Vet Help Direct

Interactive pet advice site, Vethelpdirect.com was shortlisted for The Good Web Guide Website of the Year 2009. The site was launched by Susie Samuel, who, after working as a vet for several years, was struck by how difficult it can be for pet owners to decide how urgently they need to call a vet, especially in the middle of the night, when their pet is showing signs of being unwell. Susie talks through the business with The Good Web Guide.

Explain your website.

Vet Help Direct is an interactive website that helps pet owners to decide how urgently they need a vet. The website is free to use. The idea is to encourage owners to seek timely veterinary attention for their pet, thus saving the owner money by catching the problem in its early stages, and preventing unnecessary suffering for their pet. We also provide customised first aid advice. All of the content is by UK vets, many are specialists in their fields.

How do you make money?

The site is funded by selling space in our vet practice directory and insurance directory. We also use iframes and popups to provide a fully customised version of the symptom guide as an ‘add on' for vet practice websites. We made a decision early on to avoid advertising on the website so that we could maintain a clean, unbiased, clinical appearance.

What inspired the idea?

Four years after qualifying as a vet, I worked at a practice in Exmouth where, week after week, I saw animals coming into the surgery that had suffered unnecessarily because their well intentioned owners had delayed taking them to the vets. I realised that an online resource was needed that could help pet owners decide when they needed to take their pet to the vet. Vet Help Direct can save an animal's health when it is an emergency visit, but also save precious pounds on unnecessary call out fees or visits to the vet when the animal is not really ill.

What's your background?

I am a small animal vet. I have two small children and work part time as a vet and part time on the website.

When did the site launch?

The website has now been running for just three and a half years although I only started to run it as ‘proper' business eighteen months ago.

How many visits do you have per day?

Our visitor numbers vary from 5,500 a month to 16,000 depending on our coverage on blogs etc on the internet. Our target within 12 months is to range from 16,000 to 25,000 a month

Describe your average visitor.

Our visitors are devoted animal owners who have a concern about their pet's health and are looking for information on the internet to answer their concerns.

Who is your business mentor and inspiration?

Having no business background I've been learning as I go. Tim Dewing from Azimuth Consulting in Devon has provided invaluable help and support; he helped us with our business plan initially and is always there for a quick phone call to give me some experienced advice or just to talk through a problem.

What are your goals for the business over the coming year?

We aim to have 300 vet practices registered with us by the end of the business year and are well on our way to achieving this.

Who are your closest competitors?

Vet Help Direct is the first website of its kind for pets and occupies quite a niche area. We compete with other companies who are offering non essential customer service type products but we have no direct competitor as such.

What is your biggest challenge?

Finding the time to put all my ideas into reality!

What makes Vet Help Direct unique?

Free, interactive, customised advice from UK vets.

Where do you see the business going from here?

We are just about to launch a blog for the home page, we will have 3 - 4 resident vets with occasional guest vet bloggers. It will be an exciting addition to the site and will give pet owners a reason to visit the site when their pets are well!

Visit www.vethelpdirect.com