Every month or so, I’m invited to present a webinar about what works online… particularly regarding content that works to attract more customers to the websites of pet businesses and veterinary practices.

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.  :-) (more…)

You may have noticed by now that PetCopywriter.com’s website design has been updated. Thanks to the wonderful skills of graphic designer Jason Spooner and web developer Joe Dolson, we’re thrilled with the results.

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.

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Quick — what’s the first thing your website visitors see when they arrive at your site? This is a very important question; more important than you’d ever imagine.

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

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OK, there’s really no such thing as an ear hug. Or is there…?

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:  (more…)

By now you may know that a pet business blog can be a very powerful way to add fresh content to your website and bring more customers to you via the search engines.

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. (more…)

A few blog posts ago, I talked about the incredible power and value of using a blog to market your pet business website. It really is true that blogs can move your web pages up in search results while also positioning you as a helpful guide in your business category.

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. (more…)

If you’re using a blog to market your pet business or veterinary practice, you’ll be happy to know there’s an easy formula for great results, which means better search engine rankings, more traffic and more sales.

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. (more…)

Golden Retrievers are big, lovable creatures. They greet you with utter joy and share their warmth, plus they’re eager to please. They’ll fiercely loyal, no matter what. And they’ll fetch just about anything for you. What’s not to love, right?

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… (more…)

With the mission of helping you keep up with the challenging world of search engine optimization (SEO) and how pet web content works best today, I try to follow the latest guidelines, trends and events that make a big difference in search results.

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. (more…)