Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the fastest ways to reach families searching for senior living options, but if not managed properly, it can quickly drain your budget without delivering meaningful results. Many senior living communities spend thousands on Google Ads yet struggle to generate qualified leads that actually convert.
If your PPC strategy isn’t working, you may be making one (or more) of these common mistakes:
- Targeting the wrong keywords that don’t attract serious inquiries.
- Paying for irrelevant traffic that doesn’t lead to move-ins.
- Sending visitors to low-converting landing pages that don’t encourage action.
- Failing to follow up effectively, resulting in lost opportunities.
Here’s how to stop wasting ad budget and start driving real move-ins.
Are You Targeting the Right Keywords?
One of the biggest PPC mistakes is choosing the wrong keywords. Many communities bid on broad, expensive search terms like:
- “Senior living”
- “Assisted living near me”
While these terms drive traffic, they don’t necessarily attract the right prospects. Some searchers may be researching with no intent to move, while others may be job seekers or competitor researchers.
How to Fix It:
- Focus on high-intent, long-tail keywords that indicate serious interest:
- “Best assisted living community in [city]”
- “Memory care for Alzheimer’s in [city]”
- “Luxury senior living apartments near me”
- Use negative keywords to block irrelevant traffic:
- “Jobs” (to avoid employment seekers)
- “Cheap” (to filter out low-budget searches)
- “Nursing homes” (if you only offer assisted living)
By refining your keyword targeting, you’ll attract more qualified leads and reduce wasted ad spend.
Your Landing Page Might Be Killing Your Conversions
Driving traffic to your website isn’t enough—if your landing page isn’t optimized for conversions, you’re losing potential residents before they even inquire.
What a High-Converting Senior Living PPC Landing Page Needs:
- A compelling headline that speaks to families’ concerns – “Is It Time for Assisted Living? Find Out Today.”
- A strong call-to-action (CTA) – “Schedule a Free Tour” or “Download Our Cost Guide”.
- A simple lead form – name, email, phone number—no unnecessary fields.
- A fast, mobile-friendly design, since most searches happen on mobile.
- Video tours and testimonials to build trust and showcase the community.
How to Fix It:
- A/B test different CTAs to see which drives more conversions.
- Remove unnecessary form fields—too many fields discourage inquiries.
- Ensure your page loads in under three seconds to prevent drop-offs.
Pro Tip: Instead of sending ad traffic to your homepage, create dedicated PPC landing pages for different audience segments (e.g., one for assisted living, another for memory care).
Are You Ignoring Retargeting Ads?
97% of website visitors don’t convert on their first visit. Without a retargeting strategy, you’re letting warm leads slip away to competitors.
How Retargeting Works:
- A family clicks your ad but doesn’t book a tour.
- They leave the site without taking action.
- Later, they see your ad again on Facebook or Google Display.
- This reminder encourages them to return and book a tour.
How to Fix It:
- Run Google Display retargeting ads to re-engage past visitors.
- Use Facebook & Instagram retargeting ads to stay top-of-mind.
- Offer a lead magnet (“Download Our Senior Living Cost Guide”) to capture emails and nurture leads.
Communities using retargeting ads see conversion rates 3x higher than those relying on first-time visitors alone.
Are You Overpaying for Clicks? (How to Optimize Bidding Strategy)
Many communities overspend on PPC clicks because they:
- Manually set bids without tracking performance.
- Ignore bid adjustments based on key factors like time of day or device type.
How to Fix It:
- Use automated bidding strategies (Maximize Conversions bidding) to let Google optimize for the best results.
- Adjust bids based on:
- Time of day (increase bids during peak research hours).
- Device type (optimize mobile bids, since most searches happen on smartphones).
- Location targeting (bid higher for local, high-intent searches).
An optimized bidding strategy lowers cost-per-click while improving lead quality.
PPC Success = Strategy, Not Just Budget
A great PPC strategy isn’t about spending more—it’s about spending smarter.
The PPC Success Formula:
- Use high-intent, long-tail keywords to attract the right audience.
- Optimize your landing page for conversions with clear CTAs and a mobile-friendly design.
- Run retargeting ads to bring back undecided prospects.
- Refine your bidding strategy to avoid overpaying for clicks.
The result? Lower costs, higher conversion rates, and more move-ins.
If your PPC ads aren’t driving real results, it’s time to audit and optimize your strategy. By making these adjustments, your community can turn ad spend into high-quality leads and full occupancy.
