I’ve been honored and thrilled to present webinars to veterinarians via LifeLearn; pet sitters and walkers via the Association of Pet Sitting Excellence; and other prestigious groups and organizations.

Each time I present a webinar, my mission is to teach through example, not just rattle off a list of must-dos. So I prepare a slide show that features pet-business sites and veterinary-practice sites following the best practices. A picture can be worth a thousand words… even when talking about content!

The problem is, when I’m preparing a presentation about LOCAL business websites… great examples of local websites are very hard to find, both in the pet business world and with veterinary practices.

This is true for core website content (Home, About, Services, etc.) and blog posts. Many, many local pet-industry websites are not using the 3 critical elements for local marketing success.

Today, I’m happy to tell you what these 3 elements are so you can fix them right away.  :-)

1. Location phrases in your content. 

I hate to ask this, but where are you located? In many cases, it’s hard to tell on the website and blog. I often visit a local pet business site or veterinary practice site and can’t find location information anywhere unless I scroll to the bottom (which many visitors never do) or click to the Contact Us page — the only page that explains where you are.

This means most of the site’s pages are not using local phrases to help with local search engine traffic. A major missed opportunity.

Every page of your site should feature — at the top — the area(s) you serve: your town, region, even state. If you’re in a big city, include a specific section or neighborhood. Whatever matches the way local people are looking for you.

Then, when pet people use Google, Bing, etc. to find “dog walker [town],” and you have that phrase on every page of your site, BINGO! People will find your site in search engines.

2. Local content.

This is the second most overlooked aspect of website content for local businesses. I see so many blog posts that have terrific, helpful advice for pet owners, whether you’re talking about disease prevention, seasonal health concerns, or ideas to beat the heat.

But again, there’s no local flavor in the posts. And this mean there’s no local traffic in search engines.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your veterinary practice is in Vermont and the tick season will be big this year due to your unusually mild winter. (I’m not sure if this is the case, it’s just an example.) A blog post about tick season will help bring you traffic IF you talk about your region specifically. So your blog title might be (fictitious practice name): “Burlington Animal Clinic Warns of a High Vermont Tick Threat to Pets.” Now your content is LOCAL. If a local pet owner types “burlington animal care,” “vermont animal hospital” or something similar in the search engines, BINGO! There’s a good chance your site will be found.

3. Local flavor or personality.

A big trend for most small pet businesses and veterinary practices is to use template-based websites. These can be extremely helpful for streamlining your website management and presenting a professional look.

BUT – if you only use the template as is, and don’t add your own personality, you could be missing opportunities to connect with local pet parents.

Be sure to include content and photos that feature local people, places and things… such as your staff, your customers’ pets, local landmarks, local events such as charity dog-walking events… anything that gives you a local personality so people feel “They’re part of my community.”

Try applying these 3 elements to your local business website and see what happens. I’d love to know if it makes a difference in terms of traffic. Please let me know!

Best wishes for a profitable pet website,

Pam Foster

PetCopywriter.com

The reason we did this is… I didn’t feel the website was showcasing what we offer pet and veterinary companies in a quick and overt way.

I took a fresh look at the site from the visitor’s perspective, practicing what I preach in this blog.

PetCopywriter.com's site redesign helps visitors find pet marketing solutions and benefits at a glance

I said to myself, “When someone arrives here, what should be the first impression they get in mere seconds?”

It’s simply this: You can race ahead of the pack and attract more customers with help from a skilled pet-industry copywriter.

So the web team reworked PetCopywriter.com’s home page with a clean and logical design, simple customer-benefit messages, a video introducing our services to potential clients, and clear invitations for visitors to explore our many services.

That’s it! Much better when it comes to clarity that helps visitors know what to find here. I hope you agree. (Please let me know.)

Having said that, if you scroll below the first screen, you’ll see more content about featured solutions and benefits. But if you choose not to scroll, you can quickly access specific sections of the site you’re interested in.

I’m telling you this because you may want to consider whether or not your pet or veterinary website solutions “pop” in a clear and inviting way for your prospects. 

You could be missing opportunities with hundreds of potential customers, so it pays to take a hard look at your site.

Quite often, companies feel compelled to either cram too much information into their home page’s first screen, or include nothing but a gigantic, slow-loading photo.

Both of these approaches are less than ideal for your visitors. It forces them to either “hunt through the jungle of clutter” to find what they need, or they’re puzzled about what you offer because there isn’t enough information.

As I’ve discussed before, first impressions are EVERYTHING pet website success. People are not patient or willing to sniff out what they need. They want solutions. Now.

If they visit a website that’s too difficult to navigate, they’ll move on immediately. But if they find a website that meets their needs with a clear promise, “Enjoy [these benefits] with our solutions [you're seeking]!” – they’ll stick around to learn more.

For example, a pet-carrier company may offer this type of clear message: “Help your best friend travel in comfy security with our super-snug pet travel carriers.”  (I wove in the keyphrase “pet travel carriers” for SEO purposes.)

Therefore, I leave you with this recommendation. If you know your pet or veterinary website isn’t generating the traffic or sales it should… and you’re not sure why… ask for a professional web marketing audit. A few strategic content and layout changes could make a massive difference in your sales.

What website problems do you come across when searching for solutions? Please share!

Until next time,

Here’s to a profitable pet website.

Pam Foster

PetCopywriter.com

That’s because your pet website’s first impression is EVERYTHING.

If people don’t like what they see on that very first screen of your site, they probably won’t stick around and buy from you.

Consider the following two findings from Website Usability guru Jakob Nielsen*:

• “Web users spend 80% of their time looking at information above the page fold.”
  This means if people don’t understand the benefits of your products or services when they land on your site — they’ll move on without scrolling down to see more information.

• “The first 10 seconds of the page visit are critical for users’ decision to stay or leave.”
  If your content isn’t immediately helpful to visitors, giving them a reason to do business with you… it’s very likely that you’ll lose them.

Here’s one more new finding that may shock you. We found this in a recent issue of Website Magazine:

“When viewing a website, it takes users less than 2/10ths of a second to form their first impression,” according to research at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Wow. So, what do you think? Does your website’s Above-the-Fold impression instantly help visitors understand the following need-to-know information about what you offer?

• What company is this?
• What do they offer me?
• How does this website solve my needs?
• How do I see how the product or service works… get more details… or contact them?
• Would I feel comfortable doing business with them?

That’s a lot of information to project in just seconds at the top of your website. But it doesn’t have to be hard. When you focus on the questions listed above, you can clear out all the rest and keep it nice and simple. I recently redesigned PetCopywriter.com to enhance my first impression for visitors, focusing on those questions listed above.

This pet website's first impression is very clear, helpful and easy to understand.

Here’s an excellent example of a pet website that provides clear, “what’s in it for me” messages and a great user experience above the fold.

There’s no question about what this website offers, how to get more information about its services, and how to get started with them immediately.

In addition, it uses SEO keywords in a smart and smooth way.

If you’re not sure about your first impression, perhaps it’s time for a professional, objective assessment that reveals your gaps and opportunities to improve (and boost sales!).

Questions? Comments? Please share.

Here’s to a prosperous pet website!

Cheers,

Pam Foster

PetCopywriter.com

*Jakob Nielsen findings can be found at AlertBox.com.

Why not try your pet or veterinary marketing posts on Thursdays?

Breaking news from social sharing widget Shareaholic:

“Thursdays are by far the best days to post content that will be shared on social networks, especially between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. ET.”

This is what Shareaholic discovered when it reviewed its 2011 metrics for content that yielded the most traffic and social shares, as reported in Website Magazine.

Therefore, why not publish the type of content that’s typically shared — such as your blog posts, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, etc. — on Thursday mornings, just to see what happens? That’s what I’ll be doing for a few weeks… just to see.

When to publish new pet marketing content on your website

Another metric reported by this study is that web site Page Views spike on Mondays… particularly before 9 a.m. and after 9 p.m. Go figure! It could be that a lot of people who use computers at work are getting back online on Monday mornings. This is certainly true at many veterinary practices and pet businesses that are closed on Sundays.

So Monday morning is a great time to publish helpful new web page content such as articles, press releases, case studies, new service pages and other magnetic content.

There are exceptions to every rule of course… but these “prime publishing days” are certainly worth a try as a strategy for staying ahead of the competition.

As always, if you’re stumped on what to blog about, or you need help in creating web content that works, contact me for assistance.

Until next time,

Here’s to a profitable pet website!

Cheers,

Pam

PetCopywriter.com

This photo provides clear evidence that ear hugs exist.

Isn’t it sweet? To me, it’s the ultimate image of a warm and loving bond between two best buds.

Imagine your pet website visitors feeling this welcome when they read your content. Thanks to Jon Payne for the lovely photo of his pups.

So why should you care about ear hugs?

Well, as the owner of a pet or veterinary business website — your mission is to make visitors feel special and welcome so they’ll stick around and do business with you, yes?

What kind of web content helps you do that?

Here are 3 examples of “ear hug” content you can use on your pet or veterinary website: 

1. Warm, inviting content

This is content that greets the visitor with a warm, personal message so she feels you’re talking to her… that you know her wishes or concerns.

Something along the lines of, “We know how hard it can be to travel on a long road trip with your pup. Take heart — we’ll help you find pet-friendly hotels, parks and road-side amenities all along the way. Places that greet your pet with the same happy heart your pet has for you!”

Nice, huh? I made this up, but it sure sounds like a wonderful website worth visiting.

2. Content offering solutions for pet parents or other pet businesses

If your web visitors give you just 3 seconds to look over your messages… are you clearly presenting a great promise about how your products or services can help them?

Sadly, many websites in the pet industry don’t. This includes businesses marketing to pet owners, other pet businesses and even veterinary practices. The content is often “institutional,” focused on the company (not the customer), dull, or worse: confusing.

This isn’t just a pet-industry problem. We all find this in most industries. The majority of websites could use some help in presenting clear, beneficial messages for visitors.

This means you have a nice opportunity to stand out with messages that WOW your visitors looking for the solutions you offer.

Here are a few examples from websites I’ve written:

• “Support your pet’s well-being 24/7 — Start with free vet advice and your pet’s profile in one trusted spot.” (www.MyPetED.com)
• “An artisan-designed St. Francis Pet ID Tag makes a divine gift for pets and pet lovers” (www.StFrancisPetMedals.com)
• “Puppy Stairs foam dog steps and pet ramps provide relief for every animal that struggles to get up to a favorite resting place.” (www.PuppyStairs.com)

3. Include photos that showcase the benefits of your solutions. 

This one should be easy! Include authentic photos of pets and customers enjoying your products. Candid photos are fine. In fact, they’re much better than stock images. People love pet photos, and they also enjoy seeing the folks behind your business, so have fun with it.

Be sure to include a caption describing how the pet’s or person’s needs are solved with your help. For example, if you’re a dog groomer, show a happy, well-groomed dog (a real customer!) with a quote from the dog’s mom.

That’s it. 3 easy ways to give your pet website visitors an ear hug so they’ll choose your business over others.

What examples have you seen? Please share them with us.

Until next time, here’s to a prosperous pet website.

Pam Foster

PetCopywriter.com

But “Blogger’s Block” (What do I write about this week?) is very common. Therefore I’m happy to provide you with some blog topic ideas to use for marketing your pet business or veterinary practice.

As you consider using these topics, have fun working them into a relevant angle for the pet services or products you provide. I have a few suggestions to help you tie these ideas to your unique offering.

1. Follow pet-industry news and trends with an eye on ideas for your business.

For example, PetFinder.com recently reported on the most popular names for adoptable dogs and cats. Buddy is the top dog name, and Lucy is the top cat name. The top uni-species name is Max. So if you sell personalized pet collars, dog beds or other products, you could talk about the most popular pet names you’re asked to add to your products. Do your customer orders follow the trends reported by PetFinder? For example, do you get a lot of requests to put the name Buddy on your dog beds? Talk about the trends you see in your business, and include a product photo with BUDDY or MAX on it. Each month, more than 72,300 people search online using the phrase “dog names.” You could find a big new audience if you tie your product to pet name trends.

2.  Piggyback a hot cultural topic that has a throng of followers — even topics not related to pets.

As I write this, some of the hottest topics in American culture are politics (Super Tuesday),  St. Patty’s Day 2012, March Madness, NASCAR season, the new Dancing with the Stars cast, , etc. And while these topics may not seem relevant to your products or services at first, let’s say you’re a dog trainer/behavior expert and you have a video or photo post showing a dancing dog you trained. You can get creative and write something like, “A New Season of Dancing with the Dogs” — how to train your dog to dance. Could be very powerful.

3.  Answer the most common questions you receive from your customers. 

If your business is like most, you probably get certain questions over and over again. Why not answer each of them in a series of blog posts? This gives you a chance to be seen as a helpful resource, and perhaps even set you apart from the competition. For instance, if you have a veterinary practice and you get questions about skin allergies, write a series of posts explaining the tricky aspects of skin problems, the various causes, and why it takes time to determine the problem and successfully manage it. You could also turn your series into a handout or eBook to give clients who bring their dogs in for help with a skin problem. Be sure to mention your town/city in the blog post, to local pet parents find it.

Another option is to hire someone to write your blog posts for you — freeing you to focus on other aspects of your business.

What pet business blogs do you follow and enjoy? We’d love to know.

Until then, here’s to a prosperous pet website!

Pam

PetCopywriter.com

That’s why I call it a “Dog Eat Blog” world. The pet businesses and veterinary practices that blog get more attention online (if they follow a few simple guidelines). And those who don’t… well… sell themselves short.

But don’t take my word for it.

Here are three strong reasons to look at blogging as a fantastic strategy for your pet business.

• 65% of B2B (business to business) marketers are using blogs for effective content marketing. Blogging is the third most popular content marketing strategy, according to a recent Content Marketing Institute study involving 5,000 marketers. If 65% of these marketers find blogging to be a valuable marketing tool — that’s nothing to sneeze at! (The first two most popular content marketing approaches are 1) articles and 2) social media excluding blogs. More on these strategies in upcoming posts.)

• Blog posts are proven to help websites rank well in search engines, which leads to more traffic and potential sales. The website Social Media Examiner advocates that, “One of the best ways to gain that top spot is by blogging. Incorporating a blog into a website can have a huge impact on the overall website’s search engine rankings.” The Internet is filled with examples of blog posts that help boost search traffic. I’m living proof as well! And so are my clients.

• Blogging is a great way to compete locally if your pet business or veterinary practice relies on community traffic. When I was creating a webinar recently to help veterinary practices improve their local search results, I found it very hard to locate great blogs that would appeal to local prospects. The few that I did find were dominating the Google results for searches! For example, when I typed in “animal hospital [town],” the hospitals with frequent, local-themed blog posts came up first, second, sometimes third and even more in the results — all for the same hospital. You can do the same thing.

Thoughts on this? Questions? Do you know any successful pet business bloggers?

Next time, I’ll provide some blog topic ideas for marketing your pet business. In the meantime,

Here’s to a prosperous pet website!

Pam

PetCopywriter.com

Using the following formula last fall, I started blogging tips for a pet-business services company, and just after 6 blog posts — voila! The blog appeared on page one, second spot in Google results. Not bad for only 6 posts.

Would you like to generate results like this for your pet business or veterinary practice marketing?

Try these “best practices” guidelines and see what happens.

Please note that while these pet business blogging tips are seriously helpful, I’m using a fun, fictitious website/product — PoodleTapShoes.com — to present examples in an entertaining way.

1. Start by identifying the top 1 or 2 SEO keyword phrases you’ll use on the post.

Choose 2 unique, multi-word keyword phrases for the page; phrases your prospects and customers are using to find solutions in search engines, such as poodle tap shoes and poodle dance shoes.

2. Put one of the top keyword phrases in your blog title.

Here’s an example using our Poodle Taps Shoes blog example:

How to keep your Poodle Taps Shoes squeaky clean

3. Put that keyword and the other top phrase in the “key” content areas.

These include subheads, links, photo captions, etc., making sure the content on that page is 100% relevant to your audience. Again, here’s the example from the fictitious blog post:

If you’re frustrated that your dog’s poodle dance shoes are always getting dirty, here’s an easy way to keep them clean.

• First, be sure to spray a protective coating, specially formulated for poodle tap shoes, on the shoes before your first use and again after a couple dozen uses. You’ll find poodle dance shoes spray in our store.

• Next, use a dry cloth to wipe any loose dirt off the shoes.

• To wipe off a stain or scuff, start with plain old ammonia, vinegar or club soda and rub the shoe’s surface with a microfiber cloth (to avoid lint buildup)

• Let the shoes dry completely (about an hour) and repeat if necessary.

If you follow these steps, your poodle tap shoes will look great after repeated use!

4. Put the top keywords phrases in your All-in-One SEO Pack (if you use WordPress).

Whether or not you use WordPress, your blogging platform provides fields for the SEO Codes listed below:

• At least 1 in your Title/Page Title (up to 70 char/spaces) – the same/similar as your blog headline/title:

Title: How to keep your Poodle Taps Shoes squeaky clean

• 1 or 2 in your Meta Description (up to 150 char/spaces, keyword first)

Description: If you’re frustrated that your dog’s poodle dance shoes are always getting dirty, here’s an easy way to keep them clean with poodle tap shoes spray.

• Include them in your Meta Keywords or Tags (up to 10, start with top 2; lowercase – no punctuation)

Keywords: poodle tap shoes, poodle dance shoes, poodle tap shoe spray, poodle dance shoe spray, poodle tap shoes clean

• Alt Image Tag (for any photos — try to include original photos in your blog posts)

With just a few simple steps, you can keep you poodle tap shoes super-clean.

5.     Don’t overdo it with keywords!

Make sure your post is written for PEOPLE FIRST, weaving the keywords into your content in an elegant, ethical and natural manner as part of the content. Instead of using your blog as a sales pitch, imagine it being a friendly conversation with the pet parent.

For example, if a friend asked you about keeping her poodle tap shoes clean, you’d answer back in a natural way – such as, “Here’s what I suggest doing to keep your poodle tap shoes clean all the time. First, you’ll want to…” Therefore, make sure you have more “you” sentences then “I” sentences. Make it all about the benefits and results your prospective clients are looking for.

That’s it! A simple blog formula for your pet business or veterinary practice blog.

Questions? Please ask. I’d be happy to help. Until then, here’s to a prosperous pet website!

Pam

PetCopywriter.com

P.S. I should also mention that if you rely on local business, include your town, city or region at least once in every blog post and its SEO code.

But what do Golden Retrievers have to do with successful blogging for your pet business? Everything.

Mimosa the Golden Retriever pup. Thanks to Lee Schwarz for this lovely photo.

The unwritten credo of Golden Retrievers is this: I love everybody and I live to please.

The best business blogs have a similar credo: I care about my customers, and I’m focused on pleasing them by solving their needs.

If your pet business or veterinary practice blog follows that credo, you’ll improve your search engine results, attract more prospects and build a loyal following. Ultimately, this will help you grow your business.

Here’s how to think of this in a Golden Retriever way: Your blog posts will work very well if you…

• Greet your readers warmly with a conversational “this may help you” tone,
• Provide useful tips, insights and solutions that please them,
• Fetch and report on important information your readers are seeking and will appreciate,
• Ask a question that shows you truly care about your readers
• End with a warm invitation to explore the solutions further (such as your products or services) — but in a friendly way, not by jumping on them with a “hard sell.”

In my next post, I’ll provide simple, specific guidelines on how to do pet business blogging the Golden Retriever way — how to use messages, keywords and formatting that lead more prospects to your door.

Have you seen any pet business or veterinary practice blogs that follow the Golden Retriever method? We’d love to see them.

In the meantime,

Here’s to a prosperous pet website!

Pam

PetCopywriter.com

Finding quality websites for searchers has always been the goal of Google and other search engines. But just what does “quality” mean?

Last year, several strides were taken to clamp down on “thin” pages that offered very little information, keyword-stuffed articles that offered nothing of value, and duplicate content you can find on dozens if not hundreds of websites. So one definition of quality has been “original, useful and highly relevant content,” which I talk about a lot.

Today I read this new definition of quality, and it helps clarify things for us further, to a point.

According to Google, “High quality content is content you can send to your child to learn something.”

Hmmm.

Here’s how I interpret that for pet-industry marketers, whether you’re marketing pet products, pet services, veterinary care, pet business consulting or anything else related to this industry.

1. Be sure your content is very, very clear and simple; easy to understand.
   This is where the “send to your child” part comes in.Avoid using jargon that most pet parents or other prospects wouldn’t understand. (Ask someone if they understand your content.) Use a clear headline: what will the visitor learn here? Format your content in a clean layout, with headlines, subheads, bullets and captions that make it very easy to grasp your messages. Make sure people can read your content and it’s not buried within graphics.
2. Deliver content that helps solve a need or a problem, or clarifies a confusing topic.
   This is where the “learn something” part comes in. Here’s an example. Let’s say I’ve never had a cat with diabetes before, but suddenly my cat needs daily insulin shots and other specific care. I’ll want to know how to take care of my cat, what to feed it, what symptoms to watch for and much more. Content that helps me understand all this — and perhaps also provides a helpful solution (product, service, how-to video, etc.) will be considered quality to me, the cat owner. I may even need to find a new veterinary clinic if I move to another town with my diabetic cat, so a veterinarian located in that town, who shares clear and helpful content on their website about treating diabetes, will be an obvious choice for me.

This seems simple enough, yet most marketers I talk with are stumped about their content: why it’s not working to get better search rankings or attract more customers. In the next several weeks I’ll be talking about that. In the meantime, browse through my previous blog posts for lots of clues.

What do you consider quality content in the pet-marketing world? Share examples!

In the meantime,

Here’s to a prosperous pet website!

Pam

PetCopywriter.com