How ClassPass uses Google to support partner studios

Editor's note: Today's guest post comes from Amanda Raines, Head of B2B Marketing at ClassPass.

As any small business owner in the fitness industry would tell you, there’s nothing like the energy of a room full of people clipping into their spin bikes, a packed class of yogis ready to flow, or the collective peace of a group meditation session. But with so many gyms and fitness studios out there, one of the biggest challenges these entrepreneurs face is just getting people through the door. Small business owners can get so caught up trying to build their business that they miss out on doing what they love—empowering and inspiring their customers to live their healthiest lives. 

90 percent of the fitness industry is comprised of small businesses that offer classes to keep people healthy and foster strong communities. Many of them don’t have a big marketing budget, so they struggle to promote their classes to the right people. Plus, they lose money if they don’t fill all the spots available in their classes. That’s where ClassPass comes in. People use our app to find open spots at fitness studios, which brings those businesses additional revenue and visibility in their communities. 

We create mini websites for each partner studio within the ClassPass platform to give customers key information and help studios show up in Google search results. The app is connected to Google Maps so that people see nearby studios and class times based on their preference. By surfacing these businesses on Google with rave reviews, precise location, and up-to-date schedules, ClassPass helps all fitness enthusiasts to discover our partners, regardless of whether they use ClassPass to book. 

Supporting these entrepreneurs isn’t just the right thing to do; it makes good business sense, too. To expand ClassPass to new regions, we need to continue to increase the number of people using the app to sign up for classes. On the flip side, we need to build a list of studios in a city to entice new customers to try the app in the first place. So we use Google Ads to reach potential leads on both sides of the marketplace, often resulting in people testing out group fitness for the first time. In order to make the most of our marketing budget—and to be most helpful to the small business owners in our network—we use Google Analytics 360 to make smart decisions about the regions where our studios are located, and how we should spend time and energy attracting new customers.

I’m proud to level the playing field for small businesses by partnering with over 30,000 studios across nearly 30 countries. It’s inspiring to go to work every day knowing that my efforts will help a small business to succeed, especially since entrepreneurship is a big part of the ClassPass company DNA. As ClassPass continues to grow across the globe and across verticals like corporate wellness, we are committed to growing small businesses and local economies along with it. That way, small business owners in the fitness and wellness industry can spend less time behind a computer—and more time focused on what they do (and love) best. 💪