Finding golf information on Facebook is more of a task than it should be. Because of that, I’ve decided to create a collection of some of the bigger golf Fan pages on Facebook. Below are a collection of Professional Golfers, Golf Tours, Golf manufacturers, and a couple of miscellaneous golf-related links that were too good not to include. Enjoy!

Professional Golfers on Facebook

Kenny Perry
Tiger Woods
Jack Nicklaus
Lorena Ochoa
Annika Sorenstam
Natalie Gulbis
Anthony Kim
Rory Mcilroy
John Daly
Paul Casey
Trevor Immelman

Golf Tours on Facebook:

PGA.com
PGA Tour
LPGA
Duramed Futures Tour

Golf Manufacturers on Facebook:

Nike Golf
FootJoy
Taylor Made
PUMA Golf
Callaway
Cleveland Golf
Titleist
Wilson Golf

Miscellaneous Golf Facebook Links:

The Open Championship
Masters Tournament
Golf Channel
Golf Channel Big Break
Kodak Challenge
Golf Digest
Golf Magazine
SI Golf Nation
World Golf Hall of Fame

OK, now who did I forget?

Post from: Dan Perry

Facebook Golf – Pro Golfers and Golf Companies on Facebook

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Ping is running a new ad campaign called The Locker Room. For this post the ad itself is unimportant; it’s the lack of synergy between online and offline that I’d like to cover.

The URL they use in the TV ad is:

PING.com/locker_room

I find 4 things wrong with this campaign.

1. Do not use an underscore in a URL you want people to type into a browser. Most golfers (the general population) don’t know where the underscore symbol is on a keyboard. Nobody uses the underscore in their daily Word/computer tasks. Because of this, they are already hamstringing their ability to generate traffic to this page.
2. Be sure to cover the bases. For those that don’t remember the URL, they may try typing in either ping.com/locker-room or ping.com/lockerroom, both of which point to a dead page (404). This is a 30 second job to fix, but it wasn’t considered for launch.
3. There isn’t a link to this page from the homepage of the site. All the money and effort that went into this TV campaign, and there isn’t even a way for someone to get form the homepage to it. Think of all the people that remember the ad, but not the /locker_room portion of the URL. I’d be willing to bet their analytics will show an increase to homepage visitors, and an increase in their bounce rate for the next month or two, which equates to a failed campaign.
4. Add some value for those that actually make it. When one lands on the page, the first thing they see is a big block of text that reads “PING Locker Room Coming Soon.” Seriously? Then they have the ability to do one of two things: View the TV ads (yawn), or click on a link to the homepage. Wow.

Now, I’ve been in big companies enough to know that at times the advertising team doesn’t communicate with the web team, and that this happens more often than it should.

That being said, I think this is a perfect example of why companies believe that online doesn’t work. Poor execution is the cause of more failed campaigns than I can count. Executives who are only aware of the strategy and not tactics will potentially see this campaign as a failure, hindering their faith in the online channel going forward.

A boss of mine once told me to give every campaign the best possibility to succeed. Then if it doesn’t succeed, it was probably a poor strategy. If it does succeed, you know you will get the maximum benefit from it. In Ping Golf’s case, they aren’t giving this campaign the best chance to succeed, and it’s a shame.

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Ping Golf FAIL in Online-Offline synergy

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Looking for a golf theme for your Google homepage? Look no further! I’ve created a handful of them from some great golf courses (Cantigny, Medinah, Glencoe, Makray, etc.), and they’re now available via my Google Developer page.

I personally like the “Loafer” pic, but that’s just me.

Enjoy!

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Golf Theme for your iGoogle homepage

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The golf season is just around the corner here in Chicago. I was thinking about golf and about SEO, and found quite a few similarities. Here are 10, but I’m sure there are many more. Feel free to add yours in the comments.

1. Accept that you don’t know everything.
I’ve been doing SEO for >10 years and golfing for >15, and I’m amazed at how much there still is to learn about both. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel that I know everything, and that’s a good thing. Life-long learning and continuous improvement are the keys to success in both fields.

2. Learn by doing.
You can talk about SEO until you’re blue in the face (and lots of “gurus” do just that), but until you start doing it, nothing’s going to happen. The only advice is that before you start doing, follow my next tip.

3. Measure often and pay attention to the numbers.
How many GIR are you getting in a round? What’s your average putts/round? Which natural search terms are generating the most leads? What’s the most successful path through your site? If you’re only tracking your handicap or your “hits”, you’re missing out on the stuff that really matters.

4. Be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Sometimes your golf game just goes south for no reason. Sometimes Google shifts their algorithm that may not be beneficial to your site. Neither may have anything to do with you; it just happens. If it does, review your fundamentals, and return to your go-to shot. Did you try some new tip prior to the downturn? Consider removing the change and returning to where you were.

5. Learn from your mistakes.
You may try new things on the range, or try some new tip you read about on an SEO blog or forum. Sometimes, these may not prove to be valuable. If you don’t try new things, you may never be able to get to the next level, so don’t be afraid to try them. Just make sure that you give them enough time to prove themselves one way or the other and move on.

6. Stick with it, even during the bad times.
It’s easy to give up. It’s easy to get frustrated. SEO and golf are both very difficult to do well. Only after making mistakes (and you will) and learning from those mistakes will you move forward.

7. Seek out good advice.
Taking golf lessons from a reputable PGA Pro was the best decision I ever made to help my golf swing. The only hard part was finding the right one. The same happens in the world of SEO. Ask your friends, use your network, etc., but definitely reach out to someone who has a track record of success. They may see things that you’ve never even considered.

8. Luck is just that. Realize it, and accept it.
Sometimes you can change a few TITLE tags and have some success. Sometimes people hit a hole-in-one (like me!) Celebrate and be thankful, but don’t think that you’ve reached the end of the rainbow.

9. Use the right tools.
If you’ve never been fitted for a new set of irons, or a driver, you don’t know what you’re missing. The confidence you gain from trying 10 drivers and finding the one that fits your swing best cannot be understated. Along the same lines, if you’re using SEO tools that aren’t adding any real benefit (like Google’s link: command) you may not be getting any value from them. Try all the tools you can find. Some will be great, and some not so much but unless you try them, you won’t know. Here are a few SEO tools to get you started:

10. Be patient and think long term (my personal favorite)
SEO isn’t something you do overnight, and you don’t learn a golf swing overnight either. Both require dedication, patience, attention to detail and the willingness to learn. If you’re looking for a quick fix, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

So what did I forget?

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Golf and SEO – Similarities

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I normally don’t write a post that isn’t much more than a comment on another post, but the folks at Mind Valley Labs have just blogged about one of my biggest pet peeves; Flash intros. These were hugely popular about 3-5 years ago, when everyone was learning how to “tween”, but nowadays, not only is it lame, it’s actually detrimental.

It really saddens me to see the golf industry is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to internet adoption. I understand the “Design by CEO” mantra, and the HIPPO’s opinion, but c’mon people. Snap out of it: Abolish all Flash intros!

Oh, and if you’re wondering why it’s such a big deal, please read the post at Mind Valley Labs. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Does your golf website have a Flash intro? Wake up!

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Searching Google for the term “golf marketing”, and the tenth result had an extra line underneath it. Would you click through to this website?

Ouch. Clicking on the link takes you to a Google Help page that explains a little about malicious software. Even if you click on the link (to go to the site), Google shows you an additional warning page, just to make sure you’re aware that there may be a problem.

Definitely worth keeping an eye on the Google search result for your website. How many people do you think will visit this site (from Google) after multiple warnings?

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Hate to see this in your Google SERP

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I’ve seen many sites go through redesign, and one of the most often forgotten details is redirecting the old pages to the new pages. This is especially important when you are changing platforms (EX: from .html to .aspx).

I was looking up a local course (Cantigny Golf Course), and noticed they recently redesigned their site (and it looks much better). As you can guess, this detail slipped through the cracks, and the video shows why this is a negative not only from an online marketing standpoint, but from a usability standpoint as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I’ve said many times, online marketing isn’t doing one thing perfect; it’s doing 200 things well.

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Golf website redesign – An often forgotten detail

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I’ve been a fan of The Big Break basically since it started, although this past season wasn’t the most exciting, and I’m not the only one to think that. I did notice that GolfMesquiteNevada.com was a very large sponsor. It seemed that, as the season progressed, their marketing efforts during the show intensified. Well, it worked… almost.

My wife and I are actively looking for golf destinations for 2008, so we decided to see what the site had to offer. As an Internet marketer, I may be hypersensitive to conversion funnels, but I ran into a couple issues on the site that I think may have increased their conversion percentage. As anyone who’s tried to convert users online can attest, every litle bit helps. I thought I’d share my observations with a video, in the hopes that it helps those of you trying to convert golfers online.

The video is about 8-9 minutes long, and I’d love to hear your feedback.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

GolfMesquiteNevada.com and The Big Break; Conversion Opportunities

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