Living Developments operates care homes across Cumbria and the North West. We began working with Hunter and the team on search engine optimisation (SEO) around six months before a website rebuild became necessary. What started as an SEO engagement became something more fundamental: a complete rethink of how the website was supporting the business.
The Starting Point
Our initial SEO work focused on rewriting and optimising all website content, adding service and informational pages, and improving the site's visibility in local search. That work moved the dial. Traffic increased, rankings improved, and Living Developments began appearing for searches that had previously gone to competitors.
But the data told a clear story: traffic was arriving and leaving without converting. Visitors were not becoming enquiries.
The Challenge
The existing WordPress site had become a bottleneck. It was difficult to manage, slow to update, and the user experience no longer reflected the quality of the homes it represented. Content that should have been converting families into calls and visit bookings was not doing that job.
The site had not kept pace with the business. Living Developments had grown in reputation and quality of care, but the website was giving families a different impression before they had ever picked up the phone.
The conclusion was straightforward: the site was no longer fit for purpose.
Our Approach
We recommended and delivered a full website rebuild using our Care Launch template framework, developed over several years of working with care home clients. The framework is built around how care seekers actually search and engage online, with a structure designed for conversion from the ground up.
The approach was people-led throughout. Residents and staff, not just facilities, were at the centre of the design. Strong imagery and video content were built into the site structure rather than added later. User journeys were designed to make the next step clear: call, book a visit, or make contact.
Because all content had already been prepared during the SEO phase, and because the template removed a significant number of design decisions from the process, we were able to build and launch the new site in just a few weeks.
Results: First Three Months Post-Launch
Visibility and rankings
- 7x increase in impressions since the initial SEO work began
- 3x more page-one rankings on Google
- Strong positions for high-intent searches including "care homes in Keswick", "care homes Newton-le-Willows", and "care homes in Cumbria"
- Performance sustained in competitive local markets
Traffic growth
- +171% increase in traffic year-on-year
- 4x increase in unbranded traffic, meaning new audiences finding Living Developments for the first time, not just existing brand searches
Enquiries and conversions
- +33% increase in enquiries quarter-on-quarter
That enquiry growth reflects what happens when a site is built around the user's decision process rather than around the operator's preference for how information is laid out. Improved user experience, clear conversion pathways, and better alignment with search intent all contributed.
What This Means in Practice
For a care home with 40 beds running at 85% occupancy, six beds are empty. At a typical self-funded weekly fee of £1,200 to £1,500, that represents up to £75,000 of lost annual revenue per bed. A 33% increase in enquiries is not a marketing metric. It is a direct line to occupancy.
Living Developments now has a platform that supports growth rather than limiting it, a site that reflects the quality of the homes it represents, and a foundation that SEO and content work can keep building on.
To see how a rebuilt website can support local search performance for multi-site operators, read how multi-location care home SEO actually works.
If your site is generating traffic that is not converting into enquiries, talk to us about what might be holding it back.
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