Web-SEO Content & Consulting For Pet Industry Marketers
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Wildly Profitable Marketing for the Pet Industry
Finally — a how-to Marketing Success Guide for all pet and veterinary businesses. Co-written by PetCopywriter.com's Pam Foster.
PetCopywriter.com owner
Pam Foster is a SuccessWorks
Certified SEO Copywriter
Quality Content Defined for Pet Internet Marketing
February 13, 2012
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…)
Important new report about marketing pet products and services online
June 10, 2010
Let’s face it: on any given day, anyone can see how your online pet company is performing in search rankings. Web traffic and online sales are easily measured, and your site’s success ultimately rests on you.
So – it’s time to ask yourself these questions about your business:
1. Does your pet website consistently beat the competition in Google rankings?
2. When visitors land on your pages, are they ultimately buying something or signing up to do business with you? Or are you missing the mark?
3. Are you looking at your traffic reports and wondering why your bounce rate (abandon rate) is so high?
Unless you know – beyond a shadow of a doubt – how to create content that drives more buying customers to your site, you may be missing all kinds of golden opportunities to grow your business.
That’s why I conducted research about what’s working online today… and created the following report specifically for companies marketing pet products and services on the web:
And How Most Pet Websites Are Missing Them!
This report is free, just for the asking. Please visit this page for complete details.
Until then,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam Foster
PetCopywriter.com
Beware: this web content "pet peeve" may turn your visitors away in droves
June 9, 2010
Have you read the fantastic book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott? It’s definitely worth reading if you have an interest in improving your website content and online marketing results.
One of my favorite sections of the book features David’s disdain for websites that use meaningless, cliche, corporate-y phrases that businesses often feel they have to use in their web content… such as “providing robust solutions for today’s economy,” or “leading-edge” and best-in-class.”
You know those phrases. They’re everywhere! And they mean nothing unique or useful to the web visitor.
Just out of curiosity, I decided to hunt for examples within the business-to-business software world (well-known for using jargony verbiage). I found these doozies:
- “Balancing today’s needs with future imperatives”
- “We help your company achieve differentiated capabilities”
- “Optimizing the distribution network and rationalizing inventories in a multi-echelon supply chain is critical…”
What? Exactly.
David Meerman Scott calls this “gobbledygook.” And to help web marketers avoid this kind of writing, he created the free Gobbledygook Grader with HubtSpot.com. I encourage you to try it out.
I did with my websites, and I scored very well (thank goodness!). The Grader didn’t like my use of the phrases “offline,” “user-focused” or ‘focused on.” I’ll have to work on those.
The point is, try to speak in plain English to your web visitors, with content that sounds as if you’re talking to a friend at a coffee shop or meeting a new contact at a business trade show.
Would you say to that person, “My company is a best-in-class leader among global solutions for organizing data blah blah blah.”? I’m thinking no. You’d more likely say, “My company can help you organize your day so you can work more efficiently and go home at a sane hour.”
So my tip of the day is this: Include real, conversational messages on your site… and leave the gobbledygook to your competition.
Contact me if you have a suggestion for a specific tip to include in this newsletter. As always, you can read all my free ContentClear Marketing Tips on my newsletter archives page.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
Another testimonial tip for pet internet marketing: be sure to follow the new FTC Testimonial Guides to stay out of trouble
May 27, 2010
One of my web clients asked me the other day, “Do I need to remove the wonderful testimonials from my website so I’m compliant with the new FTC Guides?”
Well, that’s a good question. Last fall’s release of the updated FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising were designed to crack down on marketers who make outrageous claims to hook customers. (“Lose 10 pounds in a day” comes to mind.) But many reasonable folks are confused about how to comply with the new guidelines so they never have to worry about a problem with their web content.
I’ve been reading the FTC’s Guides, as well as several industry-expert blogs, and this is how I interpret the use of “genuine customer testimonials” that reflect a particular outcome of a product or service.
The following FTC example tells me you can use customer testimonials if they offer:
- A real and specific story of what the customer experienced by using your product or service under normal circumstances.
- Typical results that reflect what any customer of yours could experience. (The reported outcomes are not outlandish or atypical; promising the moon.)
See if you agree. Here’s the FTC language:
“Example 4: An advertisement for a weight-loss product features a formerly obese woman. She says in the ad, ‘Every day, I drank 2 WeightAway shakes, ate only raw vegetables, and exercised vigorously for six hours at the gym. By the end of six months, I had gone from 250 pounds to 140 pounds.’
The advertisement accurately describes the woman’s experience, and such a result is within the range that would be generally experienced by an extremely overweight individual who consumed WeightAway shakes, only ate raw vegetables, and exercised as the endorser did. Because the endorser clearly describes the limited and truly exceptional circumstances under which she achieved her results, the ad is not likely to convey that consumers who weigh substantially less or use WeightAway under less extreme circumstances will lose 110 pounds in six months. (If the advertisement simply says that the endorser lost 110 pounds in six months using WeightAway together with diet and exercise, however, this description would not adequately alert consumers to the truly remarkable circumstances leading to her weight loss.)”
If you interpret this as I do, then we can both consider it perfectly fine to include reasonable, rational and realistic testimonials in your web content as part of your pet marketing strategies.
But if you have a different interpretation, I’d enjoy hearing from you.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
Best practices for powerful testimonials when marketing your pet business
May 9, 2010
Know the best practices for testimonials that make your web content sing!
There’s no doubt about it. Testimonials can play a powerful web-content supporting role in establishing credibility for your business, helping prospects envision themselves enjoying the outcome of your products and/or services… AND optimizing your site for search engines if keywords are included.
The best testimonials are authentic, specific, short, relevant and REAL. Allow me to explain.
Authentic
When you include a strong quote that sounds like it’s coming from a person’s spoken words or personally written note, it comes across as genuine and believable. So if someone gives you a great testimonial but the grammar or punctuation isn’t exactly perfect, don’t polish it! Leave it as is for that human conversational touch.
Here’s an example of an authentic testimonial from a page on the Bark Busters website: “Rave reviews and many thanks for Leigh Ann and the wonderful (and unique) training provided by Bark Busters! Training includes all pet behavioral problems—not just barking—and works like a charm. Saved our sanity and turned our fur-kids into model “citizens,” making us happy and our neighbors even more so!
Specific
For a testimonial to be a winner, make sure it’s as specific as possible. Here’s an example from my ContentClear Marketing website’s coaching page: “With Pam’s help on a recent site I wrote, my client’s traffic improved and their search engine results went from ‘non-existent’ to the 1st and 2nd pages.” Merrill Clark, Crestview Marketing.
This is much more useful to your prospect than a simple, “Pam’s work was wicked awesome!”
Short
Great testimonials serve as punctuation marks. They don’t dominate a website. They add spice here and there. They bring your promises and claims to life. Think of it as telling a great story to your friends. You’ll be halfway into the story and another friend chimes in, “I’ll say! Thanks to the two howling dogs, it was the funniest car ride ever and worth the $65 I paid toward gas!” That simply adds flavor and a “third party endorsement” to your story.
So ideally, the testimonial will be a brief and punchy statement, not long-running paragraphs unless it truly is a story that needs to be told in its entirety.
Relevant
When you include testimonials on your site, make sure they’re 100% relevant to the topic of your web page. You want to avoid having people go, “HUH?” when they read a testimonial that has nothing to do with the product or service being featured on your page. And of course, you’ll want to maximize keyword use, so relevance is gold.
For instance, if you’re selling indestructible dog toys, be sure to have a testimonial that says something like, “Finally! A fun set of indestructible dog toys that Lexi can play with for more than a day!”
Real
You may be shocked to learn that some marketers think it’s perfectly OK to use fake testimonials. But sooner or later, people know a rat when they see one.
If your mission is to build trust and a lasting relationship with your prospects, it would be better to include NO testimonials than to have fake versions.
To present a testimonial as “real,” try to include the person’s name, town and state unless you can’t for confidentiality reasons. Even better, include a real candid photograph of the person if possible. And always get signed or emailed permission to use the testimonial and person’s information.
One more important thought about using testimonials to your advantage:
Weave testimonials into each page’s text or sidebars instead of keeping them all on a separate Testimonials page. This keeps the testimonials super-relevant to each page’s topic and more visible to your prospects. Plus it helps optimize specific web pages for search engines.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
For the best pet website results — solid, fully optimized web content comes before social media
April 30, 2010
Clients are starting to ask me about using social media as part of their pet internet marketing strategy, with questions such as:
- “What’s the best approach?”
- “How do we get followers and fans?”
- “Does it really work?”
Quite often, my answer is the same because in my view, social media is one of many powerful ways to drive traffic to a website. It can be an excellent tool (among many) to help more people find what you have to offer.
BUT…
Is your website truly ready for all that social media traffic?
I often find that traffic isn’t necessarily an issue for my clients. It’s what happens when visitors arrive at the website.
If a website is confusing, difficult to use, not focused on the visitor’s needs, or not following good, solid sales copy conventions that turn lookers into buyers… pumping up the traffic volume won’t necessarily turn into more sales, email signups or subscribers.
First things first: do a reality check on your web content
As I’ve mentioned in most of my pet Web-SEO, the most effective web content… content that delights visitors and drives the responses you desire… is a clever blend of these primary elements (and these aren’t even my 5 C’s of Content That Works):
It’s clear: Visitors can tell right away what you do, what you offer, how you can help them and why they should buy from you.
It’s compelling: Visitors are attracted to your products and services, and stay on your site to get what they need.
It’s competitive: Visitors quickly understand that you’re the best option among many; the best choice for them.
It’s convenient: Visitors have no problem breezing through your website to find and purchase exactly what they need without a hitch.
It’s current: Visitors find relevant, helpful information that reflects their needs today.
If you’re not sure that your web content is up to snuff when it comes to these core aspects, you may want to invest in a strategic Site Audit to review your content, identify strengths and weaknesses, and pinpoint opportunities to improve its performance. (Let me know if you’re interested in a strategic Site Audit.) Or ask a few customers to review your site in one-on-one testing to see what they experience and where they stumble.
So my tip of the day is this: If your web content is in tip-top shape, social media is definitely worth looking into! (Just be sure your site is ready before you dive in and start driving more traffic to it.)
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
Pet internet marketing strategy: place your most important web content above the fold
April 15, 2010
Gotta love Jakob Nielsen, the king of website usability and owner of the world-famous Nielsen Norman Group. He recently posted a highly informative and useful article about web content, scrolling pages, visitor attention, and the importance of having critical content “above the fold” (the first screen people see when landing on a web page).
Before I link you to his fascinating article, let me summarize his findings and add my own recommendations.
After conducting an extensive study of website users, Jakob reports that people DO scroll long web pages if the content is worth viewing, but the most important content had better be above the fold.
In fact, his “eye-tracking” findings indicate that web visitors spend 80% of their time reading the content above the fold. He said,
“It’s as if users arrive at a page with a certain amount of fuel in their tanks. As they ‘drive’ down the page, they use up gas, and sooner or later they run dry.” Clear enough.
But for those of us who rely on sales letters, long landing pages, or long catalog pages to drive business, there’s hope.
Jakob also said, “People will look very far down a page if (a) the layout encourages scanning, and (b) the initially viewable information makes them believe that it will be worth their time to scroll. Finally, while placing the most important stuff on top, don’t forget to put a nice morsel at the very bottom.”
To me, his new findings serve as a wake-up call for any website owner who’s not following these guidelines. And they compel me to provide a few guidelines of my own regarding exactly WHAT content to include above the fold whenever possible… a little formula to make sure your most important content is there for search engines and visitors:
1. A masthead with logo, tagline, and even standard horizontal navigation.
It’s important for people to know where they are, who you are, and what you offer them. Make sure the masthead isn’t too big! So many companies take up too much valuable real estate with a masthead that has a huge photo in it.
2. A powerful promise headline that’s ethically optimized with keywords.
Consider that people scan business websites for solutions. What’s the most important and unique value statement you can make to them, right up front? Let’s say my big-money keyword phrase is “waterproof shoes for dogs.” The headline may be, “Finally – waterproof shoes for dogs that are easy to slip on and off on a rainy night” OK, this may be a silly example. But you get the idea. (I’d actually like a pair of those hypothetical dog shoes.)
3. A subhead that pays off the promise with a unique benefit or detail statement.
Continuing with our lovely waterproof shoes theme, here’s a subhead you might include: “You’ve just found your only resource offering waterproof shoes for dogs of all sizes.”
4. Bullets that outline a few more benefits of your product or service.
This may be a list of various products, services or categories you offer throughout your site. Use each bullet to link to other, more detailed pages, so you’re not trying to cram all the information into one above-the-fold window of opportunity.
5. A compelling offer that drives people to engage with you.
Do you have a free report, an enewsletter, or a free trial offer? Make sure you include that offer above the fold; preferably in the upper right-hand column of your page. And be sure to include a strong call-to-action for your visitor to sign up, learn more, or get the discount now.
Since the above-the-fold area is so darn critical for web-content success, I need to repeat a point I’ve made many times before:
Graphic elements, including videos, photos, charts, illustrations or anything else visual, must not dominate the messages. Make sure your graphics are appropriately sized to complement your messages, with videos in the “pause” mode until your visitors choose to play them.
This may sound a bit too rigid as a “must-do” formula, but it’s an easy starting point to make sure your message bases are covered on each and every page of your site. You can certainly find ways to embrace these rules your way and reap the rewards. If you’re stumped, I invite you to email me so we can look at your web pages together and make improvements that will drive more sales.
Oh, and as I promised, here’s that link to Jakob Nielsen’s “Scrolling and Attention” article.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
Page titles matter to search engines and prospects when marketing pet products online
March 21, 2010
Here’s how to make the most of them.
Here’s my big AHA! of the day: Web page titles can be critical regarding how you look to prospects in search engine results. What’s that you say? Page titles?
You’re not alone if you’ve never noticed the page titles WAY up at the top of your browser window when you’re viewing a web page. I mean way up above the area where you type in a domain name. For example, if you look on my PetCopywriter.com website and scan your eyes to the very top tier of the entire browser window (it’s usually that blue bar that runs across the window’s top border), you’ll see a page title that says:
Pet Copywriter Pam Foster: Pet SEO, Web Content, Pet Marketing Strategies
Most people don’t notice those titles. But search engines do. In fact, sometimes search engines use those page titles to find and rank your web page in search results. Plus page titles are sometimes used as the wording for your page in search engine results. So it pays to optimize your page titles.
For example, let’s say you type “indestructible dog toys” in Google. I did this yesterday and found the following site on page 1 of the search results:
Big Time Dog Toys Indestructible Dog Toys
Searching for Indestructible Dog Toys? Shop our Ultra Tough category to discover long lasting and fun toys, made for tough dogs big and small! …
www.bigtimedogtoys.net/
I clicked on their link, and the Google results title matched the web page title on www.petamenities.com/indestructible_pet_toys.htm. Clearly their page title is optimized.
Unfortunately, most sites have just their company name in the page title, or worse yet, just “Welcome.”
They’re missing a golden opportunity to present their unique value proposition or sales tagline to eager prospects searching for answers. They’re missing a chance to reflect the main essence of the web page and optimize it for the top keywords used by target audiences.
So here’s how you fix that for your site … and your client sites.
Provide optimized, inviting page titles to the person responsible for programming the code in each of your pages. It’s a great pet internet marketing strategy that your competition may not be using.
It’s very easy for programmers to add these titles into each page’s code. Each page should have a unique, optimized page title relevant to the page’s content. Just be sure you don’t exceed 60 characters including spaces; the standard limit. That’s the really fun part — presenting your optimized value message within 60 characters.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
For the best results with your pet-industry website, put your keywords where your content is
March 5, 2010
Remember the phrase, “Put your money where your mouth is?” This adage is 100% applicable to pet internet marketing and having web content that works to 1) drive traffic to your site and 2) connect with buying customers.
Here’s why. Keywords equal money in today’s cluttered online marketplace. And your web content represents the messages your target prospects view when they arrive at your site.
So as you strive for web success, you need to include clear, persuasive content that incorporates the most relevant keywords people are using in search engines to find your solutions to their needs.
Clear enough? Well, maybe. There’s always the matter of HOW to blend keywords and content in a manner that attracts search engines and pleases your site visitors. (Should I reveal this copywriter’s secret? Oh, alright. Since you asked…)
Today’s tip is about WHERE to put keywords for web content optimization (traffic) as well as web conversions (sales).
- First, the ground rules: Today’s search engine optimization (SEO) research leaders, including HubSpot.com, advocate that each web page focus only on the 2 or 3 most relevant keywords for that page. (Contact me if you need information on how to find the most relevant keywords.) Each web page should have its own unique set of 2-3 keywords/keyphrases (they’re really keyphrases such as “reflective dog gear,” “reflective dog leashes,” “reflective dog collars,”).
- Smoothly incorporate the #1 top keyword into your big-promise headline: “Now you can safely walk your dog at night with our reflective dog gear.”
- Use one or both of the other top keyphrases (or at least roots of them) in a subhead just beneath the headline: “Our reflective dog leashes and collars glow in the dark when car lights shine on them, so your dog can be seen at night from quite a distance.”
- Use all 3 keyphrases (or at least roots of them) in a few appropriate places within the body text: For example, if your page offers a list of products, you may use keywords at the beginning of each list: “Our full line of reflective dog gear includes: (first bullet:) reflective dog leashes, (second bullet:) reflective dog collars,” etc. Or you may include them in a testimonial or product review. Be sure not to use them too often! Search engines hate “keyword spamming.”
- Try to use all 3 keyphrases in “contextual links”: This means relevant links written within a sentence or paragraph. For example: “We offer several styles, colors and sizes of reflective dog collars.” (Don’t click on that. It’s just an example.)
- Include all 3 keyphrases in your page’s meta content: To learn about meta content, please read this previous tip of mine.
These are the core areas where keywords should be used for search engine optimization. But remember – web content success is a 2-part effort including 1) generating traffic via search and 2) converting visitors into buyers. Never let keywords get in the way of clear, persuasive sales content that will convert prospects into customers.
I’d love to get your feedback about this tip or your questions about other aspects of web content that works. Just email me and I’ll respond quickly.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
Make sure your pet-industry site’s graphics support your content and help visitors … not overwhelm them.
February 24, 2010
“What a beautiful website! I couldn’t find what I needed, but it sure is a pretty site.”
That kind of a compliment is death to an online business. Here’s why. If your site is gorgeous — a work of art — but the graphics dominate the content, visitors will be less likely to find the information or solutions they need from you. The result: You may lose them.
And what’s the main purpose of having a website? In most cases, it’s to DRIVE BUSINESS. Yes?
So today’s tip offers 5 ways to make sure your web graphics support sales and help visitors find exactly what you have to offer … as quickly as possible.
- Follow usability standards, first and foremost: Remember your audience: What are they looking for? How can you help them find it in the easiest way? The answer is: use navigation that people expect, not something clever, creative or unique. To follow proven web usability standards, put the main navigation horizontally underneath your banner or down the left column. If you get really creative, people will be confused and/or frustrated as they try to figure out your site structure. When you consider that a person may visit your site plus several others to compare solutions, wouldn’t you like to be the easiest site to navigate? You’ll find usability standards information on my site (look under Step #3).
- Make sure the most important information can be read “Above the Fold:” We’re living in an age of short-attention-span browsing. If your big promise, key benefits and primary solutions aren’t seen by visitors within seconds of landing on your site, it’s very likely that your ideal customers will move on. So be very careful about filling that first screen area with a giant beautiful photo of your product. Although it may be lovely, this does not provide the information your visitors need.
- Use photos, charts, logos and images to support messages, not fill space: Here’s my mantra of the day (say it out loud 3 times with gusto): Relevant, clear and persuasive content is still king! In fact, content is more critical than ever as people look for immediate answers in a sea on Internet confusion. Did you know that Google reached a new milestone about a year ago … indexing a trillion web pages? Relevant content is becoming THE MUST-HAVE foundation for online marketers to reach intended audiences. Therefore, make sure graphic elements play a supporting role for your lead actor, the content.
- Use color wisely: The worst thing you can do to great content is kill it with the wrong color choices. Frankly, it’s painful to read dark purple text against an all-black website background. Or soft pale gray text against an all-white background. The eye needs contrast to easily read messages. Ideally, colorful text and color combos should be reserved for promotion buttons, banners, navigation, charts and special-attention boxes. Visitors will be grateful if your larger sections of text are simply black against a clean white backdrop, with standard blue text indicating links.
- Follow what’s working regarding online graphics: Hint of the day: web testing proves that orange is a powerful color for call-to-action buttons such as “Order now” or “Subscribe Now.” Who knew? Well, you’ll know these things if you follow the latest tests and trends on sites like MarketingExperiments, MarketingSherpa, MarketingProfs, and others. For web success, it’s important to become an ongoing student of what works online! (If you don’t have time, I’m happy to do it for you.)
I’d love to get your feedback about this tip or your questions about other aspects of web content that works for pet marketers. Just leave a comment and I’ll respond quickly.
Until next time,
Here’s to a clear and prosperous site!
Pam
PetCopywriter.com
Posted in Marketing pet products,Marketing to pet owners,Pet Business,pet copywriter,Pet internet marketing,pet web content,Pet web content that works,Pet Website by PetCopywriter