Who ranks for "school spirit wear"?
The study searched "school spirit wear <town>" in 20 US towns, plus "school spirit wear" on Google Maps from each town centre. Times each site was in a town's top 10:
| Site | Times in a town's top 10 |
|---|---|
| 1stplacespiritwear.com | |
| spiritshop.com | |
| sideline.bsnsports.com | |
| prepsportswear.com | |
| facebook.com | |
| yelp.com |
National stores held the results. Local shops barely appear: only 2 of 148 shops reached the normal top 20 (1 of 61 with a schools/teams page and 1 of 87 without one). On the map, none of the 148 shops were in the top 20.
A store ranking #10 for this search sells straight to schools: it says schools pay nothing to join and receive 15% of every apparel sale, plus an online store branded for the school.
What should a print shop's schools page target?
"team shirts <town>". Of the 148 working shop sites, 61 have a schools/teams/sports page, the most common niche page in the study. For "team shirts <town>", 7 of 61 shops with that page (11%) made the normal top 20, against 6 of 87 without it (7%). Small numbers, and not held fixed for other factors, so read it as a direction, not an exact multiplier. Across all 151 map shops' sites, 13 made the top 20 for "team shirts <town>". The full keyword list is in keywords for a screen printing website.
On the map, a schools/teams page pointed the right way for the general searches, but the result wasn't clear.
Name the page for what local buyers type (team shirts, with your town), not "spirit wear".
Do this today: add a schools and teams page to your site, name it for "team shirts" plus your town, and ask your next team customer to say in their review what you printed.
How does a print shop show up on the map for team orders?
The study didn't measure a "team shirts" map search, so this is what moved the map for "screen printing", "custom t shirts" and "embroidery":
- Primary category: shops with "Screen printer" or "Screen printing shop" sat about 7 spots above similar shops for "screen printing".
- An embroidery category: 62 shops list it; 27 of them (44%) are top 3 for "embroidery". Of the 132 without one, 9 (7%) are.
- Reviews: shops whose newest reviews all mention the work sat about 5 / 10 / 4 spots above those whose reviews don't, for screen printing / custom t shirts / embroidery. Ask customers to say what you printed for them.
The setup is on the Google Business Profile for screen printing page.
What can't this data tell you about school orders?
The study measured Google search and Google Maps only. It didn't measure calls or emails to schools, booster clubs, or school store programs, so it can't say how well they work.