Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 20, 2016
The market today is flooded with players who want to reach the burgeoning market for senior housing and care. The challenge is increased by the need to reach not only seniors in need of housing and care, but also to effectively reach the baby boomer and millennial children of seniors. The strategy to reach those targets is through skillful use of signals and sentiments. These two objectives help you provide what prospects and search engines are looking for: expertise, authority and trustworthiness. Signals to the search engines will ensure that your message gets found. Sentiments make sure that prospects look favorably on your product. This combination of different but closely related messages will assure results for those appealing to the increasingly crowded senior marketplace. Signals are the sure way to invite search engines to show your website – both on desktop and mobile devices – where folks are looking for your products. The online marketing landscape has changed in the last six months as the search engines have changed their objectives. The content on your website is key. Long, well-written informative pages are required in today’s online environment. There’s a misconception that we live in the age of bullet points and brief text. When buyers are making long-term decisions, they want – and need – information and lots of it. The search engines reward long, well-researched pages. Consider offering 600- to 800-plus words per page for your key product offerings. For example, this article is 800-plus words. Also, consider that long text demonstrates expertise and authority. So you have well-written pages on your site with lots of text. Are you finished yet? Nope. Now you need to prepare your website in a way that presents information the way search engines recognize and appreciate. While designers and agencies say their sites have search engine optimization, very few firms take the time to study the trends of search engines – and what they’re looking for. Are your tags formatted well? Is your sitemap inclusive and well curated? Are you appealing to the specific localities that are likely to be searched for? These objectives are possible to achieve with the requisite research and planning. We see so many examples of sites with pretty pages that sadly never get found. Some of the most powerful signals you can send the search engines are not located on your website at all. The reviews that customers leave for your business have an increasingly influential effect on your site’s ability to get found. These reviews are not to be confused with “likes” on Facebook. The power of reviews is that they are by verified users on well trafficked sites. Reviews give you a marked advantage over the competition. Systematic cultivation of user reviews on the right sites effectively builds a strong foundation over time that competitors may never overtake. It also helps establish your expertise and authority. When facing vacancy or leasing up a new property, you may want to rely on a vehicle that delivers immediate results. A pay-per-click advertising campaign guarantees that your advertisement is found on page one of search results immediately. The strength of your website can actually extend the reach of your campaign and increase effectiveness while reducing costs. Plus you can turn it off when you’re full. PPC is a powerful and immediate signal to consider tactically. Sentiments establish trustworthiness with both prospects and the search engines. Do you ever shop online? If so, do you ever read the reviews? Why? We are social creatures who want to learn from the experience of others. Cultivating reviews systematically on websites that matter can distance you from the others in a crowded market. Make sure you target review sites that matter, and don’t bother with the unimportant ones. There are software-as-a-service products that will make posting reviews easy for customers and assist your team to get the reviews you need. The power of reviews is growing in the marketplace. Just as importantly, the significance assigned to them by the search engines is growing, too. We previously looked at website content as a way to establish expertise and authority. Well-written content also goes a long way toward creating positive sentiments for prospects. Spend time with your message. Often website copy is an after-thought. Make it front and center. Content also has to serve double duty. It has to appeal to seniors and their children. Both will be put off by off-the-cuff text written by someone who doesn’t relate to the nuances of these two mature audiences. Writing for senior housing and care isn’t the same as for writing for “hip” advertising products. An unprecedented number of seniors are currently trying to navigate an increasingly crowded online environment. A well-crafted website with thoughtful text, together with reviews and PPC when needed, sends strong signals to the marketplace. Together they create a foundation of consumer sentiments that provides the expertise, authority and trustworthiness both seniors and their children need to make a decision for housing and care.