Hi, I’m William Milliken, the president of Swoop Scoop®, a 7-figure dog waste removal business. Over the years, we’ve perfected our marketing strategies, leading to remarkable successes. Our best month saw us gain 487 new pooper scooper customers, and we’ve generated over 10,000 leads with Facebook ads, accumulated over 500 five-star Google reviews, and service thousands of customers monthly. In this article, I’m sharing our top marketing channels with actionable tips and tricks to grow your pet waste removal business.
Here is a screenshot from our Sweep&Go account from last year’s spring rush (2023). As you can see, we generated close to 500 new pooper scooper clients three months in a row.
While Facebook & Google generated the most new clients for our business, I will also give you tips and tricks for maximizing referrals and using direct mail to build your route density.
Marketing Channels Reviewed in this Post:
- Facebook/Meta Ads
- Google Ads
- SEO
- Truck Wraps
Facebook Ads for Pooper Scoopers
Facebook ads have been a game-changer for our business Swoop Scoop® and has generated more leads than any other marketing channel. From 2021 – 2024 we have generated over 10,000 pooper scooper customer leads using this platform. Facebook ads solve a key problem for pet waste removal companies, which is there is still low industry awareness, and low search volumes on Google. By leveraging Facebook ads, you can get in front of dog owners who didn’t even know pooper scooper services existed in the first place.
Here is how you can leverage Facebook ads to achieve similar success.
Campaign Objectives:
Facebook ads, now known as Meta add, offer a variety of campaign objectives to fit various business goals. We found that using the “Engagement or Leads” objectives tend to generate the most business for pooper scooper companies. Awareness & Traffic objectives do have their place, but for most companies I would recommend avoiding those objectives when first starting out.
Targeting:
Meta ads offer a diverse range of targeting options. You can target prospects based on demographics, behaviors, interests, and even build custom audiences from your website or customer list.
Each market is different so you will want to test what targeting works best for your specific business. These are my top 3 favorite audiences to test.
- Dog Lovers/ Other Dog Interests
- Advantage + Targeting
- Lookalike Audience Based on Your Customer List
Targeting dog lovers with Facebook ads is straightforward and will send your ads to people who are more likely to actually have a dog.
Advantage+ is Meta’s new targeting feature that basically let’s the Facebook algorithm do it’s thing and seek out online users that are most likely to engage with your ad.
Lookalike audiences take your customer list and find other Facebook users with similar attributes to serve ads to.
Creative:
Having compelling creative that catches the eye is critical for the success of your pooper scooper Facebook ad campaign. Here are my top 3 tips for building a high performing FB ad for your dog waste removal business.
- Use pictures or videos of real people. Avoid stock images when possible.
- Use a call out – Toward the beginning of your ad, you will want to call out your ideal customer. “Attention dog owners in xxxx city”
- Add a promotion – Ads that have a special promotion almost always perform better than generic ads. Offer a free initial cleanup, $20 off, or even 25% off a customers first month when they sign up for recurring services.
Bonus Tip: Images that are taken with a phone tend to perform better on FB than professional images. They are more relate able to the audience.
Final Thoughts on FB Ads for Dog Waste Removal Companies
Facebook ads have proven to be an incredibly powerful tool for our pooper scooper company, allowing us to reach a highly targeted audience and generate a steady stream of leads. If you need more help setting up your Facebook ads for your pooper scooper company, you can check out the Poop Scoop Millionaire community.
There is a FB Ads course with step-by-step instructions, and walkthrough videos on how to set up your campaign, build custom audiences, and even has ad templates you can download and use for your own business.
Google Ads for Pooper Scoopers
Why use Google Ads for your pet waste removal business?
Google Ads allows you to target customers at the exact moment they’re looking for pooper scooper services. This precise targeting, combined with flexible budgeting and measurable results, makes it a powerful tool for growing your pooper scooper business. I love using Google ads in combination with Facebook ads as customers will often see your FB ad, then later Google your business and sign up for services directly on your website.
You can register for a Google Ads account here: https://ads.google.com/home/
How do Google Ads Work?
Google ads work on a live bidding system, and businesses pay everyone time someone clicks on their ad, regardless of if it results in a sale or not.
When you are setting up your Google ad account is is important to remember that Google wants you to get as many clicks as possible, because that’s how they make money, but you want as many conversions/purchases/phone calls as possible because that’s how YOU make money.
How to Reduce Your Cost Per Click?
You can reduce your cost per click on Google by increasing your ad Quality Score. Googles product is providing the best search results to users, so even though you are paying for each click, they would prefer to send users to the most relevant ad or website for that users’ specific search query.
Here are the three factors that make up your ad quality score:
- Expected Clickthrough Rate (CTR) – How often users see your ad vs how often they click on your ad.
- Ad Relevance: How closely your ad matches the intent behind a user’s search. (Pooper scooper may show intent to buy equipment vs pooper scooper service which shows the intent to hire a pet waste removal company)
- Landing Page Experience – How relevant and useful your landing page is to people who click on your ad. (Make your website about dog waste removal and make the information easy for people to process.)
Pro Tip: Make sure you are tracking conversions correctly, otherwise you could end up wasting a ton of money on Google ads.
SEO For Pooper Scoopers
SEO stands for search engine optimization, and is the process of making specific changes to your website and Google business profile to show up higher on Google.
Below is an image of what shows up on Google for the keyword phrase “Pooper Scooper Spokane”. The #1 placement in this image is the top spot on the Google maps listing, and the 2nd placement is the top spot on the organic listings. Both are achievable through SEO, however each of these placements works off a different algorithm.
One of the main contributing factors to our success is our strong SEO presence, as customers will see our ads on FB, or our truck wraps then google the service and ultimately end up signing up with us. When a potential customer completes a search for “pooper scooper Spokane” and gets these results it’s a pretty obvious choice for them on which company to hire. Swoop Scoop has more then 10x the number of 5-star reviews compared to any other company and ranks #1 on maps, and in the organic listings.
Ranking Higher in Google Maps:
There are hundreds of factors that go into both the maps & organic listing algorithms. Here are my top 3 tips for showing up higher on Google maps.
- Generate High Quality 5-Star Reviews (Don’t cheat the system!)
- Make sure your NAP is accurate online. (NAP = Name, Address, Phone Number) If you’re FB account has different information than your Google profile, Yelp profile, or other online directory it can hurt your rankings. Make sure you have accurate information on every online platform you use.
- Complete your profile – The easiest thing you can do to optimize your google map rankings is to complete your Google business profile. Make sure you fill out all your descriptions, services, contact information, and even make weekly posts and your chances of ranking will skyrocket.
You can register for a Google Business Profile here: https://www.google.com/business/
All new businesses will have to verify their GBP. Google used to send postcards to your business address, but now typically require a business verification video to list your business on Google. If you have issues getting verified, we have a Google Gold Level product specialist within the PSM community that can help.
Ranking Higher in Organic Listings
When it comes to SEO, I would prioritize your Google map rankings first, however optimizing your website to show up higher in the organic listings will help boost your business rankings on both algorithms.
These organic rankings will have revolve mostly around how optimized your website is rather then getting reviews, and filling out your GBP profile.
On Page Ranking Factors
On-page ranking factors refer to optimizations you make directly on your website. My top 3 tips for optimizing your website are:
- Include keywords in your page title and headlines.
- Write a minimum of 500 words of copy on each page you want to rank.
- Make sure your website loads fast and is easy to navigate.
The dog waste removal industry is not very competitive compared to other home services. I’ve seen companies literally change their headlines and page titles to say “Pooper Scooper Service + city” and they boost their rankings into the top 3 with just that simple of a change. As the industry becomes more competitive, or if you operate in a major metro area making sure the other SEO factors are dialed in are going to make a much bigger difference.
At Swoop Scoop we try to optimize for as many factors as possible regardless of the current market competition, so that we are well positioned in the future as the industry slowly becomes more mainstream.
Off Page Ranking Factors
Off page ranking factors typically refers to building backlinks to your website to boost your online authority.
What is a backlink? Backlinks are hyperlinks from other websites directing traffic to your site. Google views backlinks like votes. The more votes your website gets the more likely it is to rank.
Unlike a political election, not all the votes/backlinks your website gets are considered equal. If you get a link from a major authority like Forbes, USA Today, or another large publication, that link will carry significantly more weight then a link from your local dog groomer.
There are many service providers that can help you build backlinks to your site. If you want to do it yourself here are three methods you can try.
1. Guest Blogging
Guest blogging involves writing articles for other websites in your niche. It’s a win-win strategy: the host site gets valuable content, and you get a backlink in return.
2. Create Shareable Infographics
Infographics are a great way to present information visually. They are often shared widely, which can help you earn backlinks from various sites.
3. Leverage Local SEO and Directories
Local directories and review sites are essential for building backlinks, especially for a local service business like a pooper scooper.
Building backlinks takes time and effort, but with strategies like guest blogging, creating shareable infographics, and leveraging local SEO, you can significantly improve your website’s authority and search engine ranking. Start with these methods, stay consistent, and watch your pooper scooper business grow.
Truck Wraps & Branding
Truck wraps & branding was our 3rd best customer acquisition channel behind Facebook & Google. The interesting thing about truck wraps, is they actually help your other advertising channels perform better!
Pictures of our team standing next to a fully wrapped truck tend to perform better then any other type of image on Meta ads, and when customers see your truck out and about, they are much more likely to Google your name, or pooper scooper services in general.
Quick tips for Effective Vehicle Wrap Marketing.
1.) If you cant afford a full truck wrap, look at getting a partial half wrap, graphics only, or even car magnets. There is a solution for almost every budget. Keep in mind the average lifetime value for a pooper scooper customers is between $1,500 – $2,500 so these wraps can pay for themselves quickly!
2.) Keep it Simple: Don’t go over the top with tons of text and information. The best performing wraps I’ve seen keep it simple, they have the logo, the service they provide, and an easy way to contact your company. (Some successful companies only include their logo if they have a big enough brand, as most customers will simply google your business name rather then calling the number on your wrap.)
3.) Don’t be afraid to spend money on getting a good wrap design. You want something that is going to standout and represent your brand as accurately as possible. Tens of thousands of people will see your vehicle on a regular basis, so you want to make sure you don’t cut any corners when it comes to design.
Best Marketing Channels for Pooper Scoopers?
While there are dozens of advertising channels you can use to promote your pooper scooper business, these are the ones that worked best for us at Swoop Scoop. If you want more information about any of the strategies discussed you can join the Poop Scoop Millionaire™ community to get access to step by step guides on FB ads, Google ads, and SEO, as well as access to a Google Gold Level product specialist, and experienced pooper scooper business owners that are happy to help answer any questions you might have.
Leveraging the right marketing channels can transform your pooper scooper business. At Swoop Scoop®, we’ve harnessed the power of Facebook ads, Google ads, SEO, and effective truck wraps to drive substantial growth. By implementing these strategies, you too can generate leads, enhance your brand presence, and increase your customer base as well.
Happy Scooping!
