How to Write a Great Kennel Listing That Pet Owners Actually Click On
Getting listed on a directory is the easy part. The part that most boarding businesses underestimate is what happens once the listing is live. A half-finished profile with one blurry photo and a two-line description will sit there doing very little. A well-put-together listing will actually bring in enquiries.
The gap between the two is not about having a more impressive facility or more years of experience. It comes down to how well you communicate what you offer to someone who knows nothing about you and has three or four other listings open in other tabs.
Here's how to make yours the one they choose.
Start With Your Description and Write It for the Reader
The most common mistake in a boarding business listing is writing a description that talks about the business rather than speaking to the person reading it. Sentences like "We are a family-run kennel established in 2009 with a passion for animals" tell the reader very little that is actually useful.
A pet owner looking for boarding has a few specific questions running through their head. Is this place nearby? What animals do they take? Will my pet be safe and well looked after? Can I actually contact them and get a booking sorted?
Your description should answer those questions quickly and clearly. Something like: "We offer licensed dog and cat boarding in [town], with individual kennels, twice-daily walks and regular updates sent to owners during longer stays. We're fully licensed by [local council], rated 5 stars, and accepting bookings year-round." That tells a reader everything they need to know in two sentences.
Write for the person who knows nothing about you, not for the person who already knows and loves your business.
Be Specific About What You Actually Offer
Vague listings attract vague enquiries or none at all. The more specific you are about what you provide, the more confidence a potential customer has that you're the right fit for their pet.
Think about including things like:
Which animals you board. If you take dogs, cats and small pets, say so. If you only take dogs, say that too. Someone searching for rabbit boarding doesn't want to waste time contacting a kennel that doesn't offer it.
Your capacity and setup. Do you have individual kennels? Shared spaces for dogs from the same household? Indoor and outdoor areas? A separate cattery wing? These details matter to owners who are weighing up options.
What a typical day looks like for an animal in your care. How often are dogs walked? Do cats get time outside their pen? Are there any enrichment activities? This kind of detail is what turns a browsing pet owner into an actual enquiry.
Your licence details and star rating. Mentioning your council licence and star rating explicitly in your listing builds trust immediately and shows you have nothing to hide about your compliance status.
Any extras you offer. Grooming, medication administration, collection and drop-off services, daily photo updates. If you do these things, say so. They are often the deciding factor for owners comparing two otherwise similar listings.
Photos Make or Break the First Impression
When a pet owner opens your listing, the photos are what they look at first. Before they read a single word, they have already started forming an opinion based on what they can see.
You do not need professional photography. You need clear, well-lit, honest photos that show what your facility actually looks like. Here is what to include as a minimum:
The kennel or cattery spaces themselves, showing the sleeping area and any outdoor runs or exercise areas. These should look clean, spacious and well-maintained.
Outdoor areas where animals are exercised. A secure garden, a yard, a field - wherever pets spend active time during their stay.
At least one photo of the people behind the business. A photo of you or your team with an animal creates immediate warmth and makes the listing feel human rather than corporate.
If you have permission from owners, a photo of a happy dog or cat during a stay can be very effective. Real animals in real situations are more convincing than any marketing copy.
Avoid dark, cluttered or poorly framed photos. If your current photos are not doing the listing justice, taking ten minutes on a bright day to retake them with your phone will make a noticeable difference to how often people click through to enquire.
Keep Your Contact Information and Availability Clear
This sounds obvious but is surprisingly often where listings fall down. A pet owner who has decided they want to get in touch with you should not have to work to find out how to do it.
Make sure your phone number or email is clearly visible. If you accept booking requests through the listing, make sure that is obvious too. PetPortal's directory listings allow pet owners to send a booking request directly through the page, which removes the friction of having to find your contact details and compose an email from scratch.
If there are periods when you are fully booked or closed, mention that in your listing or keep it updated. An owner who sends a booking request for dates you cannot accommodate and hears nothing back is unlikely to try again.
Reviews Are Part of the Listing Too
On most directory platforms, your reviews sit alongside your listing. They are often the thing a potential customer looks at immediately after your photos. A listing with ten recent reviews at an average of 4.8 stars will consistently generate more enquiries than an identical listing with two reviews or none.
Getting reviews onto your listing requires the same approach as getting Google reviews. Ask satisfied customers after a stay, make it easy by sending a direct link, and make a habit of doing it consistently rather than in occasional bursts.
Responding to reviews on your listing also matters. A brief, genuine response to a positive review shows prospective customers that there is a real person behind the business who cares about the service they provide.
Keep It Updated
A listing that was set up a year ago and never touched since sends a subtle signal that the business is not particularly active or engaged. Listings that are updated regularly, with fresh photos and current information, tend to perform better in directory search results and give visitors more confidence that the business is genuinely operating.
Set a reminder once every couple of months to check your listing, update any information that has changed, and swap in a new photo or two. It takes fifteen minutes and makes a real difference to how the listing comes across over time.
The Listing Is Your First Impression
For a significant number of new customers, your PetPortal listing will be the first thing they ever see of your business. It is your chance to communicate not just what you offer but the kind of business you are: professional, attentive, trustworthy, genuinely good with animals.
A listing that does all of that well does not need to be long or clever. It just needs to be clear, complete and honest. Get those things right and the enquiries will follow.