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Why Stock Photos are Bad for Your Golf Course Website

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There’s a time and a place for stock photos; the time is in the past and the place is not on your golf course website.

Stock photos are a reasonable solution for bloggers and news website looking for a quick visual reference to associate with an article. Pictures on a golf course website serve an entirely different purpose.

Professional golf course photography can be had for a few hundred dollars. The high-quality images can be used for years to come. The alternative is to save the investment and use cheap, generic, recycled images that don’t convey the unique experience a golf course provides.

Here are 5 good reasons why you should never use stock photos on your golf course website.

Stock Phоtоs are Fake Photos

Using stock photos of people having a good time playing golf, or of a couple grinning from ear to ear, presumably because they’re currently experiencing the value of membership, are like a mild internet hoax.

People can tell when they’re looking at a stock image. They can also tell when they’re looking at an authentic image.

It’s easy to find a stock image of some “generic golf club members” with a Google image search. It’s better to find a couple of members who would love to be featured on your website.

Alwауѕ take thе орроrtunitу tо ѕhоw ѕоmеthing ѕресifiс. Yоur members. Yоur рrоperty. Your club. Don’t wаѕtе the visual opportunity your website creates with generic images that don’t represent your club.

Stock Photos are Overused

If you ever want to see how many different golf clubs are using a stock image, you can do a Google Image Search. This will show you just how overused that perfect image of a young couple playing golf is.

You’ll often see the same stock photos used on multiple websites from golf courses to golf shops to golf blogs.

Which leads to…

Stock Photos Don’t Make Your Course Stand Out

Would any golf course ever advertise themselves as “we have 18 holes, just like the other courses around here!”

Of course not.

Top golf courses express why they’re different and unique.

It’s not possible to do that with stock photos. Overused, fake images convey the message that this golf club is just like any other golf club.

Stock Photos Don’t Communicate Your Unique Message

The images on a golf course website aren’t simply there to beautify the page. They SELL the golf course.

As the adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Online, a picture can also be worth a thousand bucks if it does a good job connecting with visitors and converting them into customers.

Images help visitors connect and feel what it’s like to be on your golf course and to experience your unique service and community. That’s too important a job to handoff to some generic stock images.

A Great Photo is Timeless

Think about this: Most regular people would never think of hiring a photographer… EXCEPT for their wedding. And what is the wedding photographer’s job?

To take pictures?

Or is it to capture a moment in time? To freeze a memory?

I’m being dramatic, but a great photo connects with people and moves them to action.

The relatively small investment in a great photographer can solve the golf course website stock photo problem and pay dividends for years to come.

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About Offcourse Golf

We're Josh & Roger. We started Offcourse Golf to combine our expertise in custom app & web development and digital marketing with our passion for golf. If you're looking to grow your golf business and earn more money, we have the tools and expertise to help.

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Free Website Assessment

Hi! We'll look at your website and show you ways it could be making more money for your course.

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