Mesa Rim.

Mesa Rim Climbing & Fitness is a premier indoor climbing gym chain with multiple locations in San Diego, Reno, and Austin, offering bouldering, top-rope climbing, yoga, and fitness classes for all skill levels. Known for their state-of-the-art facilities, expert coaching, and community-focused events, Mesa Rim transforms workouts into adventures, attracting families, beginners, and elite climbers alike. As a growing brand in the competitive fitness landscape, they needed a digital strategy to scale lead generation and drive website start trials through targeted advertising.

3.1M+ people reached across San Diego, Reno & Austin via Meta

230,000+ Google clicks at $0.28 CPC and 14.2% CTR

10,866 website start trials delivered at $4.39 CPA

Grow Your Outdoor Brand Marine Business Fitness Center Adventure Brand Climbing Gym Sporting Club .

Brief & Objectives

Portside partnered with Mesa Rim to establish a robust paid advertising presence across Meta and Google platforms, focusing on high-intent local searches and broad audience awareness. With no prior integrated ad tracking, our goals were:

  • Drive scalable website start trials and landing page views through targeted campaigns
  • Achieve efficient cost per action (CPA) for trials and clicks in a competitive local market
  • Build broad reach and impressions to enhance brand visibility in key cities (San Diego, Reno, Austin)

 

Challenges

Mesa Rim operated in a niche fitness market with high local competition and seasonal demand fluctuations. Key hurdles included:

  1. No Conversion Tracking: Initial reports showed zero tracked conversions on Google Ads, masking true ROI from high-volume clicks.
  2. Fragmented Data: Separate Meta and Google efforts lacked integration, leading to inefficient audience targeting and higher costs.
  3. Competitive Landscape: Low impression share (<10% on Google) meant missing 90%+ of potential searches, with overlaps from rivals like Groupon.

 

Our Solution

We implemented a coordinated paid media strategy across Meta and Google Ads, emphasizing audience testing, creative iteration, and performance optimization. Here’s how we executed:

  1. Meta Ads:
    • Launched traffic, awareness, and conversion-optimized campaigns using dynamic videos, static images, and broad/lookalike audiences.
    • Focused on key actions like website start trials and landing page views, with ongoing refinements to reduce CPA.
  2. Google Ads:
    • Deployed Search and Performance Max campaigns targeting high-intent keywords like “rock climbing near me” and “climbing gym San Diego.”
    • Utilized broad match and remarketing to capture local demand, improving CTR through bid adjustments.

 

Results

From October 2022 to November 2025 (Meta) and June 2023 to November 2025 (Google), our campaigns delivered measurable growth in reach, engagement, and leads.

Meta Ads Highlights

  • Reach: 3,141,941 unique users; Impressions: 13,437,151 at $6.09 CPM
  • Website Start Trials: 10,866 at $4.39 CPA
  • Landing Page Views: 32,963 at $0.64 per view; Link Clicks: 17,283 at $0.42 per click
  • Efficiency: 20-60% CPA reduction through testing; 61,443 total conversions at $1.33 each

Google Ads Highlights

  • Clicks: 230,253 at $0.28 CPC and 14.20% CTR
  • Impressions: ~1,621,000 (estimated); Top-of-Page Rate: 80.96%
  • Impression Share: <10%, with 81% outranking competitors like Groupon
  • Key Terms: “Rock climbing near me” drove 3,838 clicks; Branded terms like “mesa rim” at low $0.19 CPC

 

Overall Impact

Portside established Mesa Rim’s digital advertising foundation, generating over 230,000 Google clicks and 10,866 Meta trials while reaching 3.1 million users. This strategy not only boosted visibility in competitive markets but also delivered efficient lead generation at sub-industry costs, setting the stage for sustained growth in memberships and community engagement.