How do your pet business prospects find your site?

Are people looking for your dog bowls… or do they call them dog dishes?

Are pet owners searching for a great pet throw, or do they call it a blanket or car seat cover?

And are pet parents searching for a local veterinary hospital, clinic or practice? Or perhaps it’s an animal hospital or clinic… or veterinarian hospital, clinic, etc.)

When you write your pet business web content to attract the people who seek your products or services, be sure to focus on the key phrases THEY use.

This is critical for two reasons, whether you’re marketing to pet owners, veterinarians or other pet businesses.

First, the real words people use in search engines will determine whether or not they find your site among the options that appear in Google, Bing, etc. For example, if your pet product content talks about your fabulous stainless steel “dog dishes” and people are searching online for stainless steel “dog bowls,” you may in trouble when it comes to showing up in the top search engine results. Websites that talk about stainless steel dog bowls will show up ahead of you. (This is one main secret of pet SEO success.)

Also, when your web content uses the real words people use – visitors feel you really know them and can help them. For instance, if people are searching for an “animal hospital” in your area and you only use the phrase “veterinary practice” on your site, people will hesitate.

In other words… your web content should always be in sync with the way people really search online.

Save yourself by eliminating keyword assumptions on your pet website!

The keywords you think are perfect for your website may actually be hurting your chances of success.

Instead of assuming you know which keywords are best, you can do the following things to make absolutely sure your content wording is dead-on.

• Use your Google Analytics statistics to see which keywords people use to find your site. Sure, they may type in your company name or product name, but you find discover some phrases you hadn’t considered as top keywords you can weave in the content.
• Conduct keyword research using a professional keyword tool. Today’s options include Google Adwords Keyword Tool, Wordtracker Free Keyword Suggestion Tool, Microsoft’s Keyword Forecast Tool, Trellian’s Keyword Discovery, WordStream and others. You may be surprised to find that people use different variations of common phrases, which can be a goldmine for you.
• Check out Google’s Adwords Opportunities: If you use Google Adwords to run paid search campaigns, take advantage of their recommended alternatives for keywords to try. You can use those recommended keywords in new Adwords campaigns, but also add them to your web content.
• Consider Google Instant keywords: When you start typing in phrases that are relevant to what you sell, you may find that Google instantly displays options that are popular in search. These phrases might be important to include in your content.
• Explore “Searches Related To…”: When you do a search in Google for your own products/services, scroll to the bottom of the results page. You’ll find a list of phrases that are relevant to your main phrase.

These are all good indicators of what people are seeking online in your business category, so they’re well worth considering for your web content.

Have you found creative ways to know exactly which keywords are best for your site? We’d love to know about it. Also if you need help in determining the best keywords for your site, I’d be happy to help. Contact me to get started.

Until next time, here’s to a profitable pet website!

Cheers,

Pam Foster
PetCopywriter.com

P.S. If you’re interested in becoming a skilled copywriter, there’s an exciting event coming up in October. The American Writer’s & Artists, Inc. (AWAI) Fast Track to Copywriting Success Bootcamp is the best event I’ve ever attended to accelerate my writing skills plus hobnob with marketing experts and potential clients. On Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 12 noon (ET), I’ll be participating in a free 1-hour Teleconference that gives you the lowdown on the many fantastic opportunities this hands-on event provides. Follow this link to sign up for an entertaining and informative call.