Bing Ads for gyms, hung as a second sign on a smaller wall
A gym that advertises on a single search network has hung one sign. Bing Ads (Microsoft Advertising) hangs a second one on a smaller wall: a smaller audience, often searching from a desktop, and often lighter competition for the same typed phrase. We run that second sign for gyms, fitness centers and health clubs, as a set of ad groups kept apart from the first, with calls and tour requests tallied under their own heading.
Where a second search sign belongs at a gym
The sign out front reaches whoever walks past, and a search ad reaches whoever types a phrase such as gym near me
or health club gym near me
. Taking on Bing Ads does not change what the ad says. It changes who might read it and what each reader costs. Bing is a smaller audience than the first network a gym tries, and part of it searches from a desktop screen, which can suit a gym whose visitors read a location page before coming in.
It suits a gym that already advertises elsewhere and has its addresses and service lines settled. Since Google Ads campaigns can be brought across by import, the ad groups the gym already trusts can be carried across, then read and trimmed for Bing before anything runs. It suits a club group less when the location pages are still unfinished, since an ad that opens a half-written page is a label on an empty locker.
Nothing about Bing alters the line around our work. The ads are marketing from first word to last, and anything about a class or personal training that appears on a page behind them is the owner's own text. Our paid ads overview shows where this network sits beside the others.
Three things a gym gets from a Bing Ads campaign
A second sign on a smaller wall
Fewer people search here, so fewer searches will show an ad. In return the competition for a typed phrase is often lighter, and desktop searchers can be met there.
An imported Google campaign, trimmed for the gym
A campaign already built for search on the larger network can be imported rather than rewritten. We check each ad group against the gym's locations and lines, and the owner goes through the imported set before any ad runs.
Its own counters at the front desk
Calls and tour requests from Bing are filed under Bing's ad groups, apart from every other source. Set beside the other counts, the tally shows which sign sent which inquiry.
The parts of a gym's Bing campaign and who settles each one
| Part of the gym's campaign | What we do | What stays with the gym owner |
|---|---|---|
| The imported ad groups | Bring them across, then check each against the gym's addresses and lines | Which addresses and lines get an ad at all |
| The location pages the ads open | Match every ad to the page for its address | The facts printed on each page |
| The keep-out list for Bing searches | Copy the hard negative keyword list across and extend it from Bing's own search terms | Any word the gym wants kept out beyond ours |
| The monthly count for the front desk | File calls and forms by Bing ad group and report them in plain words | Which tour request route the form uses |
How the Bing bill is split between the gym and us
Two parties bill the gym here, and they bill different things. The network charges the gym's own card for every click on a Bing ad. Our management fee comes on its own invoice, and it is $895 a month when Bing Ads is the only platform we run and $1,595 or $2,295 when it runs beside one or two others. Starting costs the gym no startup fee, and since no agreement binds it, the gym can end the work whenever the owner decides.
Every ad account carries the gym's name from the beginning, and every network writes rules for its advertisers, which the owner works through before any campaign starts. How much the gym spends on clicks is up to the owner, and none of our figures include it. For the wider picture, the pricing page sets every plan side by side. The same ads can also run on the social network side, and every ad group reports to the same tally of inquiries.
Four checks before a gym's Bing campaign is switched on
- The owner has read each imported ad and approved it.
- Every address has a finished location page for its ads to open.
- The hard negative keyword list has been copied across.
- Bing's phone calls and tour requests get their own tally.
A fitness center weighs Bing Ads: four questions
Does a gym need a Google campaign before it can run Bing Ads?
No. A gym can build a Bing campaign from nothing. Having a Google campaign only means there is something to import, which saves rewriting the same ad groups.
Will a gym see the same searches on Bing as on Google?
The phrases people type are similar, though Bing's audience is smaller and its devices are mixed differently. Neither network comes with a promise about searches, calls or forms.
Which account carries the click charges for a gym on Bing?
The gym's own account, under the gym's own name and card. We hold no money for the gym and never pay a network on its behalf.
Can a club group run every location in one Bing account?
Yes. One account can carry a separate ad group per address, so a call to one location is never filed under another. The owner can see each location's ads and counts by itself.
Raise the second sign with the gym desk
Mention the addresses, the lines the owner wants advertised and whether the gym already runs ads on another network, and leave every member detail out.
Which lines of the gym should get pages first?
List the locations, the personal training and group class lines you want found, and the towns your visitors come from. Leave out every member name and every detail of anyone's training.
Open the first locker with us
Choose a call slot, or write a few sentences about the gym, its town and which class and training lines you want found. Our CEO reads each note.
The padlock drawn here is for looks and makes no forecast