143: Website Design with Mikaela Vargas
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Summary:
Building a website that works for you takes planning and understanding of who your client actually is. Mikaela Vargas joins the show to discuss the best practices in websites, the role of colors, and how to make your website get the clients you want to work with. Mikaela shares how a well designed website saves us time and simple things we can do to make our existing websites better.
Topics on this episode:
DIY vs hire
Appealing to your client
Branding your site
Easy website wins to make today
Main take away? With just a few simple changes, your website can start working for you instead of against you.
About our guest:
Mikaela is the founder of Pet Marketing Unleashed, a company focused on helping petpreneurs build modern and 'as stress-free as possible' pet businesses through web design, content writing, digital products, and education. She is all about creating systems and strategies that reduce stress and gets pet businesses working while you're sleeping or out with the dogs! Mikaela is also the host of the Facebook group, Unleashed Petpreneurs, a community filled with other pet industry entrepreneurs looking to upscale their marketing, processes, and websites. Outside of work, you’ll find Mikaela walking with her hilarious pup, Wilson, or reading books with her husband in their small TV-less cottage in sunny, San Diego.
Links:
Website: www.petmarketingunleashed.com
Shop: shop.petmarketingunleashed.com
Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/unleashedpetpreneurs
Instagram: @petmarketingunleashed
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
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Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
website, people, pet, clients, dog, business, photos, brand, seo, talking, design, research, platform, colors, marketing, thought, service, wix, realize, copywriting
SPEAKERS
Collin, Mikaela Vargas
00:17
Hi, I'm Megan.
Collin 00:18
I'm Collin. And this is pet sitter confessional,
00:21
and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter
Collin 00:25
brought to you by time to pet and pet perennials. 2020 has definitely taught us a lot of things in business. And one of those is the extreme importance of having a healthy, robust online presence, from making a first great impression to communicating our services. Well, having a website is really fundamental these days. So that's why we're so excited to have mckaela Vargas, owner of pet marketing unleashed on to talk all about websites, some of their best practices, some of the things that we should all be implementing and what the road forward looks like, with websites and how to make them work for us, and not against us.
01:03
So let's get started.
Mikaela Vargas 01:05
Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here very grateful as well. So thank you. My name is Michaela, like you just said, I am the founder of pet marketing unleashed. It's a company focused on helping pet burners build modern and as stress free as possible pet businesses through web design, content writing, and now actually education. So I'm just kind of focused on you know, the stress is so real in the pet industry, especially right now. So it's been my goal to really try and use design and content to work is kind of like a two birds with one stone kind of philosophy, helping your marketing and online presence, but also in a way that helps you in your stress levels. So
Collin 01:40
we're gonna be talking about design today. So I did want to talk about one of the cool designs that you have is your logo. So could you tell us the story behind that and about mags? Yeah, so
Mikaela Vargas 01:50
Maggie was my like childhood dog. And she was just like, talk about like, soul families and things like that. I mean, we were just so connected. And she was just my best friend. And she was inspiration for starting my business. And it's kind of one of those dreams that all of us dog lovers have where we want to give, you know, give your dog the backyard they deserve. And we never want to leave their side and you know, go to work and things like that. And so she was kind of that pup for me like, Okay, I need to change things, and how can I be home for her. And unfortunately, she actually ended up passing like, like two months after I started my business. But I still wanted to kind of take that passion forward from her. She loved living life. And that's kind of what I hope to bring and continue in my own life and the lives of my clients and community. You mentioned there about the the passion that you're bringing into this and kind of your your why for getting started in this. But
Collin 02:41
what what's your background in marketing and website design?
Mikaela Vargas 02:45
Yeah, it's kind of funny, because I actually went to college, when I first started as a biology major. In order to be a vet one day, that's kind of like the standard a, I want to work with animals, let's be a vet. And I very quickly realized that I did not like science, I wasn't very good at it. So I think it was like two or three weeks into the course I'm like, oh crap. And so I ended up switching to business with an emphasis in marketing. And originally it was just because I thought it was a safe, responsible choice. You know, business is a fairly popular path. And so I went that direction. But while I was in college, I was actually also working at a pet resort. And once I graduated, they realized, Oh, you you graduated in marketing, can you please help us because at that point, I was just working, you know, with the animals and caring for the animals. And so I ended up helping them with their marketing. And you think that I would have you know, connected that right then but I still didn't, I ended up working more in like data and business and that sort of stuff. And then I ended up getting dysplasia, which is kind of funny, because that's something that people typically only think happens to dogs. I got the hip dysplasia, too. So I ended up just kind of being on a couch for about a year, I had three different surgeries. And at that point, when considering going back, I was like, I just don't want to do this. How like how can I you know, create something I never thought I was the entrepreneur type just because you think that you know, you need to invest a whole bunch of money and, and go into debt and take out a loan and like all this stuff that I just didn't think that I would ever want to do. And I didn't I thought that was the only path to entrepreneurship. But then when I was you know, working with the pet resort, and I realized how much I loved it and then they also had me do their website for them at that point. I had just been doing like social media and things like that. And then I did their website and I'm like this is seriously so fun. I was like why not bring together my education and then my skills with my love for animals and it kind of just grew from there
Collin 04:46
organically. Oh, that's really cool. I mean, not not necessarily that the hip dysplasia that's not cool. But But no, but the way that you just kept finding more and more ways to merge your passion with things that you were really interested in a And we're able to help and benefit other businesses too.
Mikaela Vargas 05:02
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it was kind of my I thought I was not going to be able to work with animals because I thought though, for some reason, the only path to do that was, you know, the most common or whatever is to be a veterinarian. So it was nice to be able to come come back to that and create something a little bit more unique.
Collin 05:18
Sure. Now thinking back about since you know, since you started doing that, and one of the things that I know about the web websites and internet is that things are constantly changing. So what's been one of the biggest changes, as far as website practices or best practices that you've seen?
Mikaela Vargas 05:33
Yeah, there's a decent amount there, I think it used to really just be a place to kind of showcase your own service, like, Hey, this is what this is what I do, just to kind of let people know that your business exists, it is very information and text heavy. And now it's just it's way more than that. It's more about connecting and resonating with potential clients. But it's also a way to really streamline and scale your business, which is super awesome, it can do a lot to work for you. And I think kind of taking advantage of the power of that is what's really changed over the years, kind of, as you mentioned, the shift from just displaying information to actually making it do work for your business. Absolutely, and making sure you're reaching out to the right people, and not just you know, pet owners in San Diego, for example, it's really a lot more than that.
Collin 06:18
One of the things that I see an awful lot with pet businesses specifically is they don't have a website. And they just think that a website, a Facebook page is is enough, and it's actually a replacement for a website. What are your thoughts on that?
Mikaela Vargas 06:31
No, don't do that. I think you know, with Facebook, number one, I mean, what you're putting out there on your Facebook page, you know, for example, posting on your Facebook, it gets seen by an insanely small percentage of people. And it's, I think the highest that you might get is maybe 10% of the people that follow you, which is very low percentage of even the people who are already in your network following you. But not only that, I mean, if if you're like, you know, someone asks for, hey, how can I reach out Where's you know, where's your website, and you send them a Facebook link. It's not, you're not showing yourself as a professional, legitimate business. And I think something that gets missed here, where a lot of people don't realize the importance of it is because they're not necessarily seen. They're not seeing the midst of business. But if they knew, you know, basically, you know, for example, a lot of the millennials, which are the majority pet owner, they're doing research online. And using platforms like Google to search for things, and researching before they're making purchase decisions. So imagine all those people who searched in your area and didn't see your business, because all you have is your Facebook page. So if you actually saw that, you know, that correlation and saw the missed business, I think there'd be more important than there to to get the website.
Collin 07:43
Yeah, that's something I wasn't even thinking about was the analytics and the power that you have to see. How long was somebody on my site? What was the first thing they clicked on? After they got to my landing page and look at some of those conversion rates? Dude, if you just have a Facebook page, you're totally missing out on all of that.
Mikaela Vargas 08:00
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's so much power to a website. So that's definitely Yeah, for sure.
08:06
So what are the options for for getting a website? Yeah,
Mikaela Vargas 08:09
I, especially if you're getting started, you can definitely what I recommend is using an easy to use platform. So doing some research into ones like Wix or Squarespace or potentially even show it, um, depending on your design skills, just because those ones are pretty easy to use. There's no coding involved, you can do coding, but you don't have to, to get a website up and running. So when it comes to, you know, for example, selecting a platform, there's a lot of decisions going kind of going back and forth between like web designers will kind of prioritize and say no, you can only use this platform, this is one is the best, this one's the best. But really from from Google itself, they say it doesn't matter so much the platform you're using as much as basically going in and being able to edit your website, upload content, so the quality content, your website is more important. So what I recommend is kind of doing a little bit of research into the different platforms and which one appeals to you. In terms of ease of use price, like whatever it is, and then going from there, I use Wix for my own website, and majority of my clients websites, just because it's so much easier for them to maintain. And if they are not maintaining their website, so if you have a WordPress website, and you have no idea how to go in and edit it, your website's left stagnant, and that can affect your SEO. And, you know, blogging, obviously is so powerful. So if you're not, you know, able to go in and do that yourself, you're really missing out. So that's definitely where I recommend getting started as researching platforms, there are also templates that you can purchase, I would just be a little bit wary of those depending on your business, because a lot of times you don't have full ownership of them. And then you end up paying, you know, upfront costs, and then a decent amount for monthly fees and you don't really have the control to edit and grow it in the future. So I know that templates can be a great options for people who don't really have the budgets to or the time to really invest in all of that things. So that's one thing Actually hoped to roll out pretty soon, hopefully in the next year in my business also is to create templates that people can edit and maintain and grow in the future because they will own them, own them and be able to have full control over that. And then also, you know, learn how to create their own website. And then lastly, you can also get it professionally designed.
Collin 10:18
Now, there's templates, you know, that was something that I was thinking, as you were saying that, so you buy this template, but who's to say that it's going to be supported down the road, or what kind of features they are going to roll out if new practices come out? Or maybe you want to change it a little bit. So I love you know, glad you said to be careful, or at least cautious of what you're bringing into and what you're basing your entire website on. And at the end there, you did say, you know, or you could could hire. So what are some pros and cons of do it yourself versus hiring. Yeah,
Mikaela Vargas 10:47
I don't like to have like a one size fits all here. So I mean, it really kind of depends what path you're choosing, you know, what choosing what your skills are, and all that. So I mean, if you if you really trust your design skills, you have the time and energy to dedicate to quality photography, investing or learning about like the science of copywriting, and you already have branding already, then I don't see why you can't dry your website. And if you kind of trust your skills there. And obviously you'll you know, you'll learn as you grow. But there are also plenty of reasons why hiring designer can be extra helpful. And we typically spend a lot of time researching and educating ourselves on best practices, or you know, the pet industry specifically, but also just website best practices, we ourselves have a lot of practice, I mean, this is what we kind of do all day long. And then outside perspective can really help so that you're focusing on your clients. Because a lot of times for you know, pet business owners, especially when they come to me, too, they will kind of just say, Hey, I really like this color, I really like this, but it's not necessarily the colors or the organization, you know, whatever it is about your website, branding, copywriting, all of it, it may not be what resonates with your clients, and it's just your personal preferences. So having the ability to kind of separate that is what a designer can really help you do. And kind of just get it done in less amount of time. You know, if you don't have the design skills, you need to create yourself. And that takes a lot, it's going to take you a lot longer to get where you want to be whereas a designer can kind of come in and and already know what, you know, what could be best for you.
Collin 12:20
Yeah, yes, that Do you have a desire to? Do you have time to do you have the skills to be able to do that, and just doing an honest assessment of that. And, you know, you mentioned of, you know, designers going to be able to know, you know, what things are going to work. And that and that was a question that just popped into my head here was, when we talk about website design, many times we go after our own personal preferences, and what we like to see, when we're when we're making a website, what kind of features of a website are gimmicky versus actually effective, or important to have?
Mikaela Vargas 12:52
Yeah, and that's, you know, kind of along the same lines, kind of finding that fine line between what resonates with you and what you want on your website versus what your you know, business and your audience would resonate with, you know, little things like, you know, a lot of people like to use, like stock photography, that are like, I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but like, it's like the jack Russell with a white background, and things like that, that you might think are really cute, that that make you smile, but you know, it can come off as very tacky. Depending on what kind of business that you have. For example, if you're like a luxury, or high level, Premier, exclusive dog walker, you're not going to want those things on your website. So I think basically taking the time to understand the difference between what you want on your website, versus what would be best practices is kind of, you know, finding that fine balance between those things and doing the research and what your clients are looking for.
Collin 13:48
Yeah, because you know what, that's about theirs. That's about trying to get the best first impression, or the client that you want. So it sounds like you got you have to take that step back and go when I'm working on my website, who is my ideal client? And what kind of design is going to speak to them and is going to give the best possible impression?
Mikaela Vargas 14:07
Absolutely. I think it was something and I could be butchering the number here, but I think it's like 50 milliseconds or something before people make judgments about your brand. And so if they're coming onto your website, you have a very quick timeframe to reel the people in that you want to reel in.
Collin 14:24
Oh, that's, that's scary. What kind of things are what kind of Is there a science to that to capturing Attention Attention on a website? That's, that's not icky or or not? I guess what I'm trying to say here is like that that's not abusive of somebodies attention, but it's actually the best practices for capturing attention.
Mikaela Vargas 14:45
Yeah, I mean, I, again, I don't think that there's kind of like a specific answer I can give here just because it will depend on the business. So really, what you could you know, what you could think about is whether the AI follows on your website. So that I will typically follow a z format on your website. So we'll start in the top left, go all the way over to the right, and then kind of go, hopefully people can understand what I'm saying go all the way to the right, top right corner, and then it goes down in that slant design like a z. So that's kind of where the natural eye follows. So if you can kind of appeal to people at the top, that's typically why people have logos in the top left corner. And then over onto the right side, there's, you know, maybe a call to action like a book now. And then they go down. And that's where you have your headline banner. So that's kind of why that's a, that's a mainstream thing, too. That's where the natural eye follows. But in general, to kind of quickly capture audiences, I think my biggest advice there is to just realize, again, kind of going back to who you want to serve, because the goal isn't to appeal to your whole community of pet owners. It's to appeal to your specific audience and demographic of who you want to work with, whether it's small dog owners, whether it's dogs with reactivity that you want to work with senior pets, whatever it is, and then specifically, putting that onto your website. So one of the first things they think is wow, this person is speaking to me directly.
Collin 16:07
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Mikaela Vargas 16:57
Yeah, I think I mean, there's definitely, there's so many different ways that you can really go about doing this. One of the easiest ways, especially if you're already an established business, is going about actually communicating with them and asking them what they want to see. So surveying your audience, can really give you a lot of really good feedback and a lot of themes for what they want to see. And then also just researching Little things like the color of the science of colors. So what kind of feelings Do you want them to feel when it comes to your website? Is it trust that typically would be more like a blue color? So kind of going into the science of color, I think is the kind of like the first step because I think that's the one that really gets people thinking. And it's kind of interesting to kind of learn, you know, all of these kind of things like, Whoa, I didn't realize that there's this huge science behind color, and the color psychology and what people will feel and coming across your website. So. And it really goes down into specifics like that, whether it's color, whether it's coffee, so What language are they using? And can you use that in your website, things like that? I hope that answers your question.
Collin 17:56
It does, it touches on all of these little facets that once you've decided on who your client is, and what kind of feelings you want them to have when they visit your website, or what kind of feelings they may have when they're trying to come to your website. And in matching the colors to meet those and guide them through your booking experience, or however you're wanting to have them leave you so they have a good experience and they grab their attention. Absolutely. You mentioned it a little bit earlier about the changing of websites from just displaying information to actually doing work for your business. So how does having a website save save me time?
Mikaela Vargas 18:35
And that's a great question, because that's something that that's my big focus in my business, again, is figuring out how to not only have a great website, but how can we get it to do work for you. And when done properly, it can really do a lot for you. It's almost like having your own sidekick, your own marketer, your own assistant. So when done properly, again, what it can do is weed out clients you don't want to work with, which is really nice. And that's kind of where I talk about finding a specific niche, you know, who do you want to work with specifically, so your website can weed out those clients that aren't the right fit aren't in the right demographic, maybe aren't in the right zip code for you. You can answer frequently asked questions that potential clients may have as well as current clients, you can outline your booking process, in order to avoid kind of back and forth email communication. You can get people set up in your system while you're sleeping or out on a dog walk. And you can also market your business, whether that's through blogging, or articles, all sorts of things that you can do for your website.
Collin 19:33
Again, it's it's the things are going on in the background while you're not having to attend to them. And they're able to sometimes kind of take care of themselves and find what they need without having to grab your attention.
Mikaela Vargas 19:45
Right and walking them through the process in the way that you want them to go through your website is key to making that happen.
Collin 19:52
What's a good way to guide a client through that process?
Mikaela Vargas 19:55
Yeah, so I think what what can get you started in this process in this method of doing it Just kind of write down your client process. So in an ideal world, what would it look like? Where would it start? Would it start with them booking a service with you immediately? Or does it start with booking a meet and greet? does it start with creating an account or just calling you like, what does it look like from there? What you do is is basically, okay, how can we make this easier on the website? How can we walk them through the steps of this and getting things as automated as possible? Once you outline everything that's included in what you do from your client process from the beginning to end? From there, you can begin to optimize it. So for example, something that takes a long a lot of times for people is they email back and forth, Hey, can we set up a call? Are you available this day? No, I'm available, you know, and going back and forth. So something you can do there is if you don't already have you know, a CRM or something like that is get something like calendly.com, it's free. And that way, you can insert that link into your website, for people to book a call. And then you don't have to go back and forth, and they can set it up automatically. So you know, on your calendar, oh, look, I got, you know, three calls tomorrow for potential new clients. So basically taking that long list, optimizing it, and then on your website, you're outlining them through the process of how you want them to go. So you can do this through, for example, a booking process page, which I really love for that I do on client designs, is basically saying, hey, step one, step two, step three, with the link, so they know exactly what they need to do, and what it's like to work with you do they even want to go through this process. Because if they do, then they're probably going to be really good clients. And they're already kind of, they've dedicated and invested already their time into OK, this is what I want to do. This is where you know, the next steps I'm going to take, the
Collin 21:41
client gets to decide if they want to work with you. So remembering that this can all be a filtering process on both sides like this, as you clearly lay out these steps, some people are going to look at that and go, Oh, there's three steps to this, or let me go do something else. You might not want to work with that person, right? You you want to make it as clear and straightforward as possible. So that when people are contacting you, they're actually, you know, people that you want to be working with,
Mikaela Vargas 22:05
right? And then that just kind of reminded me to something I wanted to add is realizing because I think a lot of times this can scare people, they're like, Well, no, like, I want all the people reaching out to me, but at the same time in order for your business to grow in the way that you want it to grow. And for you to be happy and fulfilled in your business, you're going to want to work with this specific client, like I think that's something I try to, you know, drill drill at home a lot is you don't want to work with every single pet owner in your community, because number one, you're not going to get them anyway. Number two, the pet industry is very saturated, there are hundreds and hundreds of dog walkers just in San Diego. So basically, what you would want to do is find the people you want to work with and separate yourself so that you are, you know, an elevated experience for a specific
Collin 22:52
audience. And when you bring all of these components together, the website, the colors, the layout, the process, it's an easier way to get those people booking with you.
Mikaela Vargas 23:05
Exactly. And I mean, that's kind of like the fine line to between selecting, you know, figuring out your branding and how it's way more than you know, just a logo. And then combining that with website best practices to kind of really reel in the people you want to work with and make your you know, website, be everything to you know, it's like a central hub for everything in your business.
Collin 23:24
Earlier you said the word copywriting and it's we have to differentiate that from the other copywriting. What are you talking about with copy and copywriting with websites? Yeah, so
Mikaela Vargas 23:36
the copy is essentially the text on your website, but its purpose. And this is what separates it from maybe like content writing in general, you know, if you're just writing content for your business, that's one thing, the difference with copy is that its purpose is to strategically guide your clients where you want them to go or to kind of help them go through the purchase decision. So you're basically it's like the selling copy for lack of a better word. So how are you strategically getting them, really the men and making them want to work with you. And I really think it's, it's honestly a very underrated portion of your website. It's easy to you know, love the design aspect, because, you know, it's fun to you know, pick out colors or add photos to your website, but I think copywriting is such a missed component for a lot of people and I don't, I don't think the value is you know, people don't see the value of it just because you know, it's like, oh, why can't I just say, Hey, I'm a dog walker in San Diego and kind of just run with it. But there's really a lot to copy that's very, very, very valuable for SEO for resonating for really everything
Collin 24:37
that you talked about that that key step to converting into a sale or a booking like you I feel like you could have the best designed, laid out website in the world. But if you don't have you know, you've got to fill it with words right? You've got to fill it in talk about yourself and tell about your services and those kinds of things. And that's where it sounds like this really plays in is these these thoughts of of how people are going to book with you and their perceptions of you and the attention that they have on your website really boils down to what you have there, and how well and the the kind of process that it's been written through.
Mikaela Vargas 25:12
Right. Absolutely. And I mean, that's something too, I mean, there's so much to copywriting that that would be like, a whole separate episode. But something you know, really quickly that I just thought of, too, when we are talking about resonating with your audience in a really quick tip for everybody listening is when you have your copywriting on your website. So if it's on your main banner, or even on your about page is to make sure that you're speaking to your audience so that your your text basically in your website shouldn't be like we offer this, we're the best. This you know, whatever it is, stop using the word we are I and use the word you so that you're speaking directly to them. So they feel like oh, my gosh, they're, you know, speaking to me, this is exactly who I want to be working with.
Collin 25:54
What a little shift. But such a huge difference in the perception of the relationship between you and your client, or the absolute potential client, right? When you shift that of like, we were up here in our little tower come to us versus I'm having a conversation with you right now about your needs. That's that's a much deeper connection and draws that attention and keeps them there longer.
Mikaela Vargas 26:18
Yep, absolutely. And it's just another way to differentiate yourself too, because like, you know, like we just talked about, there are dog walkers and pet sitters everywhere. And if you're going to websites, and they're all just saying, Hey, we're the best, you know, premier dog walking in San Diego and premiere, you know, whatever it is, yeah, they get what service you offer, they know that you offer dog walking, but how are you different? And how are you going to help them in whatever pain points or experiences they're having?
Collin 26:44
Earlier, you alluded to some of the stats and the kind of people and clients that are searching or for websites, dive into that a little bit more and talk about the importance of having a website and how it helps people find us.
Mikaela Vargas 26:57
Yeah, you know, this kind of just goes back to when we talked about the millennial, as the majority pet owner, the first thing they like to do, when you know, potentially purchasing or booking services, is they do research online. So if you are not there, you're not even going to show up as a possibility. So having that online presence is key, especially for those who are doing research before purchasing. And I think, I don't know the exact stat, but I think it's about 70% of consumers learn about a business through a blog. And obviously, that's done through your website. So that is the key thing, especially when you're you know, hitting into Google, whatever type of content you're writing, if it's, you know, on your blog for, you know, I love the blog posts, like pet friendly guides to your town, so people are searching for, you know, pet friendly restaurants in San Diego, and you show up as the results, they're going to be seen that sort of content there. And that's how you kind of increase in terms of web traffic, when people searching things, and then they're able to find you online through that method. And again, kind of going back to what we previously talked about, if I found a business on social media, like this is just me speaking, if I found a dog walker on social media, oh my gosh, how cute, I love them. And I went to go Google them to find their website. And there was nothing there, I immediately move on to the next business. And I think, again, people forget that because it's not necessarily in their face, they don't see, they don't see me as a missed person, because they don't know that it happened. But there's a lot going on behind the scenes where you're losing out on business. If you don't have that online presence there.
Collin 28:26
I do the exact same thing of Oh, great. Look, somebody is here, look what they're offering go, you know, search them on Google, no website. Okay, next person, because I'm looking for a lot more there. You mentioned earlier about the professionalism, the dedication, all these kind of things go into that. And the website just allows for a much greater display of information and personalization that you can't find on a Facebook page. And so it really kind of cuts that experience out. And I know just against being for me personally here, I move right along and find somebody who has a website so I can do more research about them.
Mikaela Vargas 28:59
Right? Absolutely. We are very impatient. And we're skimmers so I mean, even just the thought of for as millennials and maybe this is me, but I know a lot of people feel similarly is if they don't have a website, but I know their phone number. I'm not gonna call them and ask them for the information that I could get on the next dog walkers website.
Collin 29:22
Right. Yeah, and that's, that's the that's making sure that you're it allows you to have that information out there easily accessible, easily found. And on that, like that's kind of getting into some of the some SEO talk. I know, that's not the focus of what we're doing here. But, you know, when you're talking about putting content out there is SEO, just having content or what's a little bit more about that?
Mikaela Vargas 29:47
Yeah, that is funny. That is like a whole separate because about I think we got like 30 different podcast episodes going. Basically with for SEO, some of the different ways that you can you know, very quickly Kind of boost your SEO yet number one, and I think the best method, because a lot of people will have a website design and then they don't go in and update the content. And that is one of the worst things you can do for SEO, if your website is left stagnant, there's no way for it to really increase in traffic. So uploading blog posts are a great way to do that. Your copywriting can also incorporate so not only do you want to resonate with your audience, but you also want to use you know, certain keywords. So, it's not bad to basically you still want to say, hey, what are the keywords dog walking San Diego, you still want to incorporate that in your website, and things like that, that people would be searching for dog walker, puppies, you know, whatever it is, those are keywords that you want to include in your website as well. And just some other little tips quickly for SEO on your website is to go in and make sure like, for example, your images that you upload on your website, you can go in and click on the settings for those images. And make sure that you have some text in there for your keywords. So again, having an in describing an image, but also saying hey, like, you know, dog walker, walking down, you know, whatever x neighborhood in San Diego or something like that, so that you can describe the image, but in a way that also appeals to your SEO, and those are things you can do on all images on your website as well.
Collin 31:22
And on the images, you know, I was curious about how we should be changing those if at all, for website speed, is there is there a certain settings or certain format that we should be using for our photos when we're uploading them to our website,
Mikaela Vargas 31:37
um, when it comes to speed on your website, and in terms of specifically for images, depending on what you're uploading it from. So it depends, because I know like the phones right now they have like new image formats like a gic. I don't even know why that's why that's a thing. But there's new image formats, what you want to do is convert your images to JPEGs. And then depending on your website platform, they'll have a recommended file size that they'll want you to have for your website. And if you don't have that, if you have very large images, and it doesn't necessarily This is kind of hard to explain. But however big your photo looks on the website doesn't really tell you what the file size is. So you can still make the file size a little bit smaller. And you can still make the image larger on your website, if that makes any sense. So just basically how many pixels and how much space it takes up in terms of the file size of the photo. And as far as the tangible chip there, I would just go to your website platform and see what their optimal file size is. And then just make sure that it's also in JPG format.
Collin 32:41
All this talk about how to have a good website? What's the difference between having a bad website and no website at all?
Mikaela Vargas 32:50
That's a really tough question. And it's funny because it's probably something I can actually argue both sides. So I mean, I could say it's just better than nothing to get something up and going you have you know, you have something going back at the same time. If it's really that bad, you can turn a lot of people away. So I guess my argument or my you know, answer here would probably be don't have a bad website. But you know, basically, instead of you know, if you're not a great designer, but you don't have the budget at all, to you know, get help for it, then what I would recommend is really taking that extra time to research a little bit into best practices, get some inspiration. Obviously, don't copy other websites, but get inspiration for certain features that you like and don't like, how you resonate, like basically go through websites and use them organically and see how you go about, you know, what buttons, you click on first? And why that sort of thing, and then take that into your website. So in that regard, I'd say having the website is better. But just make sure you take the extra time to do a little bit of research so that you're not turning people away.
Collin 33:55
Yeah, it's that yes, they found you. But now what do they think about you once they found you? And so that's where that kind of like, if you can't get found, they might not form an opinion about you. But if they do find you, they might not like what they see, right?
34:08
It's just battle.
Collin 34:13
on that, what are some things that we can do easy to implement on our website right now that would kind of take them up a notch or two?
Mikaela Vargas 34:21
Yeah, I think number one, making sure because it is the first thing that you see on your website is basically everything above the fold. So it's that first you know screen that you see when you come onto a homepage. So having a large you know, banner image, for example that has text on top of it. Make sure in that banner text that you say what you do and who you do it for. And be sure if your local pet business to include the location that's really great for SEO but also, there's so many times I've gone on pet business websites and it's a location based business like it's a dog walker or pet sitter and I have no idea where they're serving clients or photographers, whatever it is. I have no idea where they're located. So definitely make sure that you're putting that in there, and then also who you're doing it for. So it's not just for pet owners, I really recommend getting a little bit deeper into who you're wanting to serve. And then again, we kind of talked about this a little bit earlier, as far as copywriting making sure that you're speaking to them in your text on your website. Instead of just saying we do this, we do this. Because it's more than just the service you offer. It's really about the experience. Another thing is to make sure when we talked about that z that people go through, so when you go all the way to the right, I recommend having a clear call to action button. So that is basically the next step that you want a client to take with you. So if they decide they want to work with you, or learn more or anything like that, whatever the organic next step would be to work with you make sure you have a button that's very clear. And then kind of have that basically on every page on your website. And make sure that it's an action item. So you don't want it to be very vague, like, hey, if you want to learn more, click, click here, something like that you want to be like book now, schedule your Meet and Greet, get started, make it very simple, clear with an action item for them to know what to do next. And then next, make sure you have your booking process on your website. So whether you do this on your homepage, or if you want to have a whole page dedicated to this process, you want to outline the steps to working with you. So they know exactly what to expect. And they know exactly how to get started with you. Other tips, make sure you're including a photo of yourself on your about page because people will not work with you if they don't know who you are what you look like what you're all about. So make sure you're making that personal connection. And I forget the statistic on this, I just learned this the other day, that basically, that there's an insane percentage of, of trust factor that gets raised when you're able to make direct eye contact with somebody. So don't hide behind a dog or don't have sunglasses on in the photo, making sure that you're looking at the camera for people to really see you and build that trust factor.
Collin 36:53
And that's huge in this industry, when you're going into people's homes, taking care of, you know, members of their family and, you know, having a lot of responsibility in somebody's life, being able to just see somebody's eyes, because that's part of you know, we do that whether we mean to or not we determine, you know, is it does this person look trustworthy? To me? Would I be willing to let this person in my home to take care of my dog, like all of that happens, as you mentioned earlier, and really fast amount of time. And so just, it's uncomfortable, because many of us, you know, I have a face for podcasting. So it's hard to put the face out there onto the website, but they're gonna see you eventually, right, you're going to go to a meet and greet, you're going to run into them at some point. So get that out of the way and put your face out there. I did want to touch on something you mentioned about the kind of information that we should have above the folder on that first page before you have to scroll. I know something that I struggle with on on our websites, is that balancing a desktop experience versus a mobile experience? How do we walk that line with with optimizing a desktop experience of our website and the mobile usage as it's growing? Right
Mikaela Vargas 38:05
now? That's a great question. And that's something I highly recommend to you, when you are doing that research that we talked a bit ago in terms of what platform you want to be using, making sure that your platform has the ability for you to go in and edit the mobile version so that you are able to kind of customize those things. Depending on the platform, it really depends on what you can actually do. But making sure I think in general, as far as best practices is kind of simplifying the mobile version, just because when you bring it down to that small of a size, even if it is, you know, a mobile friendly version, it still needs to kind of be catered to what we see on the mobile, like, you know what we see on the screen. So just making sure that you're simplifying it, I think, while there are more phone, or like mobile views on websites, so people are typically looking at your website from their phone. A lot of times when they are actually making the purchase decisions, especially for something that's a service that's a little bit more involved, they will go over to desktop. So if there's something that you can only have on one, I would recommend having it on the desktop, and then just, you know, again, it depends on the platform for what you can include, like you can include maybe a note or something like that, like here's the process. But as much as you can include on mobile version I would recommend doing. So I hope that answers the question because it really depends on the platform for what you can really do with it.
Collin 39:26
Right? I know it does, because I know and as you mentioned, like that goes back to if you're going to go with a DIY really doing that research because some platforms, they automatically try and adapt everything to a mobile version. And you can't really change much about that. And if you change something there, it may also change it on the desktop side too. So it really is about knowing Okay, like what do I have control over? What do I don't and and at least trying to view it on mobile, if you can, if you have that ability with whoever you're hosting or whoever you're running your website through to get idea of what that experience is like as well.
Mikaela Vargas 40:03
Right? Absolutely, yeah. And that's something to while it can be a little bit more annoying, for example, on the Wix platform, because, you know, for example, okay, so with Squarespace, for example, it's very, it's essentially automated. So you can see exactly what it looks like. And there's not as much you can do with a mobile customization on Squarespace. But with Wix, you have a lot of room for customization, not as much as desktop. But you also need to take the time basically, if you are making, you know, large edits to your website, on desktop in Wix, you will need to go and make sure it looks okay on mobile, because it can kind of get all funky and messed up before you publish your changes. So again, while that isn't, you know, an added step, it could be really beneficial, because you have the ability to really kind of move things around and optimize it for mobile before publishing.
Collin 40:52
So we've have colors, we have branding, what are some best ways we can incorporate those into our website?
Mikaela Vargas 40:59
Yeah. So I feel like it's really easy to say, obviously, you know, include your branding, colors, your fonts on your logo, and keep all of it consistent, we kind of get that. But I think it really goes a lot deeper than that. And realize that the feelings you want your clients to feel, what you want to do is get to know the language they use when they're searching for your business, for example. So it's more than just, you know, incorporating what you're, you know, if say, you've got branding done, it's more than just incorporating your branding guidelines into your business. It's getting to know what they feel what they want to feel, what language do they use when they're searching for you? What language do they use when they're talking about, you know, their pain points in their frustrations. And then what are some ways that you can embody that throughout your website. And you can do this through use of photos for the use of coffee, or just like overall vibe. So for example, you're distinguishing between like, say an adventure brand versus like a luxury pet resort. For example, maybe for the luxury pet resort, we have, you know, dogs being pampered. As far as photos, we have a lot of whitespace, it's very clean, and like, you know, feels very high level, whereas the adventure brand, we have a lot more outdoor photos, and maybe some like more kind of rough in it, you can have more color and adventure, you know, that sort of vibe going through it. So again, it's more than just colors, fonts, logo, it's also the feelings. It's the overall vibe. It's the language we use to really encapsulate all that your brand is.
Collin 42:23
And I know I really struggle with the photo side of that of how does this photo fit or not fit with the branding that I want to come across or the feelings that we want people to have? Do you have recommendations on how people can walk through that process? I mean, I guess I'm asking for myself, how can I do better at picking good photos for my website? Yeah,
Mikaela Vargas 42:45
I think one thing to look at is the amount of light in your photos. So if you have a really bright brand, for example, making sure you have bright photos as well, like very light, you know, a lot of white space, a lot of room for that. And then as far as feelings and things you want people to experience if you're a more comfort, stress relief type brand, and having very calm animals in your photos, without help that so kind of, you know, I'm hoping through examples that kind of helps kind of portray that. But I think as far as you know, figuring out photos, I think it can be hard for people to understand I'm talking about if they don't have the photos themselves. So two things I recommend there. Number one is getting stock photography. And you can get great free stock photography on websites like unsplash.com or pixabay.com. But you know, my recommendation for that, again, isn't just to search for dog or cat. But really try and figure out like, you know, if you are that outdoorsy brand, selecting ones that are more like dog on a hike or dog in mountains, or dog and mud or whatever it is to kind of take the extra step to find photos that not only encapsulate those feelings, but maybe incorporate some of the colors. So if your colors are blue, and then dogs wearing a blue color, things like that can really, you know, the extra five minutes it takes to find photos like that, it really can make a huge difference. And if you do have the ability to invest in brand photography, I highly, highly recommend that and I think that can like as a web as a designer, when clients come to me and they already have like branded photography, I'm like, Oh, right, like this is gonna be an easy design because it's, it seriously makes such a huge difference.
Collin 44:22
That basic level there of just thinking about what kind of services do you offer? And then what kind of photos reflect that and the feelings that you want a customer to have. I love that example of if you have an a big adventure, hike based based business and all of your photos are dogs sleeping on couches, and in white linen rooms, doesn't exactly evoke what you want customers to perceive that your business does.
Mikaela Vargas 44:45
Exactly. So I mean, especially when you are niching down your business to specific You know, when we talk about like that relaxed dog, especially when you're looking at like your dog has a lot a lot of reactivity or has a lot of energy and it's like a puppy, you know Puppy and all that sort of thing, then having those relaxing photos because that's what they want so badly. That's where you know peeling through your website and having those feelings of like, yes, this is what I've been searching for. It's so powerful. I mean, photos evoke emotion. And that's really really a powerful way to increase your website branding and effectiveness.
Collin 45:20
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Mikaela Vargas 46:44
Yeah, that's a great point. And I kind of go back and forth on this because I know there's a lot of web designers who talk about having a huge video at the forefront instead of the text. Whereas I feel like the text really helps with SEO and the video can potentially sometimes slow down your website speed as well, depending on how long it is. So I definitely think having you know a video maybe a little bit lower, and giving them the option to watch them not. So making sure it doesn't play automatically. So that you have the ability to choose what they want. As far as best practices for videos when it comes to, for example, sites load time speed, I do recommend if it's longer than even like a minute or two to actually upload it to YouTube. And typically with your platforms, you can enter the link into your platform, and then it'll produce the video to where it looks like it's in your website. So you don't have to like link to youtube.com. To do this. It'll say you know, YouTube in the little corner, but it looks like it's on your website. And then that doesn't take up space on your website, as if you were uploading a video directly to your website. I definitely think videos are something that's really increasing, especially on like, you know, social media and things like that. But I don't think you absolutely have to have a video on your website. And in fact, most of my client websites don't have videos, or if they do again, we have that option for them to watch it or not. Because as you're realizing who your audience is, certain people like to watch videos on websites, or not, because a lot of times when we're scrolling on social media, we don't want a huge, you know, loud video popping up on our, you know, screens, especially, you know, it's similar to social media, a lot of times people are, I think it's the majority of people are listening to stories, or I'm sorry, are not listening to stories, they just want the captions on the on the stories. Because they don't want that loud noise, you know, coming in, and all that sort of stuff. So just kind of realizing who your audience is, and if they want to hear from you. or giving them the options that they're not forced to watch the video.
Collin 48:44
Because sometimes it can be hard to tell what exactly is this video going to tell me? And if I'm a new client coming to a website, I may see Oh, you've got a two minute video here. Is that going to tell me how what your prices are? Or is it just going to be a montage of dogs running through the grass or on a walk or getting, you know, pet and fed? So I can see how that would go? Is it? How much is it increasing the user experience of your website versus informing them versus slowing down and versus the SEO portion and trying to balance all of those as best you can?
Mikaela Vargas 49:17
Right? And then you know, kind of piggyback off that it's again, looking back to the millennials, we are pretty impatient. We want answers immediately. So do we want to walk through, you know through this whole video when it's taking maybe twice as much time to get the information that I could just read really, really quickly if I kept scrolling? So just kind of realizing, again, that user experience how can you get them the information that they want? faster and easier? Is that through video? It could be but it also
Collin 49:44
could not be? Well, yeah, you talked about ease of finding information. I know for me many times I'm doing quick research online on web page, and I'll hit Command F because I use a Mac or Ctrl F and just try and find a keyword on that website to see if it's there. And if it's not I may hunt around for just a little bit more, and then I'm jumping out, I'm going somewhere else to try and find what I'm looking for.
Mikaela Vargas 50:06
Absolutely, I do that same thing to you. And that's something I obviously not necessarily specific to websites. But for blogging, that's something I'd definitely recommend is breaking up your, your blog posts and giving them the answer they want. You know, while in an ideal world, we want people to read every single word of our blog posts, because it's that good. Really, they're, for the most part looking for a very specific answer. So if you allow them, you know, by bolding certain words, or underlining or having had, you know, sub headers and things like that, they'll be able to go exactly where they need to go and get the answer and be very grateful to your business rather than being like, I can't read through all this. I'm going to the next website.
Collin 50:41
I will I will say I think recipes are do the have the most egregious against this, where you're like, how do I make pasta and you find that the first hits or someone were like, well, in high school, I went to Tuscany, and you're like, no, nope, nope. Nevermind, move on, move on. Right.
Mikaela Vargas 50:57
Yeah. It's so funny. I think the same thing to you. And I think a lot of is for SEO as well, why they really do that. But yeah, and it's especially when you're clicking away from like all the ads, and it takes forever to load because there's so much on their websites. That's something I definitely super annoying. But typically, they have those still that little button that says jump to recipe. Yeah. And then you can go immediately down. So you're still kind of directing them you you know, you're still like, Alright, thanks, whoever this blogger is, thank you so much, because I got to the website quickly still, because you told me I could?
Collin 51:27
Yeah, so that again, the thing, it's not that you if you want to tell those stories, if you want to have that information there, you can just make it accessible and easier for people to skip it if they don't necessarily want to read through all of them. So thinking about what is going on right now in the world of website design, and internet technologies. What's got you really excited? Yeah,
Mikaela Vargas 51:47
I think just going back to what your website can be used for, I think, you know, as we see, you know, social media and marketing in general kind of evolving, it's really coming down to connections and engagement community. So I think it's really powerful once we realize I know can be really intimidating and overwhelming, like, why does the website have to be this complicated? Like, why can't it just be, here's my phone number and contact me. But if you kind of get out of that mindset and kind of focus on like, wow, I can really, really connect with the people that I want to work with and grow my business from that place. It's so powerful, and it's so good. And I think that that's something that's really coming forward, especially as there are, you know, more and more pet sitters and more and more dog walkers, it's become a very saturated market. So we're really going to need to connect, and your website's a beautiful place to do that. And I'm just really excited about the different ways and in terms of technology and integrations. And all of that is the ability for people to finally harness the power of what your website can do for you. Because you know, whether it is integrating your schedule, or your people to book a call, whether it's incorporating your, your software to your website, there's so much to it, to where you can really get your website working for you and marketing for you and building, getting new clients and optimizing the people that are coming to your website. It's really just such a beautiful experience. And I see that coming more to the pet industry, as well as again, fostering that human connection.
Collin 53:17
Yeah, knowing that if you want some functionality there, it's most likely they are whether through a plugin or download and really thinking through about what you want to be able to do. Because it's probably you're probably able to do it with your website.
Mikaela Vargas 53:31
Absolutely. And that's kind of something that you can figure out too, because I think a lot of people don't realize what you can do. So I think how to, you know, basically figure that out, again, is to go through, write out in extreme detail your whole full client process, write down all the things that are stressing you out in your business, what are the things frustrating? And what's taking longer than it should? And then from there just doing research, like, Can I book calls on, you know, for, you know, online, and then figuring out Oh, yeah, okay, I'm going to go to calendly.com put a link on my website for people to schedule a call if they want to schedule a call with me. So there's little things like that, I'm going to answer questions that people ask me all the time in the form of a blog post, like there's so many things that you can do to help you save time and optimize your website.
Collin 54:11
Yeah, and I think right now, I we did get a question from our one of our Patreon members, Jennifer, that about the topic of websites and website design, and one of her questions pertains to kind of what we're talking about right now. So she asked about what are ways you know, if my one of my goals for my website is to drive sales, right, and to get bookings? What are some good things that I should be doing to get sales out of my website?
Mikaela Vargas 54:38
Yeah, that's a good question. I think, and this kind of goes backwards and probably isn't the clearest answer that she would want. And that's the same thing I will argue as well with social media and all sorts of marketing platforms is honestly providing value to them. If you provide such an extreme amount of value to them, basically for free, from there, they're going to Essentially, essentially convinced to work with you. So it's not just, you know, of course, there are little things you can do like having that clear call to action button like book now will increase conversions because of the fact that it's on there. But it's more than that, because you can't just have a website, all it says is book now and then you know, they're not going to be convinced. And so while you can incorporate little, you know, little things like having those clear, you know, call to action buttons, I think what it really comes down to is providing value and providing connection with them first, especially for the pet industry, because it's so based on trust and that connection, because they're not just going to trust anybody to you know, watch their dog for them. So I think really, what it boils down to is connecting with them, building the trust factor providing value, and it's something that I like, especially for, like dog trainers, for example, a lot of them are very hesitant to give away training advice for free. But essentially, the more value you can give away for free, the more in return, they're going to be like, well, if they're giving this information away for free, I can only imagine what they could do for my dog in a one to one setting. And that's kind of the same thing I want to put out there for all types of pet businesses. So providing as much value as possible without the actual service, obviously. And then from there, you can kind of build that trust, and people are going to be more likely to commit.
Collin 56:18
Yeah, as you were talking, I was envisioning the same thing of just a white website with a big red button in the middle that says book now. And and what we're trying to do is we're trying to go from the somebody saw that they would go, why would I book now, what you're saying is build content, put out information, solve needs around that button, so that when it comes time to click, instead of asking, why would I they asked, why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I book with this person look with all that they've done? I know them I know, they know what they are talking about. This is the only option that I that I should be going with.
Mikaela Vargas 56:58
Exactly. And something I want to add to especially when you say that's the only option that I really recommend for a lot of pet care providers, even if you're already established, you can still start to do these things is to really figure out how you can separate yourself from the industry, especially since there are so many pet care providers out there. So I recommend, don't be afraid to be bold, take chances niche down and be personal. So if again, if you've been really or like if you have a certain type of animal that you love working with, like if you love working with older dogs, or dogs with diabetes, or whatever it is the fact that you're able to pull that into your website, and say, for example, there's a pet owner, say I have a dog with diabetes. And I'm worried because I need a dog walker or pet sitter for a vacation that's coming up. And I need to find somebody I can trust that knows how to handle diabetes, there's not gonna be a lot of websites out there that say that. So if I came across a pet sitter that said, I love working with dogs with diabetes, I'm working with you, like there's no other option. So I think really getting deep with what, who you want to work with, because those people are going to be willing to commit to you easier. And while you might be excluding certain other groups you're going to be working with the dogs you want to work with, you're gonna be working with the clients you want to work with. And it's going to be an easier sell, because they already know that that's what you offer.
Collin 58:15
Well, it's going to be an easier sell to them and to you because I don't know I've had this experience before leaving a meet and greet going, Oh, is that is that the person I want to work with? There was this there was this thing about them I didn't really like and they said this thing. I don't, maybe maybe not. But going through this process of designing your website, again, acting as a filter, not just a funnel, we're also filtering people out that we don't want to be working with so that by the time they click book with us, that relationship, that trust is there on both sides, and each of you are going to have a much better experience on the back end. Oh, absolutely. I
Mikaela Vargas 58:50
mean, it's it's even like less distressing questions. It's more loyalty, they're not going to be you know, selecting other purposes, depending on who has the you know, best deal right now or, you know, it's going to be about loyalty. And it's going to be an easier sell. It's going to be easier on you easier on them easier on the dog.
Collin 59:06
What about some things on the on the horizon that you see coming down? The Internet pipelines? What are some things that we should be looking out for as far as changing best practices or anything along those lines? I think
Mikaela Vargas 59:20
the biggest thing, especially as we do see so many pet care providers coming to the forefront there's and I think a lot of people are worried in terms of like competition and like how do I sit, you know, separate myself, I think it is about niching down, I think that there are unique services coming as far as Hey, I don't just provide dog walking and pet sitting. Like there's I don't know if you've heard of like my dog camp. There's, you know, different styles of service services that are coming out like enrichment walks or dogs, you know, walking for dogs with reactivity, like there's other things that people are starting to really finite services so that it's not just dog walking and pet city next training Well, you know, serving multiple purposes for their specific needs. So I think kind of making sure or realizing that that's I think that's what's going to be common is those more specialized services. So maybe whether that involves getting additional training or figuring out what you want to do or who you like to work with from there. I know this isn't specifically for website practices, but it really is a whole piece of it, because that's what people are going to be searching for in Google, for your website to show up on so figuring out where you can kind of expand your expertise or your differential ability to provide care for animals.
Collin 1:00:37
We, as you said, like linking that back to the website, it's, it's okay, the services in the pet care industry are changing. And the way people are searching for them is also changing. So how do I make sure my website communicates to the people I want to be working with the services that I offer and why I'm the best fit,
Mikaela Vargas 1:00:56
right and not just, you know, saying, Hey, I offer dog walking and pet sitting in San Diego on your website, you really, you know, boiling down to a specific reason, or whether if this specific feeling a specific service, a specific type of dog you're working with whatever it is getting more specific. And don't be afraid to expand from there, I know it can, it can kind of feel like you're putting yourself in a smaller window of opportunity, but it also really expands it again. So don't be afraid to kind of take away from appealing to all pet owners in a particular area and really dig deep to who you want to work with. Because that's going to be how your business can really grow in the way you want it to
Collin 1:01:37
mckaela Thank you so much. I have loved this conversation from start to finish. And I have lots of notes for things that I know, Megan, and I need to start doing and thinking about our websites. So and there's just so much involved here. But there's just a lot that we have control over to I think that's one of my big takeaways is just the personal agency that we have to think about the power of our website, and to start making it work for us so that we can be running the business that we want to be doing. I know there's a lot of other questions around this. So how can people best get in touch with you and follow along with your work?
Mikaela Vargas 1:02:13
Yeah, thank you so much. Yeah, this is a very fun conversation. I love talking all things websites, it's my my nerdy thing. So it's been really fun. If people want to find me, you can go to www dot pet marketing unleashed calm. I also have a Facebook group called unleashed pepper and wars. And that's full of other pet industry entrepreneurs looking to, you know, improve their websites, improve their marketing, or just connect and ask questions. even outside of that realm, I also have my Instagram, which is at Pitt marketing unleashed. And my link that I have in my Instagram bio, also links to, I have some things like a freebie on it's a little guide for seven website mistakes and how to fix it. So it also walks you through how to actually get some of these things fixed on your website, and step by step tangible ways as well.
Collin 1:03:02
Awesome. Thank you so much, again, for coming on today. mckaela.
1:03:05
Thank you so much.
Collin 1:03:07
I think when we step back and start viewing our websites as a way to connect with our clients, to engage with people, and then to build community, we start viewing them as something really, really powerful for our business. 2020 showed us that there is a need for connection, there's a need for community. And as interesting as it may sound, our websites can help give that to our community to our clients, and bring that and make that a part of our business. viewing our websites as nearly a posting board for information, hours operation and for prices is one thing to do. But to take it to that next step to really start engaging with our clients, we need to take into some consideration of who our clients are, what kind of colors speak to them and how they are going to navigate it. I know that's really hard for me because I know how I use websites. And that's not necessarily how my clients use them, though. And that's really important for us to remember, as we move forward. And as the years continue to change and as technologies change as well. We really want to thank our sponsors for this week's episode timed pet and pet perennials. Check out the links in the show notes to get access to those discount codes. We also want to thank you for listening to our episodes for sharing for commenting for engaging and help being a part of the conversation that everybody needs these days. Again, thank you so much for listening, and we'll be back again next week.
