How I'd grow Dutch

September 8, 2021

Dutch is a website that delivers vet-prescribed medicine and treatments for pets’ underserved conditions.

It connects pet owners with vets to prescribe treatments for issues like anxiety and allergies, and ships prescriptions to their door.

I like how much thought they put in their positioning.

They didn’t go after the obvious benefit of not having to wait for an appointment; their real competitors aren’t vets, but inaction.

And what really motivates people to take action is the well-being of their pet.

The homepage is perfectly clear and I’m able to understand what Dutch is and how it works in a few seconds.

I’d say the whole website is pretty good. If I keep scrolling or click an internal page I get clear explanations and answers to all my possible objections.

Something I think they could improve is the CTA.

I have no idea what happens if I click “Start a consult.” Will my webcam turn on and I’ll speak to a vet?

This uncertainty adds friction, especially if I just landed on their website.

The other thing I don’t like is how they hide the cost of the monthly subscription.

I’d definitely display it above the fold.

“Starting from only $39” could also be turned into an additional selling point.

On a side note, I appreciate the attention to detail they’ve put into their branding.

Trust is extremely important for every online business, especially health-related ones, and Dutch leaves a really positive first impression.

Most people won’t convert to a monthly subscription right away. Instead, they’ll need multiple touch points.

Dutch should improve their email marketing game for all those visitors who check out the product, think it’s interesting, but aren’t ready to buy immediately.

They’re running a limited time offer where new customers can get Dutch for only $1 for the first month.

Once it ends, I’d give it as a surprise referral gift to customers. If they refer a friend, they both get 1 month for $1.

I’d also explore an underrated growth channel: collaborations with non-competing products that share a similar audience.

These partnerships are usually a win-win and could help Dutch tap into a network of people who have paid for pet-related stuff in the past.

Regarding Dutch’s search potential, they don’t have website content except for 5 landing pages targeting commercial keywords.

They’re good for sales, but they’re not going to rank. If you analyze the SERPs, it’s clear that users are searching for informational content.

They need to start creating content that targets more specific long-tail keywords.

The two key parameters to look for are: low competition and high intent.

This strategy is the way to go when you’re just starting out so you can maximize your results.

At first glance, they have a decent amount of links. However, they’re all related to the previous domain owner.

Despite what people think, Google recognizes when a domain changes topics, and it doesn’t take old links into consideration. Dutch will need to build new ones.

Pro tip: when buying a new domain, always check its backlink profile. Specifically check if there are many spammy ones.

If you don’t do your due diligence, you risk buying a domain that has been hit by a Google penalty and will have serious trouble ranking.

Taking a look at Dutch’s socials, it’s clear they want to acquire customers through FB and IG paid ads.

This isn’t going to be as easy as it was due to the recent privacy updates that block cookies on most devices, making retargeting and lookalike audiences less effective.

Their creatives are pretty solid - their videos blend with the feed like posts from a friend.

This is really important. While retargeting visitors doesn’t work as well as before, retargeting in-app video viewers hasn’t been impacted by these changes.

Learn marketing from case studies

Every month I pick a new website and write a marketing case study explaining exactly how I’d grow it