How to Get More Customers as a Pet Boarding in Perth

Introduction

Most pet boarding businesses in Perth still rely on word of mouth to fill kennels. A referral from a happy customer, a recommendation at the dog park, a vet who sends people your way. That worked a decade ago. It doesn't cut it anymore.

In 2026, 97% of customers search online before choosing a local business. That includes pet owners looking for somewhere safe and reliable to leave their dogs, cats, or other animals while they travel. They're typing "pet boarding near me" or "best dog kennel in Perth" into Google, reading reviews, scanning websites, and making a decision — often within minutes.

If your business doesn't show up in those searches, you lose that customer to a competitor who does. It's that simple.

The good news? Getting found online isn't rocket science. It takes the right setup, consistent effort, and a clear strategy. This guide walks you through exactly how to get more customers as a pet boarding in Perth, step by step. Whether you run a boutique cattery in Fremantle or a full-service boarding facility in Joondalup, these strategies apply.

Average pet boarding rates in Perth sit between $40 and $80 per night. Even a handful of extra bookings each week adds up to serious revenue over a year. Let's get into it.

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TL;DR

• This is a step-by-step guide to getting more customers as a pet boarding business in Perth.
• We cover Google Maps optimization, local SEO, reviews, content marketing, AI search, and tracking results.
• Average pet boarding job value: $40–$80 per night — a few extra bookings per week can mean thousands in monthly revenue.
• You can do most of this yourself, or hire a specialist like us at Searchmaxxed to handle it for you.

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Step 1: Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most important free tool for driving phone calls and bookings to your pet boarding business. When someone searches "pet boarding in Perth," the map results (the Local Pack) appear before any website listings. If you're not showing up there, you're invisible to most potential customers.

Here's how to set it up properly:

First, go to business.google.com and claim your listing if you haven't already. If your business already appears on Google Maps, you can claim ownership and verify it through a phone call, postcard, or email — depending on what Google offers you.

Once you're verified, fill out every single field. This matters more than people realize. Choose your primary category as "Pet Boarding Service" and add relevant secondary categories like "Dog Day Care Center" or "Kennel" if they apply. Write a detailed business description that includes what you offer, the suburbs you serve, and what makes your facility different. Mention Perth specifically.

Upload high-quality photos of your facility. Show clean, spacious kennels. Show happy animals. Show your staff interacting with pets. Businesses with more than 20 photos get 35% more clicks than those with fewer, according to Google's own data.

Set your service area to cover the suburbs you actually serve. Add your hours, phone number, website URL, and booking link. Enable messaging if you can respond quickly.

Post updates weekly. Google Business Profile has a "Posts" feature that most businesses ignore. Use it to share seasonal offers, new services, photos of happy boarders, or tips for pet owners. It signals to Google that your listing is active and relevant.

Finally, make sure your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are identical everywhere online — your website, Facebook, Yelp, Yellow Pages, and anywhere else you're listed. Consistency here directly impacts your local rankings.

For a deeper dive into local map rankings, check out our guide on local SEO for pet boarding in Perth.

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Step 2: Get Your Website Ranking for Local Keywords

Your Google Business Profile gets you into the map pack. Your website gets you into the organic results below it. Ideally, you want to show up in both. That gives you two chances to capture every searcher.

Start with keyword research. The primary term you want to rank for is "pet boarding in Perth." But don't stop there. Think about variations real customers actually type:

• "Dog boarding Perth"
• "Cat boarding near me"
• "Pet kennel Joondalup"
• "Overnight dog boarding Fremantle"
• "Luxury pet boarding Perth"

Each of these represents a potential customer with their wallet out.

Build dedicated service pages. Don't cram everything onto your homepage. Create separate pages for each core service — dog boarding, cat boarding, puppy care, long-term stays, and so on. Each page should target a specific keyword, include relevant details about that service, and have a clear call to action (phone number, booking form, or both).

Create suburb-specific pages. This is a strategy most Perth pet boarding businesses miss entirely. If you serve Scarborough, Wanneroo, Rockingham, and Midland, create a page for each. Title them something like "Pet Boarding in Scarborough" and include suburb-specific details — driving directions, nearby landmarks, how far you are from that area. This helps you rank for dozens of long-tail location searches.

Make sure your website loads fast, works perfectly on mobile, and has your phone number clickable on every page. Over 60% of local searches happen on smartphones. If your site is slow or clunky on a phone, visitors bounce and book with your competitor instead.

Our full guide on SEO for pet boarding in Perth covers on-page optimization, technical SEO, and link building in much more detail.

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Step 3: Build a Review Generation System

Reviews are the modern version of word of mouth — except they're public, permanent, and massively influential. A pet boarding business with 80 five-star reviews will always outperform one with 12 reviews, even if the second business provides better care. That's just how consumer psychology works online.

Here's how to build a system that consistently generates reviews:

Timing matters more than anything. Ask for a review at the moment of peak satisfaction. For pet boarding, that's pickup day — when the owner arrives and their dog is happy, healthy, and excited to see them. That emotional high is your window.

Create a simple process. After each stay, send a short text message or email within two hours of pickup. Something like:

"Hi Sarah, we loved having Biscuit stay with us! If you were happy with his care, we'd really appreciate a quick Google review. It helps other pet owners find us. Here's the link: [your review link]"

You can find your direct review link inside your Google Business Profile under "Ask for reviews." Use it. Making the process one-click easy triples your response rate compared to asking people to search for you on Google and find the review button themselves.

Don't be afraid to ask in person, too. Train your front-desk staff or kennel handlers to mention it casually during pickup. "We'd love a review if you get a chance" is natural and non-pushy.

Respond to every review — positive and negative. Thank happy customers by name. For negative reviews, respond professionally, acknowledge the concern, and offer to resolve it offline. Potential customers read your responses just as carefully as the reviews themselves.

Aim for a minimum of two new reviews per week. Over a year, that's 100+ fresh reviews — enough to dominate your local competition.

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Step 4: Create Content That Attracts Customers

Content marketing isn't just for big brands. For a pet boarding business in Perth, publishing helpful content on your website does three things: it improves your search rankings, builds trust with potential customers, and answers the questions people are already asking.

What should you write about?

Think about the questions pet owners ask you every day. Those questions are being typed into Google right now. Turn each one into a blog post or FAQ page:

• "How to prepare your dog for boarding"
• "What to pack for your pet's boarding stay"
• "How to choose a safe pet boarding facility in Perth"
• "Signs of a good kennel vs a bad one"
• "Is pet boarding stressful for dogs?"

Each of these topics attracts pet owners who are actively researching boarding. They land on your site, read your helpful advice, see that you know what you're talking about, and then book with you.

Create seasonal content too. "Pet boarding over Christmas in Perth — book early" or "School holiday pet care: your options in Perth" targets high-demand periods when bookings spike and competition for attention is fiercest.

You don't need to write a novel. Posts of 800–1,200 words that genuinely answer a question outperform thin, generic content every time. Include photos from your facility, real examples from your experience, and a clear next step at the bottom of every post — a booking link or phone number.

Consistency beats volume. One solid blog post per week is more effective than publishing ten posts in January and nothing for the rest of the year.

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Step 5: Optimize for AI Search (GEO)

Here's what most Perth businesses aren't thinking about yet: AI search engines. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Copilot are increasingly how people find and choose local businesses. When someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best pet boarding in Perth?", you want your business mentioned in the response.

This is called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and it's the next frontier of local marketing.

AI models pull their recommendations from structured data, reviews, website content, and mentions across the web. To improve your chances of being recommended:

• Have a well-structured website with clear service descriptions, location information, and schema markup.
• Build a strong review profile across Google, Facebook, and industry directories.
• Get mentioned on third-party websites — local pet blogs, Perth business directories, news articles, and community forums.
• Publish authoritative content that AI models can reference when answering pet boarding questions.

We wrote a dedicated guide on GEO for pet boarding in Perth that explains exactly how to position your business for AI-generated recommendations. It's worth reading if you want to stay ahead of competitors who haven't caught on yet.

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Step 6: Track Your Results

You can't improve what you don't measure. Once you've implemented the strategies above, set up basic tracking so you know what's working and where to focus next.

Key metrics to watch:

• Google Business Profile Insights: Track how many people viewed your listing, clicked for directions, called you, or visited your website. Google provides this data for free inside your GBP dashboard.
• Phone calls: Use a call tracking number (services like CallRail or even a dedicated Google Ads forwarding number) to count how many calls come from your online presence.
• Form submissions and online bookings: If your website has a booking form, track submissions monthly.
• Keyword rankings: Monitor where you rank for "pet boarding in Perth" and your other target keywords. Free tools like Google Search Console show this.
• Review count and rating: Track your total reviews and average star rating monthly. Set targets.

Review these numbers monthly. If calls are increasing but bookings aren't, you might have a phone handling issue. If traffic is growing but calls aren't, your website might need a stronger call to action. Data tells you where to focus your energy.

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When to Hire a Professional

Everything in this guide is achievable yourself. But let's be honest — you got into pet boarding because you love animals, not because you love tweaking meta descriptions and chasing Google reviews.

If you're stretched thin running daily operations, hiring a specialist makes sense. The question is when.

Consider DIY if: You have a few hours per week to dedicate, you're comfortable with basic tech, and your competition isn't fierce yet.

Consider hiring help if: You've tried DIY and your rankings haven't moved, you're in a competitive suburb, or you'd rather spend your time on animal care and operations.

At Searchmaxxed, we work specifically with local service businesses across Perth. Our packages range from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on how aggressive you want to be. That typically includes Google Business Profile management, local SEO, content creation, review strategy, and GEO optimization.

For a pet boarding business averaging $55 per night, you only need 10–15 extra bookings per month to cover your marketing investment entirely — and everything beyond that is profit.

Want to see what a tailored strategy looks like for your boarding business? Get in touch with our team for a free audit.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can pet boarding businesses get more customers online?

Optimize your Google Business Profile, build a review system, rank your website for local keywords, and create helpful content that pet owners search for.

What's the fastest way to get more calls as a pet boarding?

Fully optimize your Google Business Profile. Most businesses see increased calls within 30 days of proper setup and consistent posting.

How much should I spend on marketing as a pet boarding?

Allocate 5–10% of revenue. For most Perth boarding businesses, that's $500–$2,000 per month for meaningful results.

Is Google Ads or SEO better for pet boarding?

SEO delivers better long-term ROI. Google Ads works for immediate visibility. The best strategy combines both, starting with SEO as the foundation.

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Ready to stop relying on word of mouth and start filling your kennels consistently? Talk to Searchmaxxed today about a local marketing strategy built specifically for pet boarding businesses in Perth.