Nobody's Googling "good dog walker"

Here’s a story about a dog walker named Dave who has been walking dogs for eleven years.

Insured, DBS-checked, first aid trained, the lot. Genuinely one of the best in the business, and his clients would say the same thing about him.

Last month, he had only three enquiries.

Meanwhile, some guy online in the same city has been walking dogs for 2 years or so, and is fully booked with a waiting list.

In Dave’s opinion, which is probably right, he was better than him, had better reviews, and a shedload more experience.

Which even if correct, guess what?

It doesn't matter!

Because what nobody told him, and maybe you, is that when you start a dog business, people aren't sitting there Googling "good dog walker." Or "experienced dog walker." Or "qualified dog walker."

They're typing "dog walker near me" into their phone at 7am while their dog's already got the lead in its mouth and they're already running late for work.

Well maybe not, but you get the picture.

The point is, that search doesn't care about your eleven years. It doesn't care about your first aid certificate. It cares about one thing: does Google think you're actually here, in this town, right now?

Turns out the lad from the same city had spent a few hours filling out his Google Business Profile properly. Real photos. Proper categories. His actual service area. Every field filled in, nothing left blank.

Dave's had a blurry photo of a dog and a phone number he'd stopped using two years ago.

And the result was a big difference in bookings, even if they had similar skills, or less.

I'm not saying your experience or skills don't matter. It does once someone's stood in front of you, deciding whether to hand over their dog or make a choice.

But you don't get to be in the question or have that conversation if Google can't find you first.

So here's your homework this week. Go and look at your Google Business Profile like a stranger would. Is it even claimed? Are the photos good quality, and actually of your business? Is your service area right? Does it say what you do in words a dog owner would actually type? Is it in an accurate category? Is the description good enough with local keywords? Does it mention services, your skills, your DBS?

And so on…

…takes about an hour to sort properly.

And it might be the most profitable hour you spend all year.

Colin

P.S. If you want the full checklist I use for getting this right, plus everything else that goes into actually getting found locally, it's all in the Dog Business Visibility System, which is priced for now at $17, and soon to rise; however, please read the following PPS for a cheaper option, and a fantastic opportunity.

P.P.S. I have just launched a Skool community for dog business owners where you get the dog visibility programme included once you write a welcome post, like a few other posts, and comment on a couple. Really easy to do, and it’s used for way less. You also get access to a community of dog business owners and more reports published each month. The price will be rising significantly soon, so now’s the time to get in. Here’s the link to the community: 

Pooch Profits Skool Community.