Searching the Internet for Assisted Living Communities.

 

It seems to me that more and more prospective residents and their families are using the Internet to search for an assisted living community. Perhaps the word is out that referral agencies are not very helpful in narrowing down the best communities that would fit the needs and wants of the consumers. (for more info on this subject please see my blog: http://www.evergreenchalet.com/2011/04/choose-placement-referral-agency/ ).

 

Searching the Internet is a very powerful tool if one learns how to use it properly. There are thousands of good sources that cover the mechanics of searching. Reading just a handful of these articles and following their recommendations will certainly improve the results of your search.

 

I am going to concentrate only on one element of the search: the key word. This is the word or words or phrases you use to describe what you are looking for. It is very important to use them properly, otherwise you end up with too much information, too little information or useless information. A rule of thumb is that we should use 3-5 words or phrases (a phrase is a combination of two or more words, ex. “assisted living facility”).

 

A recent article in the Senior Living Executive, a journal published by the Assisted Living Federation of America(ALFA), entitled Keyword Search Phrase Volume and What It Means for Your Website, quotes some interesting data from Google. The figures show (in thousands) the number of U.S. monthly searches for the top keywords. Here they are as ranked by Google:

#1. nursing home(s)  3,330;  #2. retirement home(s)  1,496;   #3. assisted living  823;   #4. retirement community(ies)  669;   #5. senior housing  450;   #6. senior living  450;   #7. long term care  368.

For specific levels of care, the ranks are:  #1. (in/at) home care  1,830;   #2. hospice  1,000;   #3. home health care  450;   #4. independent living  135;  5. hospice care  135;  6. skilled nursing  110;   #7. respite care  41;   #8. Alzheimer’s care  27;   #9. dementia care  22;   #10. memory care  22.

 

These numbers show that many prospective residents still search using older terms: “nursing home(s)” and “retirement home(s).”  This means that unless assisted living facilities (ALF) have used these keywords (tags) on their websites, which they usually do not, the prospective resident will not be able to retrieve a great list of ALFs.  So it makes good sense for prospective residents and their families to become familiar with the newer terminology used by assisted living professionals in order to increase the effectiveness of their searches. Some of these new words and phrases are:  “assisted living community” (“instead of assisted living facility”); “resident” (instead of “client” or “ patient” or “consumer”);  etc.  Most importantly, the searcher should understand the difference between a nursing home and an assisted living community. Simply put, if you or your loved one needs assistance with any of the activities of daily living (ADLs): bathing, transferring, toileting, dressing, grooming, feeding or help because of affliction with Alzheimer’s or dementia, then you need an assisted living community, not a nursing home and not a retirement community.