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Do you know the top two ways seniors use the Internet? Search engines and email. Pew Research (April 2008) confirms that 60% of seniors who are online use search engines. If your retirement community isn’t thinking about how easily prospective residents and their families can find you on Google, Yahoo or MSN, you are missing a huge opportunity.

GlynnDevins helps over 45 senior living communities maintain strong search engine visibility. The results have been exciting! Communities that buy the paid listings that appear around the perimeter of the search results page (paid search) immediately see a boost in web site traffic from search engines. Their percentage of new visitors jumps from eight percent to 20 percent!

While paid search advertising provides a great start, communities need to think about the main body of the search results page – the natural search results. People generally consider these listings more credible, and heat maps confirm that many more people look at the natural search results than the paid search results. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the technique behind getting your web site listed in the natural search results. The title of your site, headlines, body copy, tags, links between pages and navigation all play a role in SEO.  Links from relevant, reputable, and at least semi-popular web sites are also important. In our experience, senior living communities that have a better natural search presence through SEO see another big boost in new visitors over those that are limited to just paid search. These new visitors – whether they be from paid or natural search listings – are converting into new leads for communities.

So ask yourself: Do I need search engines to work harder for my community?

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