It’s almost time to reset for the New Year, which means… of course, reflecting and brainstorming how to make the year 2024 YOUR year. Whether you’re a goal-setter, resolution-setter, or neither, it can still feel re-energizing to refresh certain aspects of business and feel good about it as you head into the New Year.
So, we’re digging into 7 quick and easy ways you can refresh your pet business website for the New Year.
Ready??? Let’s go!
1. Update the copyright year in your footer to 2024.
This tells people your business is active and relevant. Imagine going to a website and you can’t tell if the hours are correct because wow, it seems like their copyright year hasn’t been updated in a couple of years. That would lead me to believe that this business isn’t around anymore or perhaps the information on their website isn’t reliable since who knows when the last time they updated it was!
And, if you don’t have a copyright on your website, it’s time to add one! Scroll down to our footer below to see an example of what this looks like! Change it to 2023. 😉
2. Perform a quick website audit.
What does this actually mean? It means going through every page of your website and making sure:
All of the information is still correct (i.e. years are updated, hours are correct, years of experience is accurate, etc.)
All of the links still work and are sending people to relevant and up-to-date information. If you need help with this, you can use a free tool like brokenlinkcheck.com. All you have to do is enter your URL and it will tell you which pages have a broken link so you can fix them!
Your plugins are up to date (if applicable - mainly for WordPress users here!)
This is super important to do because, similar to number 1, if you have broken links on your website, people will question how reliable other content is on your site. This also leads Google to potentially ‘ding’ you in terms of search engine rankings. Not to mention, imagine if one of these broken links would have resulted in a sale or booking?! That’s money lost, my friend! So, comb through each page of your website and make sure the information is correct and all links are working properly.
3. Make sure you have a clear call-to-action (CTA) button on EVERY relevant page of your website.
This one may not be a ‘review’ necessarily compared to an addition if you don’t have them yet, but call-to-action buttons are quick ways to:
Tell your website visitor what to do next
Increase your bookings/sales/conversions
Make your website clear
Inspire action
You should have a clear CTA button on most, if not all of your website pages leading people to the next step of your process where it makes sense. This helps with user-friendliness, flow, conversions - you name it! And as for what text to put in your CTA buttons, keep it simple (2-3 words) and use verbs so they know exactly what action will occur when they click the button.
4. The dreaded 'about me' picture… ADD an updated picture of your face!
Us designers and marketers don’t just say “include your face” for no reason! There’s science behind this suggestion and it boils down to trust and personability. People don’t just buy from a company. They buy from people. And, that means they need to trust you before they buy from you.
By having a picture on your website that shows your face LOOKING into their eyes and smiling, you’ll be able to increase trust with your website visitors. So… no sunglasses, no dark hats, no photos from sooo far away they wouldn’t be able to recognize you.
This small action can make SUCH a big difference on your site!
5. Review your copywriting (i.e. the text on your website).
Let’s be honest… Most of us tend to focus on what our pricing includes and other surface-level inclusions.
My advice for your New Year refresh? Try to dig a bit deeper, especially considering there are so many similar pet businesses out there also only focusing on what their pricing includes. A great way to differentiate yourself is to talk about what you’re REALLY providing for your clients. How are you transforming or changing or making their lives easier?
If you want to expand a bit on your pet business copywriting, check out our post, Website Copywriting Secrets for Pet Business Owners. This can help you get on the right track toward making simple yet impactful improvements to your website copy.
Psst… If you want our help with copywriting, we now offer Copywriting VIP Days so you can get your strategic, converting copy done and delivered in just one day!
6. Clean up your contact form.
As business owners, it’s easy to think we need to gather ALLLLLL the info from inquiries. I mean, no one wants to go in blind to a phone call or meet & greet, right? Totally get that! But here’s the problem with that.
What if someone just has a basic question like… availability, if you accept an unspayed pet, etc. and now they have to fill out this super long questionnaire just to get that one tiny question answered. You know what they’re going to do? X out of your website and head to the next pet sitter or dog trainer who doesn’t ask a bazillion questions from the beginning.
Yes, you can get a lot of valuable information from a longer questionnaire, but when you’re making a big ask of a random potential client, they’ll be less likely to spend that time when they don’t know you or whether they want to move forward yet. This is what we marketers call a ‘barrier to entry.’ We want to stay away from as many of those barriers as possible and one great way to do so is to make it as easy as possible for people to take that first small step to work with you!
So, keep your contact form as simple as possible. You can still ask basic questions like: Name, Email, What service they’re interested in, what zip code they live in, etc. But keep it simple and sweet for their first commitment!
For more information on what specifically to include on your pet business contact page, we’ve got all the deets and answers for you on our blog on what to include on your pet business website contact page!
7. Post a new blog (or start your blog!)!
I know, I know… us marketers are beating a dead horse with how much we tell you guys to post blog posts… but bear with me!!
BUT let me tell you this—my BIGGEST driver of organic website traffic is from a blog post I published in 2018!!! This is a great way to see your sales increase as 2024 progresses!
And not only that, but you can create blog posts that help make your life easier. Think about topics like…
How to sign up for your booking software
Going over one or more of your most frequently asked questions so you can save time in the New Year with fewer questions!
Writing up a client spotlight/experience/transformation
What can this do for your business? Well… you can save time in your process or client communication, you can weed out clients that wouldn’t be a good match, you can increase website traffic, and you can inspire action takers and new clients to convert! (Oh… not to mention helping you out on those search engine rankings… hello SEO!)
Side note: Your blog posts don’t need to be a super long, well-written piece of content that takes hours and hours to write. You don’t have to be a great writer and you don’t have to be super creative with your blog posts. Keep it simple. Write genuinely for your local audience.
For ideas on what to blog about, head on over to get your hands on our FREE Blog Post Ideas for Pet Businesses, which includes TONS of blog post ideas, plus the 14 specific topics you need to have on your pet service business blog (whether you’re a dog walker, pet sitter, dog trainer, or pet photographer).
P.S. Our official 2024 List of Pet Holidays is up and live on the blog if you’re planning your pet business content for the New Year!
P.P.S. A bonus tip? Start implementing more SEO strategies for more traction on your website. SEO is a long-term strategy—one that can pay off immensely over time. Head to your website platform and follow their SEO checklist, or head on over to some of our blog posts on SEO, like this SEO Guide for Pet Businesses and SEO tips when you upgrade or change your website. And if you haven’t yet, join our waitlist for the Pet Business SEO Unleashed course. It’s your guide to ranking on Google! Yeee!
