For UK social care providers
Families are ruling out your care home before they ever visit
Most families shortlist homes online first. Without professional photography, a virtual tour, and clear room information, enquiries go to competitors whose facilities may be no better than yours.
Two minutes. Solva follows up with specific digital presence options.
- Low website engagement metrics (high bounce rate, low time on page)
- Frequent feedback from prospective families about difficulty visualising the home online
- A high number of initial phone enquiries that do not convert to in-person visits
- Competitors with professional virtual tours consistently attracting more initial interest
- Increased workload for admissions teams to convert less qualified leads
- Higher reliance on traditional, often less effective, marketing channels
- Significant loss of potential annual revenue from unfilled beds
- Reduced return on investment for other marketing activities
- Perception of being outdated or not transparent by digitally-savvy families
- Negative word-of-mouth within local communities
- The primary root cause is the increasing reliance of families on digital channels for initial care home research and shortlisting.
- Many care homes have not adapted their digital presence to meet these evolving consumer behaviours, often due to a lack of understanding of digital marketing's impact or insufficient investment in professional digital assets.
- This creates a disconnect between the quality of care offered and its online representation.
Care homes providing virtual tours can boost conversion rates up to almost 50% (Care Home 360, Undated)
Source: https://carehome360.co.uk/virtual-tours-for-care-homes/
How to fix it
Commission a professional photography and virtual tour package (typically £500–£1,500). Embed the virtual tour on your website homepage. Add a dedicated 'Our Home' section with room types, communal spaces, garden, and dining room. Include a short video of daily life from a resident or family perspective.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this problem persist?
Families shortlist care homes online before visiting. A website without professional photography, a virtual tour, and clear information about rooms, facilities, and activities loses enquiries to competitors who invest in their digital presence. The decision to visit is made online - not on the phone.
What is the cost of leaving it unaddressed?
A care home losing 1-2 admissions per month at an average weekly fee of £1,298 could lose £67,496-£134,992 in annual revenue (carehome.co.uk, 2026)
This is exactly what I do with UK private practices. Answer the few questions above and I'll come back personally with where to start. Paul.