The holidays are a busy time of year for shopping, caroling, and gathering together with family and friends. Following those many and merry holiday gatherings, family members often walk away with a much clearer picture of how their older loved ones are functioning in their own homes as they age.

According to Google Trends, there is a tremendous spike in online searches for home care services every year in months following the holidays. In fact, Google Trends shows that there is a dramatic dip in searches for the term “home care” in December of each year, followed by a very telling surge in searches for the term in January.

This information is vital to home care agencies. It means that, as families gather together for the holidays, they notice more keenly that their older loved ones are exhibiting some of the classic warning signs that indicate that help at home is needed – no food in the fridge, medications not being taken, an unclean house, poor hygiene, forgetfulness, etc. And not only are they noticing these signs, they are taking action and searching for help. Will your agency’s website be prepared for those January searches?

Prepping Your Website

The uptick in searches for home care is likely because family members have seen indications that care is needed while visiting an older loved one and they need answers to some of the many questions that are currently running through their heads. Was Mom’s forgetfulness a sign of Alzheimer’s? Dad isn’t cleaning up around the house; is that a bad sign? Should Grandpa still be driving?

For most people, the search for home care only begins when it is clear that immediate help is needed, which means an agency’s website must be able to answer pertinent questions like the ones above and guide them to a solution. Take a look at your website. How does it answer the questions of concern that many families have after visiting a senior loved one for the holidays? Does your site have the following elements?

• Resources that explain what warning signs to watch for in older loved ones that may indicate that care is needed?
• A list of your services and how each service can fulfill a potential care need?
• Resources that provide helpful information for families who may be caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, etc.?
• A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page?
• Content that differentiates your company from others like yours in a way that will resonate with consumers and show quality?
• An expertly implemented search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to help your site be found in an online search?

All of these website elements are important, but that last one is arguably the most vital. SEO is what helps a website rank higher in an online search, and thus helps lead searchers to your website. Without a strategized and well-implemented SEO plan, you can have all the information you need on your website, but few may ever see it!

The winter holidays aren’t the only times that you can expect to see an increase in searches for home care. Find out when else you should focus on marketing to home care buyers here.

While SEO is vital, it can also be difficult for the layperson to implement. The experts at corecubed are always up-to-date with the mercurial changes of SEO and can analyze your website and develop the best plan to improve its rankings. Contact us to learn more about our services!