Stop Doing These 3 Things on Your Pet Website

Do you find it frustrating and confusing to keep up with all the things you should be doing to rank high on Google’s first page?

How often do you wonder what those other pet sitting websites are doing that you are not doing?

If you’re like most other business owners, you want to do all you can to land new clients.

But did you know that landing in Google is just one small part of the puzzle?

While it’s a very important piece since not much activity will take place without that, it’s equally as important to get your visitors to take action once they are on your site.

If you rank well in the search engines but nobody makes contact once they are on your site, it’s still a loss.

Here are some things you should stop doing on your pet sitting website that will increase the chances a visitor likes what she sees and gets in touch with you.

And by no accident, when Google becomes aware that more of your website visitors are taking action and liking what they see (yes, Google can determine all that), you will naturally find yourself landing higher in the search results.

First, how would you best answer this question:

Why would a potential client (search user) call your company over another?

Think about it. Why are some pet sitting websites getting the calls, while others are not?

At the end of the day, all of our websites say practically the same thing, have practically the same pictures, use very similar wording, have many of the same pages, and are all bonded and insured, right?

So, why would a visitor to your site NOT make contact? They are in the market for pet care, and I’m assuming you offer the service, and that you are in their service area, and that your pricing is fair enough.

What really, then, is the big determining factor? (Hint: it’s NOT price since many of us have a very similar pricing structure.) So what is it?

Connection! Period.

You know that phrase “I’m just not feeling it”?

Well, for one reason or other, a visitor who does not make contact with you “is just not feeling it.”

Just like the friends, associates, partners, and relationships we enter into, why do you gravitate towards certain people over others? Because of the subconscious connection you have.

This is no different.

How To Increase The Number of Website Visitors Who Make Contact

You need to bring out all the ways on your website that you can CONNECT yourself with the visitor. You need to find common ground. You need to find similar points of interest. Isn’t that exactly how you first form every relationship in your life?

If I’m trying to woo a girl, a written love letter will only get me so far, right? If that’s where our introduction begins, she’ll still want to see me, hear me, talk to me, get to know me, and feel comfortable with me before she agrees to meet me.

Start to think of your business website in the exact same way you currently do ALL other relationships in your life (business, friendship, family, etc).

Stop Doing These 3 Things On Your Website

1. A Missing “Hello, My Name Is…”

I can’t believe how many pet sitting websites I look through where I can’t even find a first name of the owner.

Forget the fact that you need photos and/or videos of yourself to make a lasting impression, but not even a first name?

If you were looking through a LinkedIn (or other business) profile to partner with someone, how would you feel if you couldn’t find the person’s first name?

Or what if you were looking through a dating site list of profiles and couldn’t find a first name (or a photo)? What impression would that make on you?

Same thing here. It’s all a relationship. It’s a partnership. You need to make a connection. That’s the only way you can begin to build trust.

Put video of yourself or the pets you care for, add photos of you and your team. If I can’t find a picture or even a FIRST NAME on your website, how can I even begin to connect or feel comfortable with you?

2. It’s ‘YOU’ not ‘THEM’

The biggest missed opportunity is “YOU”.

I’m not talking about you as pet sitter, I’m talking about ‘you’ as your potential client. Allow me to explain.

What’s the difference between these two sentences:

A) The fact that we are fully insured allows our clients to feel confident that their beloved pet is properly cared for.

Or…

B) You’ll appreciate this: We’re fully insured so you can rest easy and feel confident that your beloved pet is properly cared for.

Can you spot the major difference? Aside from adding a few ‘personality-driven words’ the big difference is using the word ‘you’ instead of ‘they.’

You want to make sure all of the writing on your website speaks directly to the person you are trying to connect with, not in general terms. Get rid of ‘they’ ‘their’ ‘our clients’…

Change them to ‘you.’ Speak directly to the one ideal client you want to target. You you you.

Next…

3. We Are The Best.

I see a version of this quite a bit: At Fluffy Pet Care, we assure your pets receive the highest level of care. (Or “we treat your fur babies like we treat our own fur babies.”)

And that’s the end of it. Well if I don’t know how you treat your own, it means nothing to me.

Doesn’t that declaration feel a bit incomplete. Aren’t you left wondering “HOW exactly do you provide the highest level of care?” By doing what? What do you do differently than all other options available?

Let’s go back to the dating analogy. If I was trying to land a first date with you, and I said, “Don’t worry, on our date, I’m going to treat you exactly like I like to be treated!”

You’d think, “Uhh, I’m not sure what that translates into, but OK…”

It’s the same as saying “we are the best!” No one responds to that. If you are actually ‘the best,’ (whatever being the best actually means), I better be hit over the head with how you are the best over all others.

If you are going to tell me you provide the highest level care, I need to know how you do that. For example, wouldn’t any pet sitter I choose to hire tell me that they are going to care for my pooch as sweetly as I care for my pooch? Isn’t that the bare minimum expectation?

Shouldn’t I expect, by default, that you will pamper my pooch with all the love and attention she can handle?

Final Thoughts

Please do not fool yourself: We are not being hired because we are the cheapest, or the most expensive, or because we fit squarely in the visitor’s budget.

Sure, you might hear more times you care to admit that your price is too high, but I assure you the pet sitter she winds up hiring (if it’s not you) has a very similar pricing structure.

If you were able to connect with each visitor on such a direct, personal level, she’ll be sold on hiring you before any mention of price even arises.

Think: Have you ever found the perfect outfit and as soon as you saw it you were completely sold. You told yourself you must have it (and you did) and you cared nothing about the price. You became connected and emotionally attached to that item that price did not matter.

You justified it in your head so you can sleep at night. You told yourself all the little ways you would make up for spending on this item.

As human beings, we do this all the time. We justify any price to fit the means. We are not a commodity. We are all unique individuals offering our unique spin on the service.

We are being hired for the same reason we establish all other relationships: trust, comfort, connection, familiarity, common ground, and the ability to relate.

Make certain your web pages scream with your unique spin.

photo credit: Tueksta via photopin cc