As more #petowners turn to online searches to answer everyday questions, many #petbrands in the UK are still failing to fully benefit from organic search visibility. While some companies struggle to attract new customers online, others are seeing stronger performance by maintaining a more balanced approach.
According to an analysis conducted by London-based #petmarketing agency Bubblegum Search, several well-known UK pet brands are missing opportunities during the early discovery phase of consumer search behavior.
Heavy Reliance on Branded Searches Limits Reach
Bubblegum Search analyzed the organic search performance of 20 UK #petcompanies in August. The findings show that, although household names enjoy strong brand recognition, they often fail to capture searches from pet owners looking for solutions rather than specific brands.
Half of the brands included in the Pet Brand Organic Benchmarking Report 2025 receive more than 50% of their traffic from branded search terms.
The #petfood brand Barking Heads was found to be the most dependent on branded traffic, with 81.7% of visits coming from branded searches. This was followed by joint supplement producer YuMove at 76.2%. Other well-known brands also showed high reliance on branded searches, including Lily’s Kitchen (60.3%) and Royal Canin (56.3%).
Brand Awareness Alone Is Not Enough
According to Matt Cayless, founder of Bubblegum Search, this heavy dependence reflects an unbalanced marketing strategy.
“Many brands either focus entirely on brand awareness, which restricts their reach beyond existing customers, or they pursue broad visibility without building genuine brand authority,” Cayless tells GlobalPETS.
He adds that brands struggling in organic search often have a limited keyword footprint and lack content that naturally attracts links—both of which weaken overall authority in search engines.
What Top Organic Performers Do Differently
In contrast, brands that perform well in organic search share several common characteristics. Bubblegum Search found that leading performers tend to have balanced traffic sources, thousands of ranking keywords and steady growth in inbound links.
Among the companies least reliant on branded traffic are healthy food and supplement producer Pooch and Mutt, where branded searches account for just 7.5% of traffic. Other strong performers include cat food brand Whiskas (26.5%), accessories retailer Lords & Labradors (19.8%) and cat-sitting service Cat in a Flat (38.9%).
Performance Varies by Business Segment
The study sample consisted largely of product-led brands, including food manufacturers, retailers and e-commerce players, alongside a small number of supplement brands and one service-based business.
According to Cayless, retail and e-commerce brands such as Animed and Lords & Labradors benefit from large product assortments and a wide range of ranking keywords, helping them achieve stronger organic visibility.
Similar findings appeared in a separate report by marketing agency Herd. In its analysis of 2,500 UK pet-related keywords between July 2024 and July 2025, Pets at Home achieved the highest overall visibility, largely due to its extensive product range. The report also highlighted strong performance by Butternut Box and Pooch and Mutt, driven primarily by brand awareness strategies.
Educational Content Supports Supplement Brands
Bubblegum Search also observed that supplement brands can gain an advantage when they pair products with educational content that addresses #pethealth concerns.
“When brands explain specific conditions and link those topics directly to their solutions, they tend to perform better organically,” Cayless explains.
The only service-based business analyzed, Cat in a Flat, relied on a different approach. The platform competes through localized, intent-driven searches, ranking for terms such as “cat sitter near me” and “cat sitter London.” Reviews also play a key role in building visibility and authority.
Organic Search in the Age of AI
The performance gap becomes even more pronounced in AI-powered search results, which are now being introduced in some browsers. According to Cayless, Google’s AI increasingly prioritizes trusted and well-cited sources, rather than simply ranking pages based on traditional blue links.
However, Bubblegum Search notes that brands can improve visibility in AI-driven search by focusing on formats such as FAQs, guides, comparisons and other structured content that algorithms can easily summarize.
Smaller #petbusinesses, in particular, may stand out by developing expert-led content around niche topics—such as digestive health for dogs or sustainable #petnutrition—where authority and specificity matter most.
Source: GlobalPETS