Aussie Peter Bickerton was immediately hooked after his very first dive. That initial look at the deep blue in 1988 sparked a passion for scuba diving in Peter that will never die — a passion that eventually prompted him to launch diving website Gungahlia.com.
Privileged to breathe underwater in one of the world’s most fascinating ecosystems, Peter wanted to share his passion with others. As a re-certified scuba instructor, he aspired to build a community that would motivate and inspire through scuba diving and related activities. The idea for Gungahlia.com was born.
Peter had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish, and he dedicated himself 100 percent to the project.
He launched the online business in March 2014 with the idea of inspiring people and offering them scuba diving certification, photography and access to other services and skills. Peter subcontracts with Indepth Scuba (based in Canberra) that provides scuba diving certification, tips on underwater photography as well as services related to motivation and mindfulness.
Gungahlia.com: Diving into an online brand
Peter knew the importance of an online brand presence — especially a website. “A website is the number-one step in establishing your presence online and telling your story,” he says.
But Peter had never worked on a website, and that was a significant hurdle in the early days. After doing a great deal of research, he decided to partner with GoDaddy to help him share his motivational messages and inspire audiences.
To start, Peter purchased his .com domain name and GoDaddy Website Builder.
While launching the website, one of Peter’s main requirements was to be able to communicate the benefits of scuba diving to personal health. He also wanted his site to reflect his aspiration — to make the world a better place — and draw readers and customers toward his motivational content about life and leadership, and ways in which scuba diving can help.
“I want to inspire people to build their passions, motivate them in the best way possible.” ~ Peter Bickerton, Gungahlia.com
With more and more traffic flowing through Gungahlia.com, he has seen that traffic steadily converting into direct sales and signups for many of his classes.
“With the support of GoDaddy, I have been able to spread the story as well as achieve a strong brand presence and a lot more in a very reasonable period of time,” he says. “At the moment, I get four to five inquiries per month through the website, which is a good place to be in as this shows that awareness is building solely through my online presence.”
Professional presentation
Starting Gungahlia.com with zero experience in website building, Peter was impressed with GoDaddy’s professional and technical expertise throughout the process. “All agents I interacted with had flawless experience,” he says, “and whenever I had queries, they were resolved very efficiently.”
The 24/7 support and professional product offerings have made it easier for Peter to turn his passion into a credible business. As he explains:
“This business has developed from my passion for scuba diving. Though it is an inspirational journey for me, I wanted it to present it as a professional setup every step of the way — especially when customers were looking at the website for inspiration and motivation.”
Peter also took advantage of GoDaddy for business-class email. Having an email address that links to his website domain means that whenever he communicates with customers and prospects via email, they can feel confident the sender is a legitimate, professional business.
The voyage continues
Peter plans to keep strengthening his business’s online presence. For example, he’s looking to add call-to-action widgets for online payments to evolve the website into an even more seamless platform. With this in mind, he also sees value in GoDaddy’s Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services.
“I have already recommended GoDaddy to a few friends who are keen on developing their passions into businesses,” Peter says.
