Being easily accessible is not only an essential aspect of your home care business, it’s also a needed part of your online presence. Potential patients are looking for reliable and trustworthy home-care providers. The best way to showcase your reliability and trustworthiness is by showing it through your website and social media accounts. By following these SEO tips for growing your home business, potential clients will easily find and verify your company’s credibility.

1. Use The Right Words
If I had to give you one piece of SEO advice, it would be to do keyword research. Think of keywords as the short phrases you use when searching something in Google. You rarely use full sentences, instead, you compose a search through the use of several main words. An example is, “best home care,” as opposed to “What is the best home care company in my area?” What you need to know are the keywords most commonly used when potential clients search for a future home care company.

There are several strategies to finding the top keywords in your industry. The first is by simply conducting Google searches yourself, and studying what words are used most frequently throughout the titles and descriptions. Take note of them, then input the same into your site information. The second option is Google Ad Words Keyword Tools. There are many sites, including Google that allow you to compare your search queries against other words and phrases to determine what’s most effective.

2. Optimize Every Page
Once you find out what’s popular, work the words and phrases into each page of your website. This will help Google and put your site closer to the top when such expressions are searched. Keywords can be integrated within URLs, title tags, body content, image alt text and meta descriptions. Although you never want to overuse keywords, strategically placed words will get you noticed in no time.

3. Increase Site Speed
Have you ever clicked a link, waited 30 seconds for the page to load? It is frustrating. Many people just exit the site when it is slow. Slow loading speeds often turn people away from using a website. Check the loading time of your page through the use of Google’s PageSpeed Tools, or another speed testing site. It’s crucial that your page doesn’t take more than 5 seconds to load. If it does, implement changes that will increase the speed.

4. Join Social Media
If your company isn’t on social media yet, set up an account today. Start with Facebook and LinkedIn, as they have the most use for finding and recruiting caregivers, and for finding referral sources and new client prospects. Use the platforms to share articles, company news, testimonials, and blog content. Google sifts through social media sites to pull information, so by keeping your social media pages up to date, you’re increasing your likelihood of being listed favorably on Google.

5. Blog with a Purpose
When done well, blogging is an effective way to increase your search engine rankings. Google has been rewarding websites that post frequently by increasing the importance of useful information. Be certain that your pieces are both informative and valuable. The longer a reader lingers through your post, or clicks to read other posts on your site, the better. This shows Google that your site has valuable information that should be seen by more readers.

6. Create Share-Worthy Content
You want your social media posts and blogs to be shared and read by everyone. Again, this shows Google that you have useful or entertaining material. Videos tend to be the most share-worthy posts, so aim to create recordings of your own to share across all your platforms. Don’t stress about it being a big production. A smartphone and good idea are all you need.

7. Highlight Positive Reviews
There are few things with more impact than testimonials and reviews. Feedback from pasts home care clients can either make or break the success of your organization’s online efforts. Take it upon yourself to highlight positive reviews from past patients by putting them at the forefront of your website. This means either displaying constructive comments on the homepage of your site or making a separate tab dedicated to testimonials. By putting a spotlight on their experiences, you’re letting others do the recommending (and bragging) for you.

Tuning up your SEO doesn’t have to be difficult. By following these seven simple tips, you’ll attract more potential clients and be on your way to claiming true search engine optimization. With that said, while it may not always be difficult it is almost always time consuming. If you are short on time or would like an extra set of hands working on your online marketing, give us a call. We’d be happy to help you win more home care clients!