Your website should be the main "hub" of your online presence and activity; however, ads you put on directory sites, posts on Facebook, photos on Instagram, and all your other online activity all supplement your website. They are important too. I know that for many reputable breeders, the idea of outright advertising may be somewhat uncomfortable for you. But if backyard breeders are the only ones advertising, how is a new person that does not know how to identify a reputable breeder supposed to know that there are better alternatives out there? Please consider doing a bit of advertising. I promise you won't feel "dirty" afterwards if you do it like this: Social Media Your social media profiles are a great way to expose your “brand” to people new to you. Do not get put off by the ...
Strategy
Your Website = Your Image (Does Your Website Hit These Marks?)
Your website is your piece of the web. Yes, your ads, Facebook, Instagram, etc., all have a job to do for advertising, but they should all end up pointing people to your website. Your website is the place where you showcase what you are about as a breeder. As I explained in the post, Why Reputable Breeders Need Websites (That are Easily Found), your website shows that you are your breed’s advocate, it demonstrates your integrity in your breed’s community as well as your reputation among your peers, and that you stand behind what you produce. You Must Have a Professional Looking Website Your website should be doing the grunt-work of your advertising. Directory sites such as the AKC Marketplace are for your classifieds ads; your website is more like your own personal marketing agency and ...
How to Make Your Breeder Website Show up in a Google Search
If Google can find your website, then people can find you. The process of making your website easier for Google to find is called search engine optimization or SEO. SEO makes websites understandable to Google so that when someone searches, Google can bring back relevant results. Google will always try to put what it thinks are the most relevant results to your search query at the top of the page, or rank them higher. That means that if you do SEO properly, you should rank higher (than the neighboring backyard breeder!) when someone searches for a breeder in their area. SEO can be complicated, but the basics cover a lot of ground. The fact is, most breeders aren't even doing the basics. Google has published 32 page “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide” that gives you all the basics. ...
Why Reputable Breeders Need Websites (That are Easily Found)
I help moderate a Weimaraner Facebook group, currently with about 25,000 members. We recently polled our members, asking them where they got their Weimaraner, and results showed that there are at least twice as many people that got their Weim from a backyard breeder than from a reputable breeder. We also asked how they found their breeders, and they said, “online search.” Reputable breeders are losing the war against puppy mills and backyard breeders by not being accessible and showing people that there is a choice! Your website is the place to showcase your dogs and to show your visitors the conformation, ability, temperaments, health, and all the work that has gone into your dogs and into producing special puppies. Your website shows that you are your breed’s advocate, it demonstrates ...
Your Facebook Page Isn’t Your Website
As much as I enjoy catching up with friends and showing off my goofy dog pictures and maybe posting a few weekend brags, Facebook is admittedly a major time suck. So it seems to make sense to put all online efforts in one place rather than split your attention to both social media and your website. Right? The Problem All the time and effort you take to drive traffic to your social media profile, whether Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or whatever is all good stuff to help direct traffic to your website, but it will never replace the site itself. For one thing, you don't own Facebook, and you will never be able to control what a visitor might see when they go to your Facebook page. Will it be some ridiculous and irrelevant comment that someone else posted on your page? That one-off ...