Key takeaways
- Group keywords by service: daycare, boarding, grooming and training each get their own ad group and their own page.
- Pull keyword ideas from what owners say on calls and in reviews, not from a generic tool list.
- Start with phrase and exact match. Broad match can drift into job and how-to-start searches until tracking is solid.
- Build the negative list before launch: jobs, starting a daycare, crates and kennels for sale, vets, adoption and cats.
The Google Ads keywords for a dog daycare worth paying for are the ones an owner types when the need is close: a puppy that finished its shots, a first week back at the office, a trip on the calendar. Bid on those by service, match them tightly, and block the job, business-owner and product searches that share their words.
The keywords worth paying for
Pay for searches that name a service you sell and imply a start date. Group them so each ad group sends the click to the matching page:
| Group | Example searches | Where the click should land |
|---|---|---|
| Daycare | dog daycare near me, doggy daycare, puppy daycare, part-time dog daycare | Daycare page with packages and an evaluation-day booking |
| Boarding | dog boarding near me, overnight dog boarding, dog hotel, kennel boarding | Boarding page with requirements and how to request dates |
| Grooming | dog grooming near me, dog bath, puppy first groom | Grooming page, only if you groom in-house |
| Training | puppy training classes, dog obedience training, board and train | Training page, only for the programs you run |
| Specific needs | small dog daycare, daycare for older dogs, cage-free boarding | The most specific page you have. Bid only on what is true |
| Your name | Your business name and common misspellings | Home page or the login and booking page |
The best phrases come from your own customers, not a keyword tool. Read the last month of call notes and new client inquiries in Gingr or your pet care software, and the words owners use in reviews. If owners keep asking "can she come just two days a week?", then "part-time dog daycare" belongs in the account. If they say "dog hotel", bid on it, even if you never call it that.
Leave the bare word "kennel" alone. On its own it mostly means crates and outdoor runs for sale. Pair it with boarding.
Building a keyword list that pays
- Pick high-intent terms Searches that name a service you sell
- Choose match types Phrase and exact for control
- Add negative keywords Block searches you never want to pay for
- Read the search terms What people actually typed
Then refine the list
Match types
Use phrase and exact match while you learn. They keep the search close to your words (Google's match type guide).
- Exact match for the handful of terms that already book evaluations: "dog daycare near me", your name, "puppy daycare".
- Phrase match for service groups where the words around the phrase vary: "dog boarding" picks up "dog boarding over thanksgiving" and "overnight dog boarding near work".
- Broad match only once conversion tracking counts booked new members, not calls. Until then broad match will happily spend on "dog daycare business plan" and "dog daycare jobs near me", because they look related.
Whatever you choose, read the search terms report. It shows what people actually typed, and it is where the negative list grows.
Negative keyword list
- Block job searches first. Add jobs, job, hiring, careers, salary, apply, kennel attendant, dog handler and bather. Daycare and kennel job searches are constant and they read exactly like customer searches.
- Block would-be competitors. Add how to start, start a, franchise, business plan, software, insurance, license and for sale. People researching opening a daycare search your core terms all year.
- Block products. Add crate, playpen, kennel cover, outdoor kennel, dog house and dog run. These are shoppers, not clients.
- Block services you do not offer. Add vet, emergency, clinic, adoption, rescue, shelter, puppies for sale, and cat or cats if you board dogs only. Add in-home, sitter and walker if you do not send staff to homes.
- Block free and DIY. Add free, diy and how to. Leave "cheap" off the list at first. Some price-aware owners still become long-term members.
- Add the variants yourself. Negative keywords do not stretch to plurals, misspellings and close variants the way positive keywords can, so add "job" and "jobs", "cat" and "cats" (Google's negative keyword guide).
- Put the list where it applies. Job and product negatives go account-wide. Service negatives, such as "grooming" in a boarding ad group, go at ad group level so they do not block a service you sell.
Review cadence
Review weekly for the first month, then every two weeks once the search terms settle.
- Each review: read the search terms report, add negatives, and check that each ad group still lands on the right page.
- Before each peak: look at boarding terms a few weeks before summer travel and the holidays. If you are filling up, lower boarding bids or pause boarding keywords instead of paying for owners you will turn away.
- During back-to-office waves: raise daycare and part-time daycare terms. They bring in owners who book every week.
- Monthly: compare cost per booked new member by ad group, and move budget toward the groups that enroll dogs who stay.
For how these keywords turn into a cost per member, see the cost per lead guide for dog daycares. The search side of the same language, for organic rankings, is in the SEO keyword guide.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We build the keyword list from your call notes, inquiries and reviews, set the negative list before a dollar is spent, and adjust bids around your boarding capacity and the back-to-office waves. The Google Ads account stays in your name, the keyword build goes live ahead of your next peak, and each ad group is scored on the members it enrolls. A growth consultation includes a look at your current search terms report.
Sources
- About keyword matching options, Google Ads Help
- About negative keywords, Google Ads Help