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“What??” I hear you cry!

This statement flies in the face of every current statistic concerning consumer trends and all that I have recently said….”owners are increasingly online… therefore online is where vets need to be too”. So let me explain.

With over a billion websites, the web is now a crowded place where you have to work hard to make sure your website is found. One way to increase SEO (to be found) is to place links on other sites on the net, including directories. Hubspot recommends this as these links act as hooks, helping catch potential customers who are searching for veterinary practices, then driving them back to your website. Voila!

Therefore, when we set up vetmart.net, a hub for animal owners, it seemed logical to create a section which would act as a vet directory. Though what happened next surprised us….

Vetmart is a place where animal owners can find “everything animal”. Therefore, vetmart is much more than just a vet directory, giving myriad opportunities for practices to promote your complete range of veterinary services such as boarding, grooming, behaviour, hydrotherapy…you name it.

Eighteen months on, the surprise has been that whilst we expected the vet practice listings to attract a lot of interest - and they have - what is clear is that the service-specific listings are even more popular.

So, in many cases where an individual practice has placed listings for it’s practice and branches, then additional ones promoting say, acupuncture services or whatever, what we've found is that the service-specific listings are being viewed more often that the practice ones!!

You may wish to know what is top of the list in attracting interest...? Well, Cat Friendly clinics are generating quite a buzz, so clearly there is demand for this kind of service tailored to our felines but our top 5 hottest listings are currently ALL healthcare plans! So if you offer these packages then you really should be shouting about them loud and clear.

So perhaps my opening gambit, “STOP PRESS: Owners are NOT looking for vets online” is stretching things a bit (I’ve always been one for a bit of exaggeration and hyperbole)….owners are actually looking for vets more than ever online, it's true!

But what is becoming clear is that owners are looking for veterinary-specific services even MORE OFTEN than they're looking for practices!

That means that listing in appropriate directories is sound advice …but in the light of our findings, perhaps you might now want to think about which other specific veterinary services you also wish to promote online...and where to do it…..?

Footnote:
  1. vetmart.net is free to join and list - on vetmart you can promote your practice(s) and specific services and even sell products too.
  2. If this blog interests you, you may wish to CLICK HERE for a free download of our white paper, “"attitudes to online usage in veterinary business”". You have to be registered and logged into vetpol first.
  3. Contact me, Caroline Johnson, for more info or to have a chat - caroline@vetpol.co.uk