How To Get More Traffic To Your Pet Sitting Website (and 6 Other SEO Questions Answered) [podcast]

A few Friday’s back, I sent out a last-minute note saying that I will be holding an impromptu phone chat on the topic of websites, WordPress and search engine optimization (SEO).

I asked for your most pressing questions and was joined on the call that provided wonderful dialogue lasting 45 minutes.

I absolutely love these “casual, let’s chat” events and have hosted others recently with Bella Vasta via Google Hangout.

Listen to The SEO Call Here

Press play and you can listen to the call we had. Following is breakdown of topics for your reference.

(and you can download the MP3 directly – 38mb -to take with you on the go!)

Some of the topics we covered included:

TOPIC #1 – How do I get more traffic to my pet sitting website?

That is the million dollar question, isn’t it?

Right at the 1 minute 30 second mark, we dive head first into that very question. I point out that while you certainly always want more traffic to your website, you have to be aware of both sides of this question.

Simply put, getting more traffic requires you to rank well in Google for your top key phrases that potential clients are most likely to type in when searching for your service.

The other side of that question is: How do I get more of my visitors to take action and get in touch once on my site?

Think about that. If you had a ton of traffic to your website but not many visitors made content with you, all the traffic to your website will not mean much.

This other side to the SEO traffic topic is all about conversion. Conversion deals with getting the majority of your website visitors to ‘convert’ into leads (however you define a lead). In the pet sitting industry, a lead is typically a website visitor who calls or sends in a contact request.

TOPIC #2 – Evaluating the SEO strength of your website pages.

If you are using a WordPress website, you are most likely familiar with plugins. Plugins are small pieces of code that enhance the functionality of your site.

There are SEO plugins you could install to greatly assist with your SEO efforts.

This question deals specifically with the WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin and shows you just how powerful it is for on-page SEO evaluation.

PS – That SEO plugin comes standard with my WordPress Website for Pet Sitters system.

TOPIC #3 – Which fonts should I use on my website? What does Google think about certain fonts?

This is a great question and one I do not hear very often. The bottom line is that you do not want to or need to go overboard with your font choice and selection on your website.

In fact, you’d be much better off sticking with the font choice many others use. I spell out the reason why around the 14-minute mark.

TOPIC #4 – I am wondering why my competitor’s pet sitting website always comes up before my own pet sitting website in Google?

This is a very common question with a huge answer. There is no short answer to this question.

But, there are very specific answers I provide that will get you moving in the right direction.

First, I point out that looking through Google yourself for search terms may not give the same results as others (and I explain why).

I also talk about how to get your pet sitting website listed in the top map results on the page. It begins with your listing in Google Places for Business.

TOPIC #5 – How important is optimizing your pet sitting website for mobile?

Short Answer: Extremely important.

Longer Answer: Extremely, extremely important.

And it’s only going to become more necessary. Plenty of your website visitors are currently, or will soon be, viewing your website through a mobile device. Whether a tablet like the ipad or a smart phone.

Your website needs to be optimized this way. For the record, my website system for pet sitters comes standard with a mobile optimized version plugin that does all the work for you right out of the box.

I always recommend using and installing Google Analytics to gain an understanding of how your visitors are interacting with your website.

Google Analytics now has a report that shows you what percentage of visitors are using a mobile device (and it shows which device!). You’d be surprised the percentage of your visitors that this includes.

PS – I’ve held a complete webinar on using and reading Google Analytics stats that you should watch, too. Plus, my WordPress website system has an option for us to install and manage your Analytics account for you!

TOPIC #6 – What is the best way to connect content from my website and on Facebook?

Many pet sitters are rightfully interested in how to get their wonderful content from their website to appear on Facebook.

In this topic, you will learn the best methods to creating content and the best method to sharing it socially. We tackle some specific ways that you will easily be able to come up with new content, too.

Over To You

I look forward to holding more of these Q&A chats with you. For now, which topic from the list is most important to you?

How do you feel about SEO?