Getting more people to discover your pet business is usually a good thing. More people finding you on Google, seeing your Instagram posts, or visiting your website should create more opportunities to win customers.
But what happens when those people never book?
It's a question I run into fairly often working with pet businesses. Owners are investing time and money into getting their name out there, but they aren't always looking closely enough at what happens after somebody finds them.
That was the central idea behind From Scrolls to Bookings: A Pet Business Marketing Crash Course, a webinar I presented with Charlotte Perrott of Canine Marketing Support, hosted by MoeGo on October 27.
Charlotte focused on helping pet businesses get discovered through social media. I picked up the conversation once a potential customer was interested enough to visit a website, learn more about a business, and consider booking.
We also had the opportunity to review real websites and social media accounts submitted by attendees.
One thing that became pretty clear throughout the session was that getting somebody's attention and earning their business are two very different challenges.
Getting discovered is only the beginning
Charlotte made an important point early in the webinar: most people scrolling social media aren't actively looking for a grooming appointment or daycare facility.
They're looking at things that interest them, entertain them, or help them with their pets.
For pet businesses, that means the content that gets somebody to notice you may be completely different from the content that convinces them to book.
Charlotte walked through relatable, helpful, and trending content, along with how to create stronger hooks that catch the attention of the right pet parents. She also looked at what happens when somebody visits your profile after seeing that content.
An Instagram Reel might get somebody interested in your grooming business, but if your profile doesn't clearly explain where you're located, what you offer, or how to get started, that interest might not go anywhere.
The same thing can happen on Google.
A pet parent might discover your boarding facility through a search, read several positive reviews, and click through to your website. That's progress, but they still have questions about the facility, how their dog will be cared for, and what they need to do before making a reservation.
It's easy to focus on getting more views, clicks, or website visitors. Those things have value, but they're only part of the picture.
A real example of where bookings get lost
During the webinar, I shared an anonymized example from a conversation I'd recently had with an established pet business operating multiple retail locations and grooming salons.
One of its grooming salons wasn't operating at the capacity the business wanted. We also learned that online booking wasn't a particularly common way customers scheduled appointments. Most were still booking by phone or text.
Now, that alone doesn't mean there's a website problem. Plenty of customers prefer talking to somebody, especially when they have questions about their pet.
But I wanted to understand what the experience looked like for somebody who was interested in booking online.
So I started where a new customer might: Google.
The business was discoverable. Its Google presence included reviews and other information that helped establish credibility. If I were a pet parent looking for grooming services, I had enough information to consider clicking through.
That's where things started getting more complicated.
Instead of arriving somewhere that clearly explained the grooming services available at that location, I landed on a broader location page. I had to look through navigation menus and other pages before eventually finding the grooming information and a link to the online booking system.
The business already had online booking technology in place. Customers could use it.
Finding it was the hard part.
And that's an important distinction.
A motivated customer might keep searching until they find the booking link. Another might give up and call instead. Somebody else might return to Google and look at another groomer.
We didn't have evidence to tell us how many people were doing any of those things, or whether the website was responsible for the salon's capacity challenges.
What we could see was that the business was making interested customers work harder than necessary.
Before recommending that the owner spend more money bringing people to that website, I'd want to make the existing booking experience easier.
What I would fix before spending more on marketing
When I'm reviewing a pet business website, I tend to look at four things: trust, clarity, speed, and convenience.
They're useful standards for understanding whether a website is helping somebody become a customer.
Trust means giving pet parents enough confidence to choose your business. That might come from reviews, photos of your team, examples of your grooming work, or an explanation of what a dog's first boarding stay looks like.
Clarity means making it obvious what services you offer, where they're available, what they cost or how pricing works, and what somebody needs to know before booking.
Speed means the website loads and functions properly, particularly on a phone.
Convenience means that when somebody is ready to contact you, request an evaluation, or schedule an appointment, they can figure out how to do it without unnecessary effort.
These overlap quite a bit, and I don't think every website needs an extensive project addressing all four at once.
In the example from the webinar, I'd start with clarity and convenience.
Make grooming easier to find on the relevant location page. Explain the services and any requirements. Give visitors a clear path into online booking.
Then evaluate whether those changes make a difference.
Are more people starting online bookings? Are more completing them? Are the same basic questions still coming through by phone?
Those answers can tell us much more about what to improve next.
What stood out during the live webinar
One of my favorite parts of the MoeGo session was getting to look at actual businesses rather than only talking about hypothetical examples.
Charlotte and I reviewed attendee-submitted social media profiles and websites, pointing out opportunities to make their businesses easier to discover, understand, and book.
Charlotte identified opportunities around social profiles, searchable location information, content hooks, and links. On the website side, we looked at what visitors saw before scrolling, how clearly services and service areas were explained, and how easily someone could move toward booking.
The feedback afterward suggested those practical examples were useful.
Fourteen attendees completed the post-webinar survey, and all 14 rated the session either very valuable or extremely valuable. Five selected the live website and social media feedback as the most helpful part of the webinar.
When asked what they planned to improve, respondents mentioned moving calls to action higher on their websites, adding customer reviews, improving website speed, simplifying booking, and experimenting with stronger social media hooks.
I liked seeing that range of answers because those are manageable changes. You don't necessarily need to rebuild your entire website or overhaul your marketing strategy to improve one part of the customer experience.
Of course, a survey of 14 respondents doesn't tell us what every attendee thought, and intended changes aren't the same as measured results. But it was encouraging to see owners identifying specific things they wanted to work on.
Watch the full MoeGo webinar
There's quite a bit more to the conversation than I can cover in one article.
In the full recording, Charlotte shares examples of the social media content and hooks that can help pet businesses reach the right people. I walk through the booking example in more detail, including the actual path through the website. We also review attendee websites and social profiles live, so you can see how we'd approach identifying improvements.
If you run a grooming salon, daycare and/or boarding facility, or another pet-care business, I'd encourage you to watch it with your own marketing in mind.
From Scrolls to Bookings: A Pet Business Marketing Crash Course. Hosted by MoeGo on October 27, 2026, featuring Matt Aldrich of Pet Engine Marketing and Charlotte Perrott of Canine Marketing Support.
One thing you can check on your own website today
You don't have to wait until you're ready for a full website redesign to start improving the experience.
Take five minutes, grab your phone, and try to find and book your own business as though you've never heard of it.
Start with a Google search for a service you offer in your area, or use the link in your Instagram profile. Look at the first page you reach and ask yourself whether a new pet parent can easily understand what you offer, where you operate, and what they should do next.
Then follow the path toward booking.
Don't take shortcuts because you already know your website.
Pay attention to where you hesitate, where something seems unclear, or where an extra step feels unnecessary.
You might find that a small change to your navigation, service information, or booking buttons would make the experience considerably easier.
And if you discover that the issue starts even earlier, with how people find your business on Google, that's worth investigating too.
At Pet Engine Marketing, we offer a free Local SEO Audit that can help you understand how your business appears in local search, including your rankings, Google Business Profile, reviews, listings, and website SEO.
It's a useful place to start if you want a clearer picture of how discoverable your business is before deciding what to improve next.
