How your pet business can work with bloggers and pet related websites, and still make Google happy.

We all know by now that Google is cracking down on paid links, excessive link trading, buying and selling links that pass page rank, large scale article marketing, and any links designed to manipulate page rank or the site's placement in Google rankings.

The following are examples of a few link schemes that Google has outlined, which can negatively impact a site's ranking in search results:

• The buying or selling of links that pass PageRank, including exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links; exchanging goods or services for links; or sending someone a “free” product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link.
• Excessive link exchanging or creating partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking.
• Article marketing and guest posting campaigns on a large scale that include keyword-rich anchor text links.

Google also frowns upon:

• Text advertisements that allow the passage of PageRank. 
• Advertorials in exchange for payment with links that pass PageRank. 
• Links with highly optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites.
• Participating in low-quality directories or bookmarking site links.
• Links to your site or on your site that are embedded in widgets and distributed across various sites, just for the purpose of link building. These may include blog hops if the blog hop system isn't no follow.
• Overuse of links in footers of website just for the purpose of PageRank improvement. 
• And leaving forum comments that include optimized links in posts or signatures. 

So what's a pet business to do to work with bloggers and other sites to promote their product and/or service, and still make Google happy with your site and the site you are working with? A few guidelines:

If you are submitting your product/service for blogger review, I would request the link be rel="nofollow".

"Nofollow," according to Google, provides a way for webmasters to tell search engines, "don't follow links on this page" or "don't follow this specific link." Readers can still click on the link to learn more info, but you'll (and the website individuals that you work with) will be following Google's Webmaster Guidelines, which will not hurt, but help your status with Google and your page rank.

Yes, it's true that Google will not 'give you credit' for having a wonderful link on a high page ranked site, but...

• You will still benefit from the positive relationship and how your business is positively perceived within articles on popular websites and blogs.
• Readers of blogger reviews will still understand how great your product and/or service is, and click to learn more.
• And you will still position your company as a leader in your pet product/service space.

If you are guest posting or participating in article marketing with other blogs and sites that include a link back to your site, Google won't have a problem with your site if the site you are posting with is of high-quality, and if your guest post is high-quality and original in nature, as well. This means don't write a guest post and submit it to 10-20 site (many of which may be low quality), as this falls into an area that Google may take action upon. 

Be honest in your marketing. Write and create high-quality articles and content that is valuable to your audience and market, that will naturally gain popularity within the pet-loving Internet community. That way, when others link to your site or content it will be editorial in nature, pass page rank, generally be more well respected, and provide your site with the increased exposure you want and need.

By following these simple guidelines, Google will be a lot more friendly to your site and with the company's or individual's websites of which you choose to collaborate - a win-win situation.

Read more about Google's Webmaster Guidelines and link schemes.

Create an amazing sell sheet for your pet product.

Just like advertisements are important for promoting your product to the consumer (and potential retailers), and press releases are important in pitching your product or service to the media, sell sheets are a key ingredient in pitching your product to retailers, distributors and wholesalers.

But what is a sell sheet?

A product sell sheet is a one (or front and back) page sheet used to attract attention of a new product to your audience, in this case retailers, distributors and wholesalers. This sheet is distributed through mail, presented at meetings or sent via email to interested parties with the goal of getting them excited about buying your product for resale.

Just like all 'sales,' it's the 'getting them excited' that is the key ingredient in a sell sheet. When you prepare your sell sheet utilizing a graphic designer or do it yourself with a graphics program like MS Publisher or Photoshop, make it simple, make it powerful, make it very attractive and make them say, 'Wow! I've got to have this."

What are the key elements to include in a sell sheet? The key elements that you should include in your sell sheet are:

• A 'Wow' headline.
• A professional image (photo) of your product.
• A professional image of a pet enjoying the product or service.
• 3-5 bullet points outlining what makes your product the hottest on the market. (include key differentiators).
• A small paragraph description of the product and what differentiates it from other products on the market.
• A grid that includes: SKU, item #, brief description, package and case size and dimensions, case quantity, pallet info (how many will fit on a pallet and the configuration), and UPC codes.
• Contact info.

In addition, you may want to utilize the back side (or page 2) of the sell sheet as an order form in PDF that retailers, distributors and wholesalers may input their order (have it calculated for them utilizing a form) and email back to you. You can use software like Adobe Acrobat XI Pro to create fillable forms. Or you may just want to utilize an excel spreadsheet that retailers can input information, then email or print out and return.

Order forms should include a grid that includes:

• Retailer contact info (name, company, address, city, state, zip, phone, etc.)
• Product name
• Product description
• Price
• SKU
• Quantity (fillable)
• Sub Total (calculated)
• Total (calculated
• Tax, shipping, etc. (calculated)
• Your company contact info and directions for returning the order form, along with confirmation information.

If you are looking for some examples of order forms, we've included a few below, that we found on the Internet, and linked to below:

    

Sample sell sheets provided by: Cat Dancer Products, Pestell and Precision Pet. Image provided by: torkildr

Estimates indicate the US pet market will reach $62 billion in 2013

This past week, Packaged Facts released their latest “U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2013-2014.”

As expected, the report indicates they anticipate the pet industry to continue to grow citing, "consumer spending in the U.S. pet market will reach $62 billion in 2013, up 4.7% over 2012, with veterinary services and pet food make up the bulk of the market, with over $21 billion each in sales projected for 2013."

Contrast that with the American Pet Products Association 2013 US pet industry expenditures estimate of $55.53 billion.

Additional notables in Packaged Facts report include:

• Non-medical pet services - a smaller category that includes grooming, boarding, training, and pet sitting/walking services - is growing at the fastest rate, at 6.0% annually. 
• Dogs account for two-thirds of sales in the overall pet products and services market, they are showered with 90% of the spending in this non-medical services category. 
• (Pet owners) are becoming less price sensitive than in years past, a trend borne out in the sales data. 
• Sales in mass channels such as grocery stores have been relatively flat, but pet owners have continued to migrate to pet specialty channels, which focus more on the high-end market. 
• Industry initiatives designed to spur growth in pet ownership, seem to have been paying dividends, as "pet ownership among younger adults has jumped to its highest level in years," according to David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts. “Half of the adults in their 20s have a dog in the household, up from only a third a decade ago.”

For more information about the Packaged Facts “U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2013-2014,” visit their website.

Photos provided courtesy of RollenB and Kevin Dooley.

News from SuperZoo 2013

SuperZoo is being held this week, July 23-25, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Here is a taste of news coming from the show:

Vets Plus, Inc. to Launch PetsPrefer® Soft Chews for Dogs at SuperZoo


The Ultimate Dog Pool, LLC Set to Make Waves at the Superzoo

DOGSWELL showcases their newest line, LiveFree food for dogs.

True-Dose Pet Products announces new partnership with immune-supporting ingredient supplement EpiCor at SuperZoo.

Vetericyn Launches Reptile Wound and Skin Care Spray

Bell Rock Growers Introduces New Varieties of Pet Greens Cat Treats and Cereal Grass Products at SuperZoo

Kennel Connects debuts interlocking modular dog habitat system.

The Honest Kitchen launches of its first ever treat just for cats, Smittens and Quickies Low Calorie Training Treats for Dogs.

Superior Farms Pet Provisions highlights the addition of Lamb and Venison "Itty Bits" treats to its product line.

Planet Dog Foundation will celebrate topping $1 million in cash and product donations to canine service programs.

Social media as explained by dogs

Social MeDogIA Explained infographic

What you can learn from your pet business market with Facebook's new page insights

Last week Facebook announced new page insights for Facebook page managers. And this week it's being rolled out.

While the previous FB page insights was fairly helpful in getting to know your audience, the new insights are much more in depth and helpful. Let's take a look at what you can learn about your pet business market through your Facebook page insights:

Overview Tab

When you click on the 'Check out the new Page insights' button on your admin panel, the first page you see is the overview page. The overview page shows you a snapshot of Page Likes, Post Reach, Engagement and recent post data for the past seven days. You have the ability to click on each section to dig a little deeper into your data and change time frames.

Page Tab 

Page Likes:

The Page Likes insight page outlines information about those who have liked your page, defaulting to approximately 30 days of data, with a handy slide that allows you to increase the time frame. Scrolling down you can see a breakdown of those likes including if they were through organic traffic or paid traffic, as well as unlikes. Scrolling a bit more you can see how consumers/individuals found you to like your page, whether it be from ads/sponsored stories, on your page directly, through page suggestions from others, or via mobile devices.

Post Reach:

While on the Page Likes tab you can click the next tab to see Post Reach which will show you how many people saw your posts and check virality; likes, comments and shares of posts overall; how many have unliked or hid your page because of a post, and the number of people who saw any activity from your page including posts, posts by other people, page like ads, mentions, and checkins.

Page Visits:

On this tab within the Page Tab section of FB insights you can see how many times various tabs or the timeline of your page was viewed, the number of actions individuals took that involved your page, and the external referrers to your FB page.

Post Tab:

All Posts:

The post tab contains some very valuable information at a glance about what individuals like about your page and your individual posts including what posts are more popular in reach and engagement as compared with other posts on your page.

When your Fans are Online:

This tab is key to helping you understand when your page likers are online by showing the average number of people who saw any posts on Facebook in an hour. All my pet business related FB pages have a peak online time of 9 PM ET.

Best Post Types:

This tab showcases which type of posts are more popular than others including video, links, and photos by showing clicks, likes and comments. Additionally, you can click on each individual post and see more insights related to that specific post.

People Tab:

Your Fans:

The Your Fans Tab showcases demographics of your FB audience and compares the people who like your Page with everyone on Facebook to understand what makes your audience unique. The overall demographics of several of my, and my clients, pages range from 80-90% women, with the primary age range between 24-60 years of age; whereas FB primary audience is between the ages of 25-35. Scrolling down you can also see the primary countries and cities of your audience.

People Reach:

This tab can help you better understand if you are reaching your main target audience by showcasing the people you are reaching on FB, as well as help you understand if you are reaching additional and secondary target audiences for your pet business. For example: in testing a variety of promotions we've been seeking to reach a younger audience on several of my FB pages. This data has allowed me to better understand if these promotions have been successful or need to be adjusted.

People Engaged:

This tab showcases much of what is indicated in people reach, however it takes it a step further to showcase engagement data, in addition to reach data.

What does all this tell you about your pet business consumer and how you can best market to your current and prospective customer audience?

From this data you can tell what type of individuals are interested in what you have to offer and more, including:

• Gender of your audience
• Target age range
• What devices are most popular with your audience
• Which FB promotions, ads or sponsored stories are more popular than others
• How individuals are finding your FB page
• When your likers are online
• What types of posts are more interesting to your audience than others
• Locations of FB audience you are targeting

These items can help you better market your pet business product or service by:

• Targeting specific gender and age ranges
• Targeting advertisements on specific preferred devices of your audiences
• How your audience prefers to be communicated with
• If your ads and sponsored stories are working for your benefit and how you may be able to improve them
• Understand when to post during peak times of the day when your audience is most online on Facebook
• Gain knowledge of what types of content your audience prefers
• Help you understand if you are reaching your target audience, as well as expanding your reach to up and coming younger audiences that will become increasingly important in your future marketing efforts

The only thing I still see missing from FB page insights is data that indicates what other interests my pet business clients FB audience have, as in what other FB pages they like by category. This would be helpful in expanding expanding my clients FB audience targeting to up and coming prospective consumers.

As you can see the Facebook new Page Insights can really help you in marketing your pet business. Dive in and get educated!