Golfalot.com, arguably the UK’s leading specialist golf website, scored yet another first in June by reaching the impressive milestone of successfully being online for 5 years (and only three months after GolfBusinessnews.com achieved the same record! Ed.)
The Golfalot.com concept was conceived in the same year as the 2000 Millennium Open Championship at St Andrews, ironically by former St Andrews University graduate, 2 handicap golfer and now the company’s managing director Martin Hopley. The site was launched with the specific objective of providing the wider golfing community with high quality, up to the minute, content through the rapidly expanding internet medium.
Golfalot.com’s content is extensive and fresh, covering a broad range of subject matter. Two major highlight areas that offer visitors real value are the Unique Equipment Price Comparison Service and the extensive Discount Green Fee Database. A user wanting to purchase a new item of equipment can use the online search system to find the cheapest price and stockist nationally. The database is updated daily and tracks 4,500 products across 16 categories ranking price from every national UK retailer.
Users of the Discount Green Fee Database can search a national database of UK & Ireland courses, find out what discounts apply at any course, read in depth reviews submitted by Golfalot.com’s users before purchasing a discount green fee voucher online. This facility is proving so popular that it is expected that in 2005 rounds purchased will reach 25,000.
There is, of course, much more including the latest tournament news, equipment reviews, competitions, betting tips on major events and even the Golfalot Tour, a virtual online golf tour including an order of merit.
“It is quality content that keeps our users coming back,” stressed Martin Hopley “and we focus significant effort in ensuring that it remains cutting edge. We are extremely proud of the price comparison service, the most comprehensive available, if you are in the market for a new piece of equipment you would be very wise to check Golfalot.com first.”
The statistics make impressive reading. May 2005 saw the site’s growth trend continue with a record 65,000 unique users, a massive 140% up year on year. Golfalot.com also distributes a weekly newsletter to 13,000 subscribers.
Other statistics make interesting reading for marketing directors and anyone who has to make the often difficult choices on where to allocate precious marketing budget. Not only is Golfalot’s audience growing fast it is also a new audience of golfers as 66% do not buy golf magazines and 37% do not watch golf on Sky TV.
“Internet based media allows us to monitor exactly which users visit which parts of our site, says Hopley. “This ensures we accurately target advertising messages reducing wastage. For example equipment and E-commerce are the most frequently visited pages after the home page. Flexibility is also key and the nature of online media means instant copy deadlines and the ability to adjust a campaign immediately if required.” (and he’s absolutely right about that too! Ed.)
Golfalot.com www.golfalot.com