Top 5 Tips on PPC for Senior Living Communities

Pay-per-click advertising remains one of the most potent marketing options available to assisted living owners. If you haven’t been using it, then you’re missing out a lot. With a starting investment, PPC can give you an immense edge in lead acquisition and conversion. A well-optimized PPC campaign can turn every click into a high-value lead that converts well once the prospect goes through your landing page. 

That said, if you have been using it but seem to be struggling to find the sweet spot, so to speak, then know that you’re not alone. PPC isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It requires nothing less than careful planning, keyword research, monitoring of performance, and overcoming a host of other challenges. 

For this, we have shared five invaluable tips for PPC for senior living communities that have specifically and historically shown very favorable results.

1. Focus on specificity.

The more unique and personalized your ads are, the better. It’s not just about targeting seniors specifically and, of course, their family members. You also need to look toward geotargeting. Consider factors like the exact area of your service coverage and the average household income of your audience. 

Will they be able to afford your services? Can you still render high-quality service and have a sizable team of caregivers that can assure the best experience for your target residents? These are but the questions that you need to answer before taking any step further.

Once you have created your individual ad groups targeting specific keywords, you should make the most out of “negative keywords”.

If you’re not already aware of them, these are keywords that you need to exclude from your campaign since, even though they might be related to your niche (like, for example, using the keyword “nursing services” or “certifications”) yet isn’t really a service you offer or isn’t what your target audience is looking for. 

Obviously, doing this will only help you save your budget and lets you customize and optimize your campaigns to the fullest.

2. Don’t underestimate the power of the keyword and the landing page.

The keywords you target could determine the success or failure of your campaign even before your ads go live. It’s also already a given that you need to rely on landing pages. It’s where you can crystallize your message and relay it in such a way that it engages them well.

We are assuming you already have a killer landing page (or pages) — if not, you really have to take the time to optimize it. Much like an efficient sales channel, your message (or story) should be clear, instructions readily available and complete, and complemented by compelling CTAs.

With landing pages out of the way, we turn our attention to keywords. Are you sure that the keywords you are targeting in your campaigns are in-sync with the keywords found on your landing page? More importantly, are making wise use of long-tail keywords?

Chances are, you’ll need to be removing and adding keywords over time. Nothing less can be expected from an online advertiser, bent on optimizing a campaign and making sure ad money is spent wisely. 

3. Don’t let the powers of Google My Business and direct booking go to waste.

Google My Business is actually a very good complementary tool for PPC marketing. Why?

Because you can include your local extensions in the information you add to GMB. The key here is, again, to be as specific and localized as possible. 

When setting up your PPC campaign, add the exact address of your facility after inputting the title of your landing page. Doing this will only immediately inform interested searchers that you are close by. Don’t forget to add your business hours and contact numbers. 

On the other hand, by including the option to be able to book a tour instantly (through Ad Extensions), you’ll be saving people plenty of time and increasing conversions in the process.

Nowadays, the less the hassles, the better. People want to be able to do things in seconds (yes, even seniors!), especially if you’ve already piqued their interest. Any delay might mean the difference between a lost lead or a future resident. 

4. Widen your ad network horizons.

Google and Bing are not the end-all and be-all of PPC campaigns. Social media like Facebook and Instagram also have untapped potential for the senior care industry. How many families with elders also use these platforms? Facebook, in particular, is seeing a notable, steady increase in senior users annually. 

Once you begin considering other ad networks, you’ll only be enjoying perks like fewer competitors, less expensive costs per click, and even a better CTR. Admittedly, this will take more testing, but as long as you know what audience to target and when to stop a campaign, you won’t need to spend too much money. Again, this points to know your demographics. 

5. Always strive to know your audience and analyze and hone your campaigns.

Can you confidently say that you KNOW your target audience and demographic? Are you aware of the colloquial terms they use or their specific culture?

Perhaps, you have a larger number of veterans in your area than in others? 

PPC is all about knowing your audience to the grassroots level. At least, this rings true for those that have attained and continue to enjoy success with their ad campaigns.

Once you are truly aware of what your audience likes, only then will you be able to craft content and messages that resonate with them — the kind that will convince them to promptly drop any other option they are considering. Only then can you pinpoint colloquial terms you may have missed and started bidding on them. 

Knowledge of your audience always goes hand-in-hand with how you direct your campaign. Don’t settle for anything less if you want to unlock the true potential of PPC marketing for senior living communities

Conclusion

You have to accept from the outset, once you decide to enter into PPC that you will be in it for the long haul. Like a blacksmith mastering your craft, you have to be willing to keep trying other materials, experimenting, and exercising your creativity and common sense as much as possible. Consistent, proper A/B testing will inevitably pay off, especially as it’s almost always the most determined to succeed who are willing to do it. 

And even after you think you’ve exhausted all your options, you can always rely on professional marketers to help you get over any obstacle you might be finding a hard time to overcome. The key is to make sure you limit the wastage of your financial resources, and some assisted living communities can attest to enjoying better ROI when they go this route.