Figures<\/a> show that pet lovers in the US spend an average of $1,201 per year on dogs and $687 per year on cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As that graphic demonstrates, there are myriad ways to spend money on pets, from pet food, vaccinations, and insurance, to luxuries like grooming, training, and accessories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means there are lots <\/em>of opportunities within the pet industry, which means there are plenty of reasons to start a pet blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on, and we\u2019ll look at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start with the most obvious point:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you start your own blog, you\u2019ve got the chance to make money online by promoting a bunch of pet-friendly products and services, all while writing about a subject you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a pretty sweet gig, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, you\u2019re not going to earn a full-time income from day one. It\u2019ll likely be months before you start seeing a return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But lots of website owners earn money from their hobbies. If you put the work in, there\u2019s no reason why you can\u2019t join them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lots of people have started blogging to raise the profile of their existing businesses, and the pet industry is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From dog walkers to cat groomers to parrot elocution tutors, all types of pet businesses can benefit from a little blog-based promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting a blog can help you generate more website traffic through search engine optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just find some relevant keywords, create content to target them, and hey preto \u2014 you get more traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And more traffic means more leads and sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only that, but pet blogging gives you another avenue to make money online from your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you run a pet business, you\u2019re likely using a bunch of pet products already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So why not join an affiliate program or two, then promote those products to your target audience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time someone clicks your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (N.B. we\u2019ll talk more about affiliate marketing later in this article, but for more in-depth information, check out our guide on <\/em>how to become an affiliate marketer<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, pet bloggers aren\u2019t just in it for the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re a dog lover, a cat parent, or a pigeon fancier (look it up \u2014 they exist<\/em>), the biggest motivation to start your own pet blog is likely the fact that you love pets<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so do lots of other pet owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a pet blog can be a fantastic way to build a like-minded community of fellow pet fanatics who can support one another with advice on things like pet health and training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could even use it to promote and raise money for your favorite pet charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It makes sense to do a little competitor research before starting your pet blogging journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that in mind, we\u2019ve rounded up three successful blog examples from the pet niche and taken a look at what makes them tick:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Walkin’ Pets blog<\/a> is run by Handicapped Pets, which sells equipment for dogs, cats, and other animals with physical disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsurprisingly, the blog itself is geared toward educating owners of disabled pets, such as explaining the practicalities of dog hip braces<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of its pet blog posts incorporate calls to action for specific products that are sold via the Handicapped Pets online store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Walkin\u2019 Pets also publishes lots of community-related content, often aimed at finding a new home for disabled rescue dogs and cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dog Food Advisor<\/a> is a classic example of an authority site<\/a> in the pet industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By honing in on a specific niche and creating a wealth of high-quality content, it\u2019s built a valuable resource for dog owners that brings in more than one million organic visitors a month:<\/p>\n\n\n The site publishes a wealth of informational blog content covering important topics like the harmful toxins to avoid in dog foods and the best ways to identify quality pet food brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, its real meat and drink (no pun intended) is around commercial content identifying the best dog food brands across multiple sub-niches \u2014 such as the best raw dog foods and the best foods for small dogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n GoPetFriendly<\/a> describes itself as America\u2019s \u201cfastest-growing pet-friendly travel planning platform,\u201d with its audience using the site to plan hundreds of thousands of outdoor adventures every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can imagine, its blog focuses on providing pet travel tips, like the best locations to visit with dogs, or road trip ideas for pet owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like Dog Food Advisor, a lot of this content is monetized through affiliate marketing. For instance, its article on the best GPS dog trackers<\/a> features affiliate links to products on Amazon and has its own Amazon store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GoPetFriendly also sells advertising space on its site via the Mediavine ad network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Catster<\/a> is the online version of the longest-running print publication for cat lovers. Although it recently discontinued its print magazine, the website continues to offer top-tier advice on cat health, food, behavior, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They also have an extensive glossary of cat breeds<\/a> that readers can use to identify and learn more about their pet cats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The blog is monetized with display ads through Raptive. Their navigation menu also has links to a bookstore, but it doesn’t appear to be live yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve covered the reasons for starting a pet blog and looked at a few real-world examples of folks who are already doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, we\u2019re going to spell out nine simple steps to help you launch your own pet blog without requiring a huge budget or tons of technical skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each pet blog we included in the previous section brings in at least 100,000 visitors a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What makes them so successful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, lots of things. A bunch of hard work, clever keyword research, a smart promotion strategy\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n But most of all, its because the website owners identified a strong niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than starting a generalist cat or dog blog, they honed in on a specific subcategory within the wider pet world \u2014 like caring for disabled pets, traveling with pets<\/em>, and choosing the best dog food<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits to this approach are huge: it allows you to tap into a readymade audience while also helping you generate website traffic without competing with huge, well-established sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you choose the right <\/em>niche?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start by defining your target audience. They could be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ideally, you\u2019ll have some interest and\/or expertise in your chosen pet niche. But it\u2019s not essential, and you certainly don\u2019t need to be a trained professional. Most bloggers simply write about their learnings and experiences from having their own pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a bit of luck, you\u2019ll have a bunch of potential ideas by this point. Some (or all) of them will likely be pretty vague, so now it\u2019s time to flesh them out into something more specific, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully, you get the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what if you\u2019re not feeling too creative? What if the perfect niche is eluding you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t worry; we\u2019ve got a couple of practical steps you can take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first involves using our favorite SEO tool, Ahrefs<\/a> (N.B. check out our <\/em>Ahrefs review<\/em><\/a> to see why we love it so much<\/em>). It\u2019s not free, but in our opinion, it\u2019s worth every cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Ahrefs, you can enter one of your fav pet blogs \u2014 say, Dog Food Advisor \u2014 then use the Competing Domains <\/strong>tool to find sites ranking for similar keywords:<\/p>\n\n\n A lot of those sites will be in different niches to your \u201cseed\u201d website, so click through them, see what they\u2019re doing, and use it as inspiration for your own blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alternatively, use the FeedSpot<\/a> database to find dozens of successful pet blogs, along with useful information about their social followings and blog post publishing frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n Again, the more pet blogs you look at, the more inspiration you\u2019ll find for your new site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blogging doesn\u2019t necessarily <\/em>mean starting your own website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are plenty of pet blogs on free blogging platforms like Blogger and Medium. In a lot of ways, those platforms are more convenient (and cheaper) than building a new site from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, you might not want to start a traditional, written blog at all. Why bother when there are so many influencers and vloggers finding success on Instagram and YouTube?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those are all good points (that\u2019s why we made them). But trust us: creating your own website is a much better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because it gives you a ton of routes to promote your pet blog and grow your audience, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it also gives you a ton of control over how your site looks, allowing you to create a recognizable brand that separates you from the competition and keeps your audience coming back for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, so starting a website is the best way to get your blog set up. But which platform should you choose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as we\u2019re concerned, there\u2019s one clear winner: WordPress.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n There are many reasons to choose WordPress.org as your blogging platform. For instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Why Start a Pet Blog?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Make Money From Your Love Of Pets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Promote Your Pet Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/what-is-affiliate-marketing-1024x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBuild a Community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Examples Of The Best Pet Blogs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Walkin\u2019 Pets Blog<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"walking](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/walking-pets-homepage-1024x480.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nDog Food Advisor<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"dogfoodadvisor](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/dogfoodadvisor-homepage-1024x542.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"dogfoodadvisor](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/dogfoodadvisor-traffic-1024x259.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nGoPetFriendly<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"go](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/go-pet-friendly-homeopage-1024x496.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nCatster<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Catster](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/catster.png\" "\\"catster\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n9 Steps to Start a Pet Blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1<\/em> Narrow Down a Pet Blogging Niche<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
![\"dogfoodadvisor](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/dogfoodadvisor-competing-domains.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"feedspot](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/feedspot-pet-blogs-1024x737.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n2<\/em> Choose a Blogging Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/wordpress-org-homepage-1024x636.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"pet](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pet-blog-domain-name-generator-1024x550.png\")
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