10 Simple Ways To Market or Advertise Your Dog Walking or Pet Sitting Business
- Mikaela Vargas
- Oct 20, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
If you’re a dog walker or pet sitter, you’ve probably been told that referrals and word of mouth are all you need. And while those are powerful, what happens if your best client moves away? Or if a brand-new pet sitting business opens down the street? Or if you decide to move and start over in a new city?
I’m not writing this to scare you. I’m writing this to guide you on the importance of setting up systems and strategies to protect your business’s future and growth. Since 2017, Pet Marketing Unleashed has worked with countless dog walkers and pet sitters on their branding and websites, and one thing’s clear: having a reliable marketing system in place is the best way to protect your business and set yourself up for consistent growth. It’s a great thing to have your marketing efforts in many baskets so you can have all of your bases covered no matter what comes your way. If you’ve got referrals coming in, that’s amazing. Keep that up as much as you can. But, let’s also see where else you can get clients coming in.
(Because if you’re a PMU student or avid reader of our blog, you know you can set systems in place via booking software and onboarding strategies which can give you more time to acquire MORE clients than ever.)
There are some simple ways that you can expand your marketing efforts, and, I promise, they’re simpler than you’d think, especially for busy pet business owners.
I put together 10 simple things you can do today to improve your digital marketing strategy for your dog walking or pet sitting business (without the need for paid advertising):
1. Get a website that works for your pet care business
Having a website is like having a home in the digital space to welcome your clients. You can easily create (or customize with one of our website templates) or get a designer (we can help!) to create one that’s professionally designed and user-friendly for new and returning clients.
But you don’t want just ANY website. It shouldn’t JUST be pretty. It needs to be working FOR you.
Your website can and should act as your:
Salesperson and customer service person
Data tracker, analyzer, and marketer
Onboarding specialist and business cheerleader
Already have a website, but not sure if you're doing it quite right? Check out our free guide to learn more!
2. Use Facebook strategically for Your Pet Business
A Facebook business page still matters, but it’s not just for cute pet pics.
Consider the 80/20 rule. 20% of your posts can be full-on promotional. The remaining 80% should be split between a variety of types of content, like educational, listicles, entertaining, engaging, and more. If you need post ideas, check out our blog post on Instagram post ideas for your pet business.
Other tips:
Add your phone number and email address, which will make it easy for clients to reach out.
Set up that tiny button underneath the cover photo to present a call to action to your audience.
3. Optimize your Pet Business Instagram Bio
Your bio, name, and highlights are searchable real estate.
If you’re a local pet care company, you should be including keywords in your name, username, and bio. For example, try to include your service area and what you do in your name.
Instead of Wilson Fun Care try… San Diego Fun Pet Sitters or Wilson Fun Care | Pet Sitting SD or SOMETHING that’s specific to what you do. Include keywords in your bio too, as those things are now searchable. Include your services, service area, and/or anything else that you specialize in, like small dogs, diabetic dogs, etc.
Need help? Our Instagram Profile Optimization and social media graphic templates bundles make it quick and stress-free!
4. Start Blogging for Local SEO
Blogging is one of the best ways to increase your website traffic. So many pet business owners publish such general blog posts like, “Why you need to hire a professional pet sitter” or, “How to avoid accidents in the house.” But, because this content is so general, it’s very competitive and not tailored down to your potential clients.
For example, someone in Chicago could read your blog post when you’re a pet sitter in Austin. That doesn’t help your business. Consider local blog posts to increase your website traffic FROM actual prospective clients in your service area. These can be posts like… ‘The Best Pet-Friendly Restaurants in Austin, Texas.’
Need some more blog post ideas to get started? I've gotchu—download the list of free blog post ideas for pet businesses!
5. Business Cards Are Not Dead!
With community marketing on the rise, business cards are not dead! Business cards are a great way to hand out your contact information and get people to remember you. You should be passing them out and sharing them at networking events, posting them in coffee shops, giving them to friends or clients as a referral system, etc. This goes for other promotional products as well, like frisbees or poo-bag holders. Just make sure that when you invest in promotional products they are things your potential customers will USE and be likely to use in front of others so as to spread the word automatically!
Pssst—check out our pet sitter business card templates that you can customize to your business!
6. Claim your Google Business Listing
Have you claimed your Google Business Listing yet? Claiming all online directory listings and adding relevant and updated information can 100% help with SEO! In fact, Google really values what they call ‘off-page SEO’ as a way to measure whether your business is relevant and important, even outside of your own website’s SEO settings.
7. Partner with Local Shelters and Pet Businesses
When pets get adopted from shelters and rescues, a lot of times new pet owners are given resources on new pet ownership. Can you connect with a shelter or rescue in your community and ask to place your new client offers for newly adopted pets in their binder? This is a great way to help rescues and shelters, too!
If you’re looking to partner with other pet businesses, read our blog on building pet business partnerships. You can partner with so many types of businesses in your community—from veterinarians to dog trainers, partnerships can be crucial for marketing your pet care business!
8. Double Down on What's Working
Instead of spreading yourself thin across every platform, ask clients how they found you. Then do more of that. Simple, effective, and scalable.
Here are a couple of tips:
Ask your favorite clients where they found you!
Add the question ‘Where did you first hear about ‘your business name?’ on your website contact form or booking software so you can start tracking where you’re getting clients.
9. Focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is a crucial and underestimated part of marketing. I also think it’s something that’s largely avoided because it’s presented as a foreign, complicated topic that requires significant investment of money and time. That’s simply not true. By optimizing your on-page and off-page SEO, you’ll be able to increase your website traffic and market your pet business to a larger network.
👉 Our Pet Business SEO Course is the only SEO program made specifically for local pet business owners. Master your SEO and increase your rankings on Google!
10. Upgrade Your Brand!
Your brand isn’t just a logo. It’s how you make clients feel at every touchpoint — website, social media, emails, business cards. A cohesive brand = trust + higher rates.
For resources on how to do this, here are our top blog posts and services:
How to get started with pet business branding strategy (3-part series)
Service: Copywriting Day (to get your website copywriting done in a day!)
Service: Branding Day (to get your logo and branding done in a day!)
Master these 10 marketing tips, and you’ll be WELL on your way to business growth for your dog walking and pet sitting business.
Next steps for your dog walking or pet sitting business:
🚀 Build your foundation → Pet Business Website Templates
✍️ Start blogging strategically → Blogging Course
📍 Get found locally → SEO Course
🎨 Elevate your look → Branding Day
