The Q2 2026 benchmarking report for UK indoor climbing centres has just been published. Learn how the top 12 UK indoor climbing centres perform across the digital space.
The latest Q2 2026 benchmarking report for UK indoor climbing centres has just been published. It covers the largest 12 indoor climbing centres including The Climbing Hangar, Depot Climbing, Parthian Climbing, Big Rock, Rock Up, Awesome Walls, Castle, Boulder Central, Creation, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Flashpoint, and Eden Rock Climbing.
The research gives an inside track on who is winning the biggest share of voice online, and quantifies the gaps, risks and missed opportunities for other indoor climbing centres to win brand exposure, improve technical site performance, and generate online orders. The report highlights quick wins that will improve enquiries from your online strategy and identifies the barriers that may be reducing your site’s ability to optimise digital performance.
To see a preview and contents page of the Q2 report, click here.To get a copy of the full report and the key takeaways, please complete the enquiry form or schedule a call.
For a glance into just 6 of the metrics, we evaluated these top 12 indoor climbing centres on, check out our quick-look table below;
To understand what the *CTM Digital Performance Index™ is click here.
Continue reading for further detail on this quarter's top and poorest-performing UK holiday parks, or request a copy of the report for the full review.
The 70+ pages of research benchmarks each retailer based on 50+ metrics and indicators of successful digital strategy, including organic visibility, domain authority, paid media ads, conversion performance, technical performance, site speed, universal search, content, social ads, accessibility, and mobile performance.
Some of the leading players in the space are high spenders on paid media channels such as Google, Bing & Facebook - but have a poor or sub-optimal conversion improvement strategy. Without an optimised, sophisticated conversion strategy that maximises the conversion rate, the return on investment is unsustainable or will underperform. Scaling spend on paid media is not achievable unless the conversion rate delivers optimal performance in the sector. Some in the space have paid media spend levels from 30k+ per month but dedicate minimal resources and budgets to conversion testing. Given the cost per clicks on ad networks will continue to rise, we recommend spending at least 10% of your paid media budget on ongoing conversion optimisation testing schedules to ensure your paid media ROI maintains long-term viability, competitive advantage, and sustainability.
Savvy digital marketers know that having a technically sound website is an essential component of a successful fully integrated digital strategy - plus a site capable of maximising conversion performance. 404 errors can result in lost sales opportunities, especially on websites selling a service. If users land on missing pages, they may abandon their purchase and look elsewhere instead.
Parthian Climbing received the most 404 errors (95). Meanwhile, Castle and Redpoint Climbing Centre reported zero 404 errors (the best score possible). Broken links can interrupt the customer journey and reduce trust in the brand. Users may question the reliability of the business if important pages are inaccessible.
When 62% of consumers are less likely to convert if they have a negative mobile site experience, ensuring that your site is quick and easy to load makes a significant improvement on your overall conversion rates. Mobile users often rely on limited data connections, so speed becomes even more important. Websites that are optimised for fast loading consume less data and perform well even on slower networks. This consideration improves accessibility and keeps users satisfied regardless of their connection quality.
The mobile site speed ranged 62 and 22, with Big Rock reporting the slowest speed and Creation receiving the fastest speed. Slow mobile site speeds can quickly frustrate users who expect websites to load almost instantly on their phones. When pages take too long to appear, visitors may lose patience and leave before they’ve even viewed the content. This creates a poor first impression and can reduce overall engagement.
Domain authority is an essential metric for measuring the effectiveness of SEO performance, and helps create a reliable overall gauge of how effective your site is at achieving organic traffic, i.e. ‘free’ traffic that isn’t gained through sponsored ads. Higher authority can provide a competitive edge within a crowded market. If multiple sites are targeting similar topics, the one with stronger authority is more likely to outperform others.
A ‘good’ DA really comes down to how your competitors are performing, however it is generally considered average between 40 and 50, good between 50 and 60, and excellent above 60. This quarter, the DA score ranged between 52 and 0, with Redpoint Climbing Centre receiving the lowest score. Websites with higher authority may find it easier to recover from algorithm updates. Their established trust can help cushion the impact of ranking changes.
A strong organic performance is strategically important as it ensures your site ranks above competitors for key, transactional keywords. When 93% of your customers won’t go past the first page of Google, your absence or lack of targeting for essential keywords will cost you conversions. Conversion journeys are often split across devices. A user might discover a site on mobile but return later on desktop to complete a purchase or enquiry. This can make mobile traffic appear lower in value, even though it plays an important role in the overall journey.
Eight brands reported a decrease in organic traffic on desktop, with Eden Rock Climbing seeing the biggest loss (-42%). Meanwhile, Boulder Central saw the biggest increase on desktop (+265%). On mobile, 10 brands reported a decrease in organic traffic, with Depot Climbing also seeing the biggest loss (-42%). Organic traffic can differ between mobile and desktop because users often search with different intentions depending on the device they’re using. Mobile users may look for quick answers, nearby services, or immediate information, while desktop users are more likely to carry out detailed research. These behavioural differences can lead to noticeable traffic variations.
Google Universal Search Results is an evolving opportunity to make your pages visible on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Universal results often appear before traditional listings and are eye-catching for users. Conversion journeys are often split across devices. A user might discover a site on mobile but return later on desktop to complete a purchase or enquiry. This can make mobile traffic appear lower in value, even though it plays an important role in the overall journey.
Eight brands reported a decrease in organic traffic on desktop, with Eden Rock Climbing seeing the biggest loss (-42%). Meanwhile, Boulder Central saw the biggest increase on desktop (+265%). On mobile, 10 brands reported a decrease in organic traffic, with Depot Climbing also seeing the biggest loss (-42%). Organic traffic can differ between mobile and desktop because users often search with different intentions depending on the device they’re using. Mobile users may look for quick answers, nearby services, or immediate information, while desktop users are more likely to carry out detailed research. These behavioural differences can lead to noticeable traffic variations.
Longtail keywords are often considered high intent and potentially more likely to convert as a searcher is being more specific. Optimising for longtail keywords also puts your content strategy in a strong position to rank for retailer new search terms as they enter Google’s index. Longtail keywords help create a more focused and effective SEO strategy. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, websites can target the right audience with content that truly meets their needs.
Rock Up secured the most longtail keyword appearances for position 3 (233). Depot Climbing secured the most appearances for positions 4–10 (344) — with Rock Up close behind (343). Websites targeting longtail keywords may experience lower bounce rates because users are more likely to find precisely what they searched for. When content closely matches search intent, visitors tend to stay longer and explore further. This can improve both user satisfaction and engagement metrics.
With the number of Facebook users in the United Kingdom (UK) hitting over 44 million users in 2023, it is not surprising that companies have jumped at the opportunity to advertise on the social media platform. Facebook’s UK digital advertising revenue has been estimated to have breached 2.6b GB pounds in 2019.
We’ve included screenshots of Rock Up’s sponsored Facebook posts. Less text tends to perform better because they’re quicker and easier for users to read while scrolling. Most people browse social media in short bursts, so concise messages are more likely to hold attention before they move on.
When it comes to social media and on-site content strategies, it is important to release content that has a longer shelf life. An article is considered 'Evergreen' if it has maintained its relevancy to an audience for longer. It's great for your brand engagement, but great for Google, too, who will recognise content which achieves traffic over a long period of time. Indoor climbing centres can create content based on sharing their apparatus and past customer videos/images.
Awesome Walls secured the most Facebook Likes (12,700), and Castle secured the most Instagram followers (22,300). Facebook was the most popular social media platforms of all brands. Rock Up received the highest total engagement rate (345) and the highest average engagement (24).
20% of people in the UK have a disability – 2 million of which are people living with sight loss. In addition, 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some degree of colour vision deficiency. When websites are not designed to meet these needs, brands lose customer interest as they turn elsewhere. Indoor climbing centres will want to ensure their site is user-friendly for anyone with a disability and/or using a screen reader.
Awesome Walls received the most accessibility alerts (70) and the most contrast errors (72). Some accessibility alerts aren’t designed consistently with the rest of the website. Bright colours, oversized buttons, or unusual layouts can make them stand out too aggressively. Rather than blending naturally into the user experience, they can feel visually jarring and disruptive.
To get a copy of the full report, please complete the enquiry form. If you want to talk to us about accelerating your digital performance, please call us on 01543 410014 or schedule a call with Rory Tarplee.