“Care homes near me” gets searched on Google around 3,800 times every month.
For many care providers, it’s seen as the golden keyword – the one everyone wants to rank #1 for or dominate with Google Ads.
That’s why so many providers pour hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds into ads to show up when families search for it.
But here’s the thing…
Are you sure that’s the best use of your budget?
What the data tells us
Over the past month, we dug into CRM data from our clients (using tools like Found by Lottie and HubSpot) to see what’s really happening with enquiries from “care homes near me.”
Here’s what we looked at:
- Where the enquiry came from (in this case, the keyword “care homes near me”).
- The subject of the enquiry (what was written in the message).
And the findings? Pretty shocking.
On average, half of these enquiries were from job seekers.
In some cases, it was as high as 90%.
That’s a lot of wasted clicks.
So, what should you do?
Don’t stop bidding on the keyword altogether – you’ll still get real care-seeking families through it.
But here are two quick fixes to make your spend work harder:
1. Change your targeting settings
By default, Google Ads targets people who are in, searching for, or showing interest in your location.
That means you could be paying for clicks from people nowhere near you.
Switch it to:
Presence only – people who are physically in (or regularly in) your target area.
2. Filter out job enquiries
Half your wasted budget comes from job seekers.
Make it easy for them to go to the right place by:
- Adding a clear careers link on your website.
- Adding a line on your enquiry form telling job seekers where to apply.
Hallmark Care Homes do this brilliantly
Our final thoughts
“Care homes near me” isn’t a bad keyword – but without the right setup, it’s a money pit.
A few tweaks and you’ll make every pound work harder.
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