Part 1: Spring/Summer 2011
Background
In Summer 2009, Gina Bradley launched her Stand Up Paddleboard business, Paddle Diva. Her timing was perfect — the sport was just starting to take off in a big way. Based in East Hampton, New York, Paddle Diva was among a handful of local businesses offering SUP lessons throughout the beach resort towns of Eastern Long Island. Bradley saw a niche amidst the competition: she would target women, marketing the health and wellness benefits of the sport as well as its recreational appeal.
Bradley’s first two years in business were successful enough for her to invest in a professionally designed website. Her website launched just as peak paddling season got underway in May 2011. The website was Paddle Diva’s primary marketing piece — a beautifully branded and visually compelling website with an easy-to-use content management system that allowed Bradley to manage and update site content herself.
But by early July, even with this beautiful new website, Bradley sensed her customers were not finding her online. She was Googling “stand up paddleboard Hamptons” and “SUP Long Island” and seeing her local competitors’ websites listed on the search result pages (SERPs) — but not Paddle Diva. [Read more…]
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