Do you need to find a professional pet sitter or for just someone to watch your pet?
Finding a good match for you and your pet is important, think about it: the person will be IN your house and WITH your pet. Don’t you want someone who has experience and that’s trustworthy?
We know it can be hard to find someone good to watch your babies, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be as simple as doing a Google search for the type of pet care or service you need.
In this article you’ll find 5 simple steps you can use to find a professional pet sitter AND learn what to ask BEFORE you hire a pet care giver.
Follow These 5 Simple Online Steps To Find A Professional Pet Sitter
1. Open up Google or other search engine or browser like Mozilla, Yahoo, Bing or AOL.
2. In the search bar you will type exactly what you’re looking for in this order: SERVICE YOU NEED in CITY NAME, STATE
In this example I’ll type ‘Dog Sitter in Muncie, Indiana‘ (or whatever city you live in) because in this example you need a dog sitter and you live in Muncie.
Once you type that in a hit SEARCH. A page pops up with searches relative to what you typed.
Scroll down past the top section. There’s usually a few ads at the top.
Here’s a secret: the top 4 or 5 at the very top of each Google page are PAID advertisers!
Paid advertisers are great but they’re PAYING to be there at the top of the page.
They might be newer companies trying to look like a big company.
They might be million dollar companies with huge advertising budgets.
These companies are not bad but don’t JUST rely on those top few advertisers to do business with because they’re at the top.
To find a pet sitter right for you and your pet(s), do a little homework.
Remember this:
Anyone with money to shell out can be at the top of a Google search.
Anyone can set up shop in a new city promoting their ‘pet sitting’ business.
Interesting when you think about it.
Tips On How A Professional Pet Sitter Shows Up On Google
For a pet sitter, or pet sitter business, to show up on the first page of Google or other search engine, the website must provide good content.
Good content can be articles related to what people are searching for on the web. These are the pet care companies and individuals you’ll want to look at.
The businesses just below the advertising spots at the top are websites with a higher web presence. They have higher SEO, a higher number of clicks from consumers like you and a higher number of searches.
The further down on the list you go, the less popular a website is in the eyes of Google and the less up-to-date content they provide. Don’t skip to page 35 and pick a pet sitter, go with the companies on page one or two.
Now let’s flash forward a little…
3. After you typed in Dog Sitter in Muncie this info is an example of what you might find…
Notice the little yellow boxes that say Ad in the above picture? Those are companies that have paid to be at the top. We show up on the map and haven’t paid to be there.
Notice the picture below…we’re on Google’s first page 3 times, without paid advertising. This is possible because we provide good content.
3. Scroll through the list and find a professional pet sitter or pet care business to look up.
4. Next, click on a link. Does it work? Does it take you to a website or a Facebook page? If you’ve looked around and only see a Facebook link for the ‘business’, we suggest you pass that one up. Why? They’re probably a hobby pet sitter without pet care insurance.
5. Once you’ve found a site to look at, compare it to others – what stands out? What makes you raise your eyebrows? What do you like about it?
Let’s say you found one you want to check out. We recommend you know exactly what to ask a potential pet sitter, here’s a list of common questions:
-How long have you been in business?
-Can I call some references?
-What insurance company do you use?
-Do you offer a consultation prior to starting services?
-What experience do you have with the type of pet I have?
-What’s your back-up plan in case you can’t make a visit to my house?
-Do you have a car?
Using a referring agency or booking services through one of the new online pet tech companies like Rover or DogVacay might be a good idea, however there’s particular things you should be aware of if you hire a someone from one of those companies.
Things to Consider When Hiring Someone From A Phone Based App or Referring Agency
- Many pet sitters on Care, Rover or DogVacay are hobby pet sitters. They take jobs for extra income, which isn’t inherently bad but they might not have the accountability to you, the client, that someone like me would have since I this business is mine and my name is on the line;
- They could have limited experience caring for animals;
- If they have problems with a job on one site, they can hop to a different one and post their ‘credentials’ and availability;
- They might have a criminal history in another state;
- The person might be unreliable and unprofessional;
- The caregiver might not have business insurance (Care, Rover and DogVacay provides insurance coverage to a limit but many times a deductible has to be paid by the sitter first. This can put you and your pet at a higher risk if they don’t have the deductible money); and
- They might not have a back-up person to help if they can’t do the agreed visits. Again, this can put you and your pet(s) at risk. I have back-up sitters I can call on at the drop of a hat.
To be a informed and wise consumer I urge you to do your research when you’re trying to find a professional pet sitter. Ask questions and make sure you get the answers that satisfy you.
Sit-Stay-Play is a local company operating under the premise that our clients can be our next door neighbor. We see our clients around town. Therefore, we wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our reputation. Granted, we’re not perfect but we strive to do our best. We love taking care of people’s pets.
This is MY business: I started it from the ground up. Anyone that trusts us to care for their pet and home should feel secure with their decision in hiring us. From pet sitting and dog walking, to farm animal care and pet taxi services, we put 100% into making the pets happy and make sure they’re taken care of.
Remember, to find a professional pet sitter, all you need to do is search on Google and then browse around a website or two. Browse around ours too while you’re at it.
Contact them, have a conversation, get to know them. We’d love to answer any questions you may have so feel free to send them our way or call us at 765-744-5688.
Thanks for reading,
Kelley Stewart, CEO|Pet Sitter
sit-stay-play In-home pet sitting & more.LLC
Serving Muncie, Anderson and Indianapolis
P.S. Ready to sign up for our pet care services? Visit this page Pet Service Request Form to get started!