Why Your Adult Care Home Business Needs an Online Presence

Article by Alyssa Elting McGuire, MA, MPA

I was recently sitting in a class on the topic of website marketing offered through the Small Business Development Center, and I started thinking to myself, “why do so many adult care home businesses not have websites?” I’ll be the first to admit I’m no marketing expert, but I can say I recognize the value of a small business having an online presence.

Why, as an adult care home provider, should you invest the time and money into having a website or an alternative web presence for your adult care home business? I’d like to give you seven reasons why you need an online presence that showcases you and your adult care home.
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• It’s part of your overall marketing plan. This is your passion, but it is also your business. You need a marketing plan, and you can’t ignore the fact an online presence can be an important marketing tool.
• Families are looking online for housing options for their loved ones. A business website probably won’t come up first on search engines, but you can make your presence known by using services such as Laria Care Finder where people can find detailed information about your home. Additionally, you can create a Google My Business account to be found through Google and on Google Maps. Also, Google My Business allows you to create a free basic website for your business.
• It lends you some credibility. In this day-and-age, if nobody can find your business online, they can become a bit skeptical about your business. This is also true if they visit your website, and it’s obvious you haven’t updated it since 2005.
• You have control over the content. You can post beautiful pictures of the inside and outside of your home, and offer any details that might be of interest to people looking to move to your adult care home.
• It gives people a personal connection to you, as a caregiver. Post photos of yourself and give information about your approach to providing care, and why you chose to go into this business.
• It gives you a forum to post client testimonials. Let people know about the great care you provide by posting client and family testimonials (while always keeping confidentiality in mind).
• Make it easy for people to find you. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to find information about your care home and your contact information.

You don’t have to be a web designer or developer to create your web presence. If you have some understanding of website development and design, you can create your own site, but your time is money, so I would encourage you to consider hiring out this service, or using a service that will do the work for you to market your home. Let the professionals handle it. It will be worth your time and money, and you’ll be on the right path to creating a professional, online presence for your adult care home business.