Websites are like file cabinets: they work best when the information they contain is neatly organized. Websites get organized into pages, not drawers. What specific pages should pet sitting businesses have on their websites? What pages (and content) best show off a business’s details, and also satisfy search engines’ need for proper content and structure? Based on the recent list of ranking factors, and experience, here are the pages that work best for successful pet sitting business websites. And don’t worry if your site doesn’t have all of these; you can create them going forward (or ask me to help you!). Note: creating successful websites takes work and a bit of artistry. These pages are suggestions, but suggestions based on experience. You may have success with a different structure, but this is a good outline to start with.
Header
This should appear on all pages. In most builders, this can be created once and be seen on every page, which is optimal. Headers should contain your logo on the left, and your contact email and phone on the right, as well as (if there’s room), your service area. Extra points if your phone and email are clickable. Having these elements in your header is important because on both desktop and mobile, these are the first things your visitors see, so they need to be easily visible.
Footer
This should also appear on every page, and should contain your business name and address (street address is the standard) as well as your phone and email (clickable if possible). It’s also nice to have a “return to top” link down here also, but that’s an extra, not a necessity.
Home
This is obvious, as all sites have a Home page. A pet sitter home page should contain a friendly photo, a clear statement of what you do, where you do it, and then some details and images. Further details about services offered, or areas you serve is also nice. And maybe list images of professional certifications. To sum up, your home page should serve as a concise version of your site as a whole.
About
This should be a simple and easy page, listing info about each of your pet sitters along with their pictures. The content should highlight each person’s love of pets, professional experience and / or training, and then a smiling photo of the sitter with a pet. If the sitter serves a specific geographic area, that should be highlighted as well.
Services
This should contain a detailed list of your services. If you dog walk, do you have a time limit? If you provide grooming, are there limits on the types of animals you groom, or specific breeds you do not groom? These should all be listed, as well as your prices (although this is not a necessity; some businesses opt to discuss these in person). A nice touch is to add a line stating that “if you do not see the service you need, please contact us and we may be able to help.”
Service Area
This page is often overlooked, but it is incredibly important. Your Service Area page is where you should list every city, town, neighborhood, military base / housing, college, and senior complex you serve. Go into as much detail as possible. Is your city quite large? List smaller areas. Is your town small? List peripheral areas. But just list as many as possible, and don’t worry about including zip codes; they’re not that helpful because the search engines work off the address you’ve listed in your footer and other areas. The best things you can have on your Service Area page are town / area names and images that illustrate them. If you have those, you’re golden.
FAQ
A Frequently Asked Questions page is not only good for your visitors, but it may save you time in the end. By outlining everything from “what is a pet sitter” to “what I do in the event of a pet’s health emergency,” you will probably answer questions so visitors don’t have to contact you separately. And your new clients will be more informed at Meet and Greets (yay! less for you to worry about!). Again, be sure to add an image in addition to the text content.
Reviews
This page should be a collection of reviews you’ve received on all platforms. You can ask for reviews on your site, and if you receive therm, that’s great, but this page should also highlight reviews that have been received on your Google Business listing, and Facebook, and Yelp, etc. Again, you want to include an image or two on this page, but the majority of the content should be reviews. A goal of this page is to let visitors read about you without having to leave your website.
Blog
This is a great tool to bring visitors to your website. By writing about what they care about (local pet-related resources), you’ll attract attention to your site and your business. This page should be a portal to your posts, not just one or two long posts. The best way to lay out the page is to show a paragraph or two then link to a separate page for the rest of the article. WordPress has a tool for this (“read more” in the editing ruler) as do many builders.
Contact Us
This page should have a nice paragraph or two then a list of each way you may be contacted (usually via email, phone, or via a form on the page). Always have your email and phone numbers clickable if possible, and be sure to have a photo or two. This page should be listed in the farthest right position on your navigation bar.
Optional Pages
There are many other pages you can add to your site. The first that come to mind are Photo Gallery, Policies, Videos, and Resources. These pages prove helpful for visitors, but don’t add much to your SEO. If you like them, add them, but don’t forget to keep them current.
What if I don’t have all of those pages?
That’s ok, but be sure to have the content mentioned above someplace on your site, and lay it out simply but in good detail.
What if I have so many pages that my menu bar looks crowded?
That’s ok too. Just consider nesting some pages. For example, instead of having a Photo Gallery and a Videos page on your navigation bar, why not nest both of them under the About page? Or combining the content of both onto one page? Both are great solutions and work well for your visitors and for the search engines.
Bottom Line:
Pet sitting business websites are most successful when laying out their offerings in a clear, simple way. Websites that feature Home, About, Services, Service Area, FAQ, Reviews, Blog, and Contact Us pages have a neat structure in which to successfully present themselves. While these are the optimal pages for a site, if you don’t have these pages, be sure to include similar content elsewhere.
If you need help creating additional pages on your website, or for an SEO review of your site, or any other website editing service, please write me at Amy@petsitterseo.com or call or text me at 732 820-0103.
