A powerful duo for care home marketing

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) and search engine optimisation (SEO) are two essential tools in digital marketing for care homes. They help attract potential residents and their families, raise local awareness, and build trust. But with both options available, which one should you focus on? The answer: a combination of both is often the most effective. By allocating time and budget to each, you can achieve a balanced and comprehensive marketing strategy.

Let’s dive deeper into the roles these marketing techniques play. If you’re already familiar with the basics of SEO and PPC, feel free to skip ahead.
 

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a model where you pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad. Think of it as a targeted way to capture interest without wasting resources. You only pay when a user takes action by clicking. Imagine it like casting a line while fishing: the more appealing your bait (advertisement), the higher your chances of catching the right "fish" (potential customers). You can fish in busy waters with more competition, which will get you more clicks, or target quieter spots, where you will get fewer clicks, but from your ideal audience.

With PPC, results can be immediate. As soon as your campaign goes live, your ads are visible to your audience, whether on search engines like Google and Bing or social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. These platforms allow you to target your ads based on demographics, location, and specific keywords, ensuring you reach people most likely to be interested in your services.
 

Search engine optimisation (SEO) focuses on improving your website’s visibility in organic search results. This involves enhancing your site's content, technical setup, and acquiring quality backlinks to rank higher in search engine results.

If PPC is like fishing, SEO is more like nurturing a garden. Over time, with consistent effort—optimising your website (preparing the soil), creating valuable content (planting seeds), and building backlinks (watering your plants)—you’ll see your site grow in search engine rankings. The key to SEO is patience and persistence, as results take longer to manifest than with PPC.

For less competitive keywords, you might start seeing improvements within a few months, while high-competition terms could take years of refinement and effort. But once you achieve strong SEO rankings, the results can be long-lasting and cost-effective compared to continually paying for PPC clicks.
 

Both SEO and PPC have unique advantages, much like having a balanced diet of both fish and vegetables for optimal health. Relying on just one won’t give you the best results—using both ensures a broader reach and a more robust marketing strategy.

Clients who combine SEO and PPC often see the highest returns on their investment. These two approaches work together to increase website traffic and conversions by leveraging the strengths of each method.

SEO improves your website’s organic rankings over time, while PPC ads can place your business at the top of search results instantly. This dual approach not only boosts the chances of users clicking on your links but also strengthens your brand’s visibility and credibility. When users see your care home in both the organic and paid sections of search results, it reinforces trust, making future interactions more likely.

Beyond just your homepage, SEO and PPC can help promote specific landing pages or services. For instance, if your care home has multiple locations or offers specialized services like dementia care, targeting these with both SEO and PPC can attract more attention.

While SEO is a long-term investment, PPC can deliver immediate results, especially for highly competitive keywords. If your care home is in a competitive market, PPC can help you gain visibility while your SEO strategy builds momentum.
 

PPC isn’t just about lead generation; it’s also a valuable tool for testing ideas. Running a short, low-cost PPC campaign can help you gauge interest in a new service or concept. For example, if you’re considering offering retirement apartments, a PPC campaign can help you see how much demand there is and which keywords drive the most interest.

The insights gained from PPC can feed into your SEO strategy, and vice versa. Keywords that perform well in PPC can inform your SEO efforts, helping you focus on terms that are already proving successful. This synergy makes both strategies more effective.
 

1. Do your keyword research

Conduct thorough keyword research to identify the search terms your potential residents and their families are already using, for example "care homes near me" or "respite care in [location]", and use these as your starting point for both SEO and PPC. Experiment with variations in your PPC campaigns by adding qualifiers like “luxury” or “affordable.”

2. Create compelling content

Quality content is key for both SEO and PPC. For SEO, blog posts or guides such as "A Day in the Life at [Care Home Name]" or "How to Talk to Your Aging Parent About Moving into a Care Home" can drive organic traffic. For PPC, these pieces can be used as landing pages or lead magnets in ads. The goal is to create valuable, engaging content that works well for both strategies.

3. Optimise landing pages

Your landing pages should be designed to work well for both SEO and PPC. For SEO, focus on page structure, relevant keywords, and fast loading times. For PPC, ensure the page has a clear call-to-action, such as “Schedule a Visit” or “Request More Information.” Optimising for both ensures better performance and increased conversions.

4. Be data-driven

Track and analyse the performance of your campaigns using tools like Google Analytics. For PPC, monitor conversion rates and cost-per-lead, while for SEO, keep an eye on keyword rankings and traffic growth. Using data from both strategies allows you to adjust your marketing efforts and invest wisely.

If you’re still feeling unsure about your next digital marketing steps, drop us a line, we’d be delighted to guide you in the right direction.