As more and more golf course and private club owners are entering the virtual world of club marketing, they’re realizing the capabilities of search engine optimization (SEO) to drive traffic to their web sites. Many of these savvy course and club owners are now facing a new dilemma in terms of just how to use SEO to ensure a maximum return on their golf advertising efforts. The question is—is organic or local SEO the way to go in order to increase membership and revenue? In order to answer this question, let’s look at the pros and cons of both.

Organic SEO

Organic SEO, sometimes called natural SEO, is a club marketing strategy in which advertisers identify the keywords web users are most likely to use to search for their products or services and then strategically integrate them into web content.

Pros

• Effective: Organic SEO is one of the most effective types of search engine optimization techniques you can use. Although it may take some time and effort to do your keyword research, the process of integrating relevant keywords into your web content is actually quite painless. If you want your organic SEO content to sound natural and reader-friendly, you can always outsource to a professional writer as well.

• Inexpensive: Unlike Pay-Per-Click (PPC) SEO, organic SEO is completely free. You don’t have to pay Google a dime; just put those keywords in and watch the traffic pours in.

Cons

• Too Broad: There is one downside to relying primarily on organic SEO, and it’s a big one. This method of club marketing is simply too broad to be efficient. Unfortunately, organic SEO alone targets the entire web. Why this is a problem? Because it’s really doubtful that someone on the other side of the world will be impressed enough by your site to take a daily flight just to play on your course. Obviously, the players you really want your golf advertising efforts to target are those golf enthusiasts in your local area. Only local SEO can help you do that.

Local SEO

Local SEO is a golf advertising strategy designed to target web users in close proximity to the particular golf course or private club.

Pros

• Inexpensive: Like organic SEO, local SEO is also much less expensive than Pay-Per-Click. Since you’re not paying Google a fee for a top spot on the search engine results page, you can allocate your golf advertising funds elsewhere and still enjoy the benefits of good SEO practices.

• Targeted: What makes local SEO the best option for virtual club marketing campaigns is its ability to target the leads with the most potential—those in your local area. By connecting with local search engines such as Yahoo, Bing, and Google Places, local SEO can make it easier for golf players in your area to find your course or private club online.

Cons

• Time Consuming: Local SEO can be a bit more time consuming than organic SEO, but this golf advertising technique is well-worth the effort, especially if you choose to outsource the work to local SEO experts such as the ones at ICP Today. Leaving the technical details to the online marketing professionals can free up your time to do what you do best—manage your course or club effectively and ensure that members are continually impressed with your golf course, facilities, and customer service.

For more information about local SEO and how it can transform the conversions for your online club marketing campaign, log onto www.icptoday.com or call 866-636-6789.