Pet blogging is a pawsome niche to choose if you’re starting a blog. More than 67% of U.S. households own at least one pet, so your audience potential is huge. 

Plus, pet blogging is a fun way to share your love for our furry (or feathered, or scaly) friends with the rest of the animal-loving world. 

But before you dive in, it’s important to understand what goes into setting up, building, and running a successful pet blog. From fetching website design to fur-tastic article ideas, I’ve got you covered. 

So sit, stay, and let’s dive into the wonderful world of pet blogging. 

What is a pet blog?

A pet blog is a type of blog that focuses on pets and animals. It’s usually written by pet owners or animal lovers. 

Pet blogs can cover lots of topics, from pet care and health to training and behavior. Pet bloggers also often recommend products and accessories. 

A pet blog can be as formal or as if informal as you want it to be. A veterinarian, for instance, might share informative posts on animal health. Someone with a less scientific background might feature personal stories, photos, or videos of their own pets. 

Pet blogs are a valuable resource for pet owners, since they give helpful advice and product recommendations. Your blog posts could help someone pick out the right harness for their Boston terrier, calm their nerves about fostering animals, or pick the best food for their horned lizard. 

Pet blogging: How to start your pet blog 

Ready to do this thing? Let’s dive into how to set up your pet blog the right way so you can set yourself up for success in the pet blogging world.

 Here’s how to walk, run, crawl, or slither your way to your goals in seven essential steps. 

1. Decide on Your Niche

Your first step is deciding on your niche in the pet blogging world. Unless you’ve got a big team of writers working for you, it’s too much to tackle every topic under the sun about pets. 

Instead, get specific about what you’re blogging about. Some examples of pet blogging niches include, 

• Dog training 
• Cat health 
• Exotic pets 
• Pet adoption 
• Animal psychology 
• Pet fashion
• Pet product reviews 

You don’t have to get so narrow that you only write about one animal, but try to hone in on your blog’s primary focus. It could also be worth scoping out the competition.

If there are a lot of pet blogs already in your niche, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. But think about how you can differentiate yourself, whether you provide unique content or a fresh perspective. 

2. Get a web hosting plan 

Once you’ve figured out your niche, your next step is purchasing web hosting. While there are free web hosts out there, they put ads on your site and don’t let you own your own domain. 

If you want to make money off your pet blog, a paid web hosting plan is the way. I recommend Bluehost, since you can get it for as little as $2.95 per month, depending on the term you choose. 

Plus, Bluehost comes with a free domain name for a year, so you can snag your website URL right when you sign up for hosting. 

Prefer to compare your options? I also think Siteground is a great choice for web hosting. Or, you can check my top seven picks for the best web hosts. 

But if you want to set up your blog quickly, easily, and affordably, I recommend just going with Bluehost. 

3. Connect WordPress 

Once you’ve purchased your web hosting plan, your next step is to connect WordPress. Don’t worry, WordPress is free! 

WordPress is going to be responsible for holding all your blog posts and the design of your site. It’s basically the front end of your site (what people see), while your web hosting is the back end that keeps everything running. 

By the way, I’m recommending WordPress.org, the free content management system, not WordPress.com, which offers paid web hosting plans. 

4. Design your blog 

Once you’ve set up web hosting and WordPress, your next step is to design your blog. There are a ton of free themes you can download. 

Alternatively, you can purchase a theme, which may have greater customization options. There are lots of options out there, but one I like is the Divi theme. 

It’s going to take some trial and error to design your site, but be patient and don’t expect your first version to look perfect.

Your blog is in its puppy stages — it’s still learning how to obey your commands! Don’t get too hung up on design in the beginning, and just put out Version 1.0 so you can start writing blog posts. 

5. Create High-Quality Content

Next up is creating lots of claw-some content! Make sure your posts are high-quality and provide value to your readers. 

Some types of posts you could write are how-to guides, product reviews, and personal stories. 

A keyword research tool like Ubersuggest or Ahrefs can help you figure out what people are Googling and write articles that answer their questions. 

It’s also important to optimize your posts for search engine optimization (SEO) by including relevant keywords and using the right formatting, such as headers, throughout. 

6. Promote Your Blog

If you’re using SEO the right away, you can start to attract readers to your blog without doing much else. As your blog articles start to rank in Google, people will see them when they search for relevant terms. 

But you can also try other methods to promote your blog, such as social media and guest posting on other people’s blogs. 

Pinterest is also a great way to drive traffic to your blog. You can use a free tool like Canva to design beautiful pins and link them to your blog posts. 

7. Monetize Your Efforts

Once you’ve gotten the hang of things, it’s time to think about making money off your pet blog. There are lots of ways to make money blogging, including: 

• Affiliate marketing 
• Ads 
• Selling products or service 
• Sponsored posts 

Affiliate marketing is one of the best places to get started, since it doesn’t require you to create any products of your own. Instead, you’ll recommend other people’s products and make a commission when your readers click on and make a purchase from your affiliate link. 

How much money can you make pet blogging? 

The amount of money you can make pet blogging varies widely and can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars per month to earning thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars per month.

It all depends on your niche, audience size, monetization strategies, and the amount of time and dedication you put into your blog. 

As mentioned, there are quite a few ways to monetize a pet blog, including affiliate marketing, sponsored content, advertising, and selling products or services. 

• Affiliate marketing: Promoting other people’s products or services and earning a commission on any resulting sales. 
• Sponsored content: Working with brands to create content that promotes their products and services. 
• Ads: Placing ads on your blog and earning money from the number of clicks or views the ads get. 
• Selling your own products: Making money from services like pet grooming or training or digital products like online courses. 

In the end, the amount of money you can make pet blogging depends on the quality of your content, size of your audience, monetization strategies, and time and effort you commit to growing your blog. 

5 popular pet blog examples 

Are you curious as a cat to see some other popular pet blogs, or want to get inspired by example? Here are a few pet blogs that are currently ruling the roost: 

• The Conscious Cat: Founded by cat expert Ingrid King and now owned by Pangolia, this pet blog focuses on cat care and behavior. It’s been around since 2009 and has a large following of cat lovers.
• Pawsitively Pets: Run by professional pet blogger Ann Staub, Pawsitively Pets shares product reviews, as well as information on dogs, cats, and exotic animals. 
• My Brown Newfies: This blog is about a family’s life with their two Newfoundlands. It covers training, behavior, health issues, and daily life with large breed dogs.

These are just a handful of examples of the many popular pet blogs out there. Will yours be the next addition to this list? 

Pet blogging FAQ

Do I have to be a professional writer or expert to start a pet blog?

Nope! You definitely don’t. But it’s useful to have a passion for pets and be open to researching and learning about new topics. It’s also worth honing your blog-writing skills (writing a blog post is different than writing an academic paper, for example). 

If you’re going to be sharing medical advice, then it’s more important to have some professional background or expertise. Otherwise, you just need to be willing to learn and committed to providing the most valuable information for your audience. 

How do I attract readers to my pet blog?

With milk bones! Just kidding. One of the best ways to get readers to your pet blog is with SEO, which involves targeting keywords and optimizing your blog posts for search engines like Google. Pinterest is another great tool for driving traffic to your blog (also a search engine). 

You could also use social media, especially if you’re someone who enjoys using platforms like Instagram or TikTok. If not? Don’t worry about it. If you stick with SEO, social media is not necessary for growing your blog traffic. 

Can I make money with a pet blog?

You sure can. Some of the best ways to make money pet blogging are with affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and ads. 

But, it’s worth noting that profitable pet blogging takes time and effort. It’s not going to make you money overnight. 

Can I use photos and videos from the internet on my pet blog?

That all depends. You can feel free to use open-source images from a free image marketplace like Pexels or Pixabay. You can also purchase images from a marketplace like Shutterfly. You can always use your own personal photos and videos, too. 

It’s not a good idea to grab any random image off of Google search, though, because you could be violating copyright laws. 

Consistent pet blogging will grow your audience 

Blogging about pets and animals can be a rewarding (and profitable) niche in the world of blogging. While you won’t get a huge audience overnight, consistently posting can get you a steady stream of visitors within six months to a year, depending on how competitive your niche is. 

If you’re looking to truly commit to your pet blogging dreams (and make money doing it), check out my course The Profitable Blogger. My course walks you step-by-step through brainstorming your best niche, setting up your website, growing traffic, and monetizing your blog. 

I’ll also teach you everything you need to know about SEO to attract thousands of free readers to your blog and make passive income as a pet blogger. Learn more about my course, The Profitable Blogger here, and happy blogging!

About Rebecca Safier

Rebecca Safier is a blogger and digital marketer who teaches others how to use SEO and other best practices to build profitable blogging businesses.