By marketing pet supplies on the Web for the past five years, I have learned how to sell online to pet buyers across the US Newspapers are a thing of the past as pet buyers now use the Web to shop from House. The effective methods that I will talk about start with a website to promote whatever it is that you are selling, so this is the most critical part of the article. Make sure you have a professional looking website that is optimized for search engines. This means having keywords related to your theme on every page of your site, along with images and pages named after the very keywords you’re trying to promote. Also, it is important that you have a website title and website keywords that match your target customer. For example, if you were selling Yorkies, it would be essential that your website title include Yorkies and Yorkshire Terriers, as well as the keywords Yorkies and Yorkshire Terriers. Don’t forget testimonials from satisfied customers, with photos if possible! It is best to have someone experienced create the website for you if you are not familiar with creating search engine friendly websites, as well as a professional with experience in the pet industry.

Once your website is up and running, there are many tools you can use to promote your business. Here are some of the methods I have successfully used to promote pet businesses:

1. YouTube.com. YouTube is the leading video site on the Web and it’s relatively easy to create your own movie. Movies can be shot with your digital video camera (perhaps puppies running around in the backyard), or you can make a slideshow using still images of your product with easy-to-use software that can be found online. Remember, cute and/or funny always works on the internet (think of all the funny emails you get forwarded). Also, make sure you have the latest frame of the movie and an ad for your website! There is nothing more irritating than a great movie that provides no mechanism to get to the desired product. Don’t forget that when you upload the video to YouTube, you can use the necessary keywords to find your article and also put a link to your website in the description of the video! Additionally, Yahoo and Google also have video areas where you can upload the movie.

2.MySpace.com. Social media is becoming a more important part of today’s online marketing. Create a free MySpace account with a page that talks about your product (don’t forget to include your new video), link to your website on the MySpace page, and start networking. Start by adding friends and family to your MySpace “friends” and then join groups that have the same interests as you. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your list of “friends” will grow, and MySpace lets you send email and post comments to all of them. What a great way to spread the word about your new website!

3.Facebook.com. Same as MySpace.com, and is becoming a real competitor within the social networking community. Why not have an account on both MySpace.com and Facebook.com?

4. Blogging. Use a major search engine like Google or Yahoo to locate blogs that are in your market segment. Or, better yet, start your own blog! Either way, be sure to comment on other stories involving your market segment, and always be sure to sign your name and website link at the end of each blog post.

5. Write articles. Why not start writing your own articles and submitting them for publication online? You can also submit them to article directories. A great way to talk about topics in your field of expertise and establish yourself as a guru. Don’t make it sound like a sales pitch, but feel free to link to your site at the end of the article.

6. Squidoo.com. A site dedicated to helping people get things done through an informative one-page site. You can create this page for free (called a lens) and it should be informative, like “How to find a Yorkie from a reputable breeder.” Also, be sure to include your video here and of course a link to your website!

7. Free classified sites. You will be able to find free classified sites that allow you to post ads in different categories for free. Write your ad and include a link to your site. Some examples are Craigslist.org and Backpage.com, but there are others. Be sure to pay attention to the rules. For example, Craigslist does not allow the sale of pets on its site.

8. Answers.Yahoo.com. This is a place where people post questions about problems they are having and a great place for you to establish yourself as an authority on a particular topic. Find questions that need answers and submit your answer (along with a link to your site next to your name at the bottom). Find topics related to the theme of your website and you will find interested customers!

9. Pay Per Click Marketing from Google Pay Per Click and Overture (Yahoo). I mention these two alternatives because they are a good way to drive targeted traffic to your website, but they can be expensive. You will bid against other advertisers to have an ad appear on the search engine for the keywords you choose. For popular keywords (like “Yorkie”) it’s very competitive, but if you can find more specific terms instead, you might find cheaper cost-per-click rates. For example, “yorkie puppies for sale in new hampshire”.

10. Start collecting email addresses on your website for a newsletter. What better way to reach your potential customers than a targeted newsletter (or Ezine, short for electronic magazine) that you email to your contact database? Talk about current promotions, contests and events in your industry. Don’t forget to link to your site! Many times people will forward your newsletter to other people who might find your content interesting.

11. Sell on Ebay.com. Animals cannot be sold on Ebay, so pay attention to what can and cannot be sold on Ebay. eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace, so what better way to start selling your product?

12. Write an e-book. You can create a PDF file that gives instructions to others on how to do something, such as how to find a reputable dog breeder. This information can be listed for sale (yes, you can monetize the e-book too!) on places like Ebay.com and Amazon.com. Don’t forget the links to your site in the Ebook!

13. Online press release. If you have an exciting new product to introduce, try writing a press release and submitting it online. Many services (like PRWeb.com) have their own distribution channels that can get your service or product in front of the right people. Don’t forget a link to your website.

14. Commercial Links. There are websites that bring together people who are willing to exchange links to each other’s websites. An example is LinkPartners.com. Make sure you only exchange links with people who have related websites (for example, if you sell dog food, make sure you only exchange links with other pet-related websites).

As you can see, this is just a small sampling of the things you can do to market your pet product online. Most of these are free or very low-cost solutions. Remember, it all starts with your own website to promote your product. For more information on getting your own website or implementing any of these techniques, visit us online at: Petwebdesigner.com

To your success!