Website

Are Pets Not As Valuable As We Think? (And 2 Solid New Service Ideas to Offer Your Clients)

service bellHave you ever considered the idea that pets might be a ‘hazard’ to the elderly?

Personally, I have not considered that absurd thought, but one article I recently came across revealed this intriguing fact:

“Over 86,000 people per year have to go to the emergency room because of falls involving their dogs and cats, and these fractures can be devastating for the elderly,” said Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

I was going to present that as the topic for this blog post, but it got me thinking about something else you will appreciate much more.

Instead of debating the merits of that statistic in this article, I would rather offer you a solid actionable service that you can add to your website today and offer your potential clients to help grow your business.

(Something to help you grow your business is much better than trying to debate the value of pets, right?!)

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How To Never Lose Again To The Kid Next Door When It Comes To Price

barcodeHow many times have you weighed in on the hot topic of “should you list prices on your website, or not list prices on your website?”

You’ll be happy to know that this article is not about that specific debate, but rather will offer a solid middle ground that should make both sides happy.

Whether we are talking about “ICs vs. Employees” or “does advertising your pet sitting business on your car compromise the pet owner’s security,” nothing is more highly contested than the ‘prices on your website’ debate.

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10 Elements On Your Pet Sitting Website That Will Bring In More Clients

How exciting would it be for you to have more email submissions from your pet sitting website and to have your phone ringing more often?

Some weeks back, I made available a document (link to the file is below) that highlighted the 10 elements from my own pet sitting website that have been responsible for bringing in more leads every day.

And, as you know, converting more of your website visitors into leads is the quickest way to grow your pet sitting business.

Surprisingly, the way to accomplish that is NOT to simply get more visitors to your site (because you could have a ton of visitors with no one choosing to get in touch with you!) but rather to understand exactly what inspires, encourages and entices your users to take action.

Learning what gets more of your current visitors to make contact with you is not done by accident.

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Another 8 Pet Sitting Websites That Connect With Visitors

chain linksAn acting teacher of mine once told us that it’s ok to steal, as long as you steal from the best.

She was referring to stealing acting technique, and was by no means promoting blatant theft or copy, but rather making the point that if you are going to learn from others, you should learn from those doing it right.

The same can be said for most anything in life, including perfecting your pet sitting website.

We learn the most by observing, analyzing or understanding what others are currently doing that works.

Last year, I wrote an article called “7 Examples of Pet Sitter Websites That Perfectly Connect With Visitors” and the response was extremely positive.

So I decided another showcase was in order.

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Top 12 Tips for Your Pet Sitting Website in 2012

website tipsHave you made any New Year’s resolutions in regards to your pet sitting business?

Have you decided to gain a certain number of new clients? Or make this the year you hire pet sitters to join your team?

No matter what your focus going forward, you will always need to keep your website in tip top shape.

One of my biggest passions has always been helping pet sitters grow by improving business skills and improving your website presence.

Here are my Top 12 tips for getting your website in great shape in 2012.

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The Simple Way To Stop Confusing Your Website Visitors and Start Helping Them

confusedDo you know what I love most about receiving email inquiries from my pet sitting website?

Besides enjoying the obvious lead, I love getting to learn more about how my website is actually performing.

Here’s what I mean. I recently received an email that said the following:

“I wanted to inquire about pricing info for in-home boarding. Your site was very informative and I wanted to look into this option further.”

It’s no secret that I take pride in my pet sitting website and work hard to make sure it converts as many visitors as possible into leads (which could become potential new clients).

When I read the statement about how informative my site was, I knew what I always thought was correct:

Every visitor arrives on your website with certain questions in mind. The better you help answer those questions, the more likely the visitor will take action and get in touch with you.

Is your pet sitting website helping or confusing your visitors?

You’ve probably already heard that content is king. Simply put, the more relevant content you have on your website, the more your visitors – and Google – will love you.

Below are 9 questions that your visitors need to know the answers to before they will even consider getting in touch with you. (It’s also a perfect way to add more content to your site.)

Side Note: #4 is my favorite secret weapon. Focus on that one alone and you’ll see results.

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Here’s Why This Pet Sitting Website Gets Lots of Clients

a signle eyeWhen was the last time you visited a website and simply stared at it for a while trying to understand what made it work so well?

Call me a website nerd, geek or junkie but I have a passion for doing just that. And pretty often, too.

Especially when it comes to pet sitter websites. As you know, I love all things website, and focus on that as the main topic of my teachings.

Put another way, turning more of your website visitors into happy clients is not something that happens by accident.

When creating my own pet sitting business website a few years back, I was certain to place specific elements on the page that would strategically increase the chances of a visitor taking action by getting in touch with us.

This effectively turned visitors into leads, and turned those leads into clients.

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Are Pet Sitting Orgs Like PSI and NAPPS Worth The Money? [poll]

psi-nappsPet Sitters International (PSI) and National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) are the two big players in the professional pet sitter association circle.

PSI alone boasts more than 8000 members (that’s a lot of pet sitters) and the Internet is littered with articles claiming anyone can make money pet sitting.

But how much good are they really providing us with?

PSI and NAPPS both claim similar goals and benefits:

  • To educate the pet sitter
  • To promote pet sitting to pet owners
  • To give exposure to pet sitters across the country
  • To provide networking opportunities
  • Annual conferences
  • Quarterly magazines
  • Bonding and Insurance (through partners)
  • Searchable pet sitting directory
  • Pet sitting certification
  • Health care benefits
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