heylo link as your website URL.
Any website or Linktree: Include your Heylo group link.
Email signatures and newsletters: Add a "Join us on Heylo" link.

The goal is a web of connections that all point to each other. Google sees this consistency and rewards it. Less stress for you: once you set these links up, they work quietly in the background forever.

Build a simple one-page website (optional but effective)

If you want an extra edge in search results, a simple one-page website can help. It doesn't need to be fancy. A single page with your group name, what you do, where you're located, and a link to join on Heylo is enough.

You can use Google Sites (free), Carrd ($19/year), or any basic website builder. The key is to include your target keywords naturally in the page title, heading, and body text.

What to put on it:

Your group name as the page title and main heading.
A one-paragraph description with your city, activity, and meeting cadence.
A prominent "Join us" button linking to your Heylo group page.
A few photos from recent events.
Links to your social profiles.

Why this helps: A standalone website with your own domain (even a free subdomain) gives Google another strong signal that your group exists and is active. It also lets you rank for long-tail keywords like "beginner hiking group in Portland Oregon" that your social profiles alone might not capture.

Earn local backlinks without being a marketer

A backlink is when another website links to yours. Google treats backlinks as votes of confidence. The more reputable sites that link to your group, the higher you'll rank. You don't need to do cold outreach or PR. There are easier wins.

Easy backlink opportunities:

Local event calendars. Most cities have community calendars (run by the city, local news outlets, or community organizations) where you can submit your recurring events for free.
Partner organizations. If you collaborate with local businesses, other groups, or venues, ask them to add a link to your group on their website.
Local news and blogs. If your group does something noteworthy (a charity event, a milestone, a unique concept), pitch it to a local reporter or blogger. Even a brief mention with a link helps.
Community directories. Sites like Meetup, Eventbrite, or niche directories for your activity type can link back to your website or Heylo page.

You don't need dozens of backlinks. Even three or four from local, relevant sources can make a meaningful difference for a community group.

Use social media bios as SEO real estate

Most group leaders treat their Instagram or TikTok bio as an afterthought. But social media profiles are indexed by Google, which means your bio text contributes to your search presence.

Make your bios work harder:

Include your group name, city, and activity in the bio text. "Austin Run Club | Free weekly runs in downtown Austin, TX" is far more searchable than "We run. We have fun."
Use your Heylo group link as your primary link (or add it to a Linktree-style page).
Keep your handle consistent across platforms so Google connects them as one entity.

This takes five minutes and pays off every time someone searches for a group like yours.

What to do this week: the quick-start checklist

You don't need to do everything at once. Start with the highest-impact items and build from there.

Claim your Google Business Profile at business.google.com. This is the single biggest unlock for local search visibility.
Rewrite your Heylo group description with specific keywords: your city, activity, audience, and meeting schedule.
Cross-link your profiles. Add your Heylo link to your Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, and anywhere else your group appears online.
Ask 3 members to leave a Google review. Reviews build trust with Google and with potential new members who find you.
Update your social media bios with your group name, city, and activity.
Submit your group to one local event calendar. Search "[your city] community events calendar" to find one.
Consider a simple one-page website if you want to go the extra mile.

Each of these steps is free and takes less than 15 minutes. Together, they create a compounding effect: the more signals Google sees about your group, the higher you'll rank, and the more new members will find you on their own.

It all comes back to showing up

You started your group because you care about bringing people together. SEO might feel like a different world, but at its core, it's the same thing: making it easy for the right people to find you.

The strategies in this guide are not complicated. They don't require technical skills or a marketing budget. They just require a little bit of intentional effort upfront. Once the foundation is set, it works for you in the background while you focus on what matters: building a group people love being part of.

That's the reward. Every hour you invest in making your group discoverable online translates directly into new members who show up, participate, and stick around. You feel more rewarded as a leader when growth happens organically, driven by people who were already searching for exactly what you offer.

Ready to get started? Create your group on Heylo and put these strategies to work.