Marketing Tips for Pet Sitters

Pet Sitters Who Blog are More Successful than Pet Sitters Who Do Not Blog – Here’s Why.

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Adding a blog to your pet sitting website will put you ahead of the competition – and it’s easier than you think.

How in the world does blogging help a pet sitter get more clients?

And how does blogging help with SEO (search engine optimization)?

These are just two great questions I was asked recently in a Facebook group.

Let me begin, first, with what I mean when I say “Pet Sitters who blog are more successful than pet sitters who do not blog.”

Today – sure – there may be some very successful pet sitters who have never blogged a day in their lives. And those are the exceptions to the rule.

The business world around us in changing – and it’s changing very quickly.

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The Way Pet Sitters Use LLC in a Logo

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Forming an LLC for your pet sitting business can be a smart move. But this article addresses a different angle.

This post was inspired by an email I received from a pet sitter colleague.  Please keep your questions and emails coming!

A limited liability company, or LLC, has become the go-to choice for many pet sitting businesses, including mine.

According to Legal Zoom, it’s quickly establishing itself as the most popular choice for a new business.

In fact, the LLC has surpassed the Corporation structure for new startups with 1-5 persons.

There are many distinct advantages to forming an LLC including protection against your personal assets (thus limited liability).

You are able to minimize your personal liability and gain substantial business credibility.

As a member of an LLC, you are not personally responsible for company debts, which is why it is a popular choice among entrepreneurs.

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Your Personal Secret Weapon to Attract More Pet Sitting Clients

on target photoI was reviewing a pet sitter’s website recently and I read a very intriguing part that was hidden on her About page.

She currently lives with three wonderful rescue dogs.

Can you imagine not highlighting this front and center on your website?

Why would you want to do that? Because this could become your niche – and could increase your client base!

The word niche is defined as a specialized market.

A niche market for a wedding planner, for example, might be specializing in weddings on a budget.

Another example might be found in someone who teaches public speaking techniques. Public speaking is a very big market.

However, someone may choose to target a smaller, yet still profitable segment, like public speaking for students. This would be very valuable for graduates getting ready to enter the work force.

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How To Create The Right Content For Your Pet Sitting Website [Webinar Replay]

Whether you realize it or not, creating content for your pet sitting website is one of the best, quickest and recommended ways to enhance your website.

Creating content will, simply put, help you rank higher in Google, assist in your SEO efforts, and make each of your visitors happy.

All of that adds up to more clients, and increased business. (And who doesn’t want more of that?)

Here Is The Webinar Replay on Creating Content

Forget everything you think you know about creating content!

This has nothing to do with your blog, and has nothing to do with writing articles.

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Can you Spot the Fake? A Primer for Pet Sitters on SPAM

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We all love receiving applause for a job well done. But all compliments are not created equally.

Who doesn’t love receiving compliments?

Even more, who doesn’t love receiving unexpected compliments from strangers?

But the compliments we receive online are often not the typical “Wow, you look really pretty today!”

We all know how to spot and detect spam. Sometimes it is very obvious while other times it is cleverly disguised.

All Compliments Are Not Created Equally

I recently received an email from someone out of the blue through Youtube that begins as a glowing compliment of my work.

There was plenty of thought put into this one. Can you spot where the spam part becomes apparent?

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Step One for Pet Sitters is to Understand How Search Works (Everything Else Will Follow)

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If you want to appear higher in the Google search results, understanding how search works to begin with is a great start.

Are you happy with where your pet sitting website lands in Google when a potential client searches for, let’s say, ‘pet sitter + [your town]?’

Are you wondering how to improve your search rankings or how to show up in Google more often?

First, you must understand how search works to begin with.

And what better way to get a quick primer than from the horses mouth!

Watch this 3-minute video from Matt Cutts (part of the quality search team at Google) for the basics. (Then, don’t miss the upcoming webinar announced below!)

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How to Target Multiple Cities with Your Pet Sitting Business Website

target multiple cities
Targeting multiple cities with your pet sitting business is possible if you take some specific SEO action.

How many different areas, cities or neighborhoods does your pet sitting website target?

Chances are you want to appear in the search results for more than just your city + [pet sitting keyword], right?

So how exactly do you show up for multiple cities that you currently serve?

In order to answer the question, let me take a step back for a minute to make this one point:

When we are talking about your pet sitting website, Google sees your site as individual pages, not as one full website.

So when somebody does a search for (as an example) ‘Seattle pet sitter’ it is not going to return your full website in the search results, it will return an individual page from your website (the most relevant pages from your website).

Most typically this will be your home page, but not always the case.

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All Pet Sitting Advice Is Not Created Equally

Editor’s Note: This is the first article by our newest PetSittingOlogy writer, pet sitter Sarah Johnson, of Menly’s Pet Care in Michigan.

When you’re just starting your pet sitting business, there’s no doubt that you have a thousand questions ranging from “What should my business name be?” to “What should I charge for my services?”

Getting involved in pet sitting organizations and forums such as Professional Untied Pet Sitters, the Association of Pet Sitting Excellence and Pet Sitters International are great ways to get in touch with other pet sitters and ask their questions and advice.

However, let me give you one piece of advice.

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How to Become the Most Reliable and Dependable Pet Sitter Ever

strong dependable pet sitterHow would YOU specifically handle this situation?

If you’ve been in the pet industry for any length of time, you no doubt have a certain script that you follow for new client inquiries.

Whether this script is formal and on paper, or simply in your head at this point, you know what typical points you need to cover.

However, every once in a while, you get hit with a certain new client inquiry that requires a more delicate approach.

A Recent Email I Received

Take this recent email submission (pasted in full) we received through my pet sitting business (Alitia’s Animals) and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Potential client writes: “This is my third time looking for a reliable , dependable pet sitter for a long term relationship with my older two dogs. I’m passionate about taking care of my 2 dogs and the rescues that I take in.”

If you replied to this email with your usual approach, you’d be missing out on a great opportunity to gain a valuable client for life!

Let’s look at the email much closer…

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How To Get Others To Make You Look Even Better Than You Do

How would it feel if you were to be interviewed and profiled by the New York Times or MSN or any other respected publication?

Pretty good, I imagine, right?

And more importantly, how would it look to your potential clients and fellow pet sitter colleagues?

Even better, I’m sure.

When any third party writes about you, it speaks volumes about how they feel about you and how they view you.

This is called ‘borrowed credibility.’

Borrowed credibility is simply what happens when you are featured in an interview or news story.

The publication writing about you has its own credibility and you are then seen as sharing in on that credit.

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