Like most reputable breeders, your breed is your passion. Maybe you’re a Labrador Lover, Frenchie Fan, Corgi Connoisseur, or Westie Whisperer. But chances are good you may not be an Advertising Aficionado. The ability to market yourself, your breed, and your business is absolutely essential in determining long-term success. So unless you can afford to throw money out with the wee-wee pads, here are three basic and cost-effective ways to advertise your dog-breeding business.

1. Make your Website the Heart of your Dog-Breeding Advertising Strategy

Do you need to rethink your little corner of the internet? Your website is the front door to your dog-breeding business and your #1 advertising tool. Within seconds of a potential customer arriving, it sets the tone for your brand, your ethics, and your all-important reputation. Your site doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but it should be updated to become a more effective advertising tool. Check out these modernizing tips to make your site work harder for you so potential customers can find you(!) and want to see what you offer:

 Make it mobile-friendly: According to statistics from July, 2021, 49.71% of total website visits come from mobile devices. If you haven’t updated your website in 10 years and it doesn’t have a design specifically responsive to mobile, you may be turning off nearly half your site visitors.

Make your website fast: If you’re not using a modern platform like WordPress, your site is probably loading slowly—ugh—no one will stick around if they have to wait for images to load.

Optimize it for local Google search: When looking for top breeder-related keywords in October, 2021, the top search terms by far were: dog breeders near me, local dog breeders, and local puppy breeders. Incorporating your location in your website’s copy and headers will help you be found through organic search. For example: BlueBell Borzois in Akron, Ohio.

Again, modernizing an existing site or creating a new one doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. If you aren’t savvy, enlist the help and advice of a friend or younger family member who is, and there are also plenty of how-to resources on the internet to help.

2. Using Google My Business to Help your Dog-Breeding Business Get Found

Creating a Google My Business listing is super-easy and super-fast. It also helps to direct those local searchers we just talked about right to your website. If someone is looking for a breeder near where you live—either via Google search results or Google Maps—your business will show up! Google offers plenty of free tools to make your presence on Google My Business robust, so it’s the ultimate advertising tool. Just follow instructions at  https://business.google.com.

3. Get your Dog-Breeding Business on Reputable Breeder Directory Sites

If you’re a seasoned breeder, you probably already know this one, but newer breeders may not. When someone is searching for a particular breed of dog, breeder-directory listings almost always come up on page 1 of Google search results. CAUTION: To maintain your good reputation, make sure to only have a presence on sites that have standards in place and are not simply selling platforms for backyard breeders. For example (these are examples only and DDC does not endorse these specific directories), the AKC site has breeders that are AKC registered and follow their code of conduct. GoodDog also maintains standards for recognition of responsible breeders.

The Tip of the Tail

These three ways to advertise your dog-breeding business are very basic, but they’re also extremely effective, apply to any-sized business, and do not come at a high cost. Go get ’em! And remember, DDC is happy to support responsible breeders and their businesses by offering the very best in low-cost, high-quality dog DNA testing and 5-star customer service.