Dan Perry

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.

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?

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.

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

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.