GolfBalls.com
Submitted By: EDWARD MILLER < Thank You
SOURCED Interview with Founder & CEO: TOM COX
Key Take Aways:
Started out as GolfBallWarehouse.com and at first, the website sold used balls that had been fished out of those ponds, but as more and more people began doing their shopping online – a concept foreign to virtually all consumers only two decades ago – the offerings on the site broadened. Used balls were last sold on the site in 2002. Over time Tom Cox decided to purchase and upgrade to GolfBalls.com in 1998. It was purchased from a Canadian domain owner for $9,500. Later local newspaper story which covered his company but referred to the company as GolfBall.com and it was at that moment Tom knew he needed to secure the singular version as well to eliminate typo errors and brand confusion. GolfBall.com was later secured for $50,000. He also transitioned away reselling used / refurbished golf balls fished out of golf course ponds and focusing on personalized golf balls and general golf balls sales due to his subcontractors / employees selling the Grade A balls they retrieved themselves on marketplaces like Ebay instead.
How important is that URL to your success?
TC: It’s very important. It’s easily recognizable. Although we sell more than golf balls, the name also leads people back to us when they buy because it’s easy to remember. Source
COmpany STATS
Doing Business As: Golfballs.com, Inc.
Company Description: Golfballs.com, Inc. is located in Lafayette, LA, United States and is part of the Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores Industry. Golfballs.com, Inc. has 52 total employees across all of its locations and generates $12.36 million in sales (USD). (Sales figure is modelled). There are 2 companies in the Golfballs.com, Inc. corporate family.
(Company Data Source)
TV/ VIDEO COMMERCIALS / ADS
Website Time Machine:
Took six screen shots from Archive.org to show where GolfBalls.com started from and where the domain name has allowed Tom Cox to scale it over the years.
SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS & THE NUMBERS
Below you will see the search results for the exact match search or primary niche they are targeting and how their domain name may help or hurt their website traffic, online sales, credibility, branding and positioning.
First thumbnail show cases what a great domain name matched with some seo skills can do for an exact match domain name let alone a industry defining / category killer domain name. You will notice the first screen shot from SEMRush showcases some of their Number one rankings for numerous search strings. The following screenshots showcase GolfBalls.com’s position in Google, Yahoo & Bing in no particular order. Granted these rankings changed frequently on refresh often, and with search engines stuffing more and more paid ad slots above the fold it gets murky fast. Some people wonder why would you pay for traffic if you already have the number one position? it’s been found your better off paying for it and taking up two positions on page 1 which often lowers your CPC as well as increases your brand awareness, traffic and most importantly increased sales volume from added traffic rather than losing some to a competitor.
Social Media Presence:
- GolfBalls.com Instagram
- GolfBalls.com Facebook
- GolfBalls.com Twitter
- GolfBalls.com Linkedin
- GolfBalls.com Youtube Channel
How They Leverage The Domain Name On Several Social Media Platforms:
Since its 1995 start-up, growing the business from $17,000 in first-year sales to a 50+ employee company that has over $12 million in annual sales, and which has sold over 50 million golf balls direct to consumers in all 50 states and over 50 countries.
