Compare: care directories
Your own website, or just the directories?
Directories such as carehome.co.uk, Autumna and Lottie are where many families start looking. A listing is quick to set up, and reviews on carehome.co.uk in particular carry real weight with families.
This page is not about which directory to choose or what each one costs. It is about the role each channel should play, and what happens when a directory is the only one you have.
Scorecard
Your own site vs directories only
Directories win on speed and reviews. Your own site wins on control.
Side by side
A tick means it is a strength of that option, a dash means it depends on who does the work, a cross means it is usually missing.
| Your own website | Directories only | |
|---|---|---|
Live today A listing can be up this week. A good website takes weeks to build and months to rank. | ||
Reviews families already trust Directory reviews are a genuine strength. Your own site can point families to them. | ||
Ranks for "care homes in [town]" Big directories rank strongly for town searches. Your own site can rank too, with local pages and time. | ||
You own the page and the enquiry On a directory, the enquiry reaches you through someone else’s platform, on their terms. | ||
Only you on the page A directory page usually sits among other providers in your area. Your site is only about you. | ||
Room to tell your full story Fees, funding help, your CQC rating, real photos, your team, your approach to care. Directories give you a profile shape. | ||
Brings carer applications Care directories are built for families. Recruitment needs pages of your own. | ||
Keeps working if you stop paying A basic free listing usually stays. Upgraded placement stops when the payments do. Your pages keep ranking. |
What directories do well
Directories solve a real problem for families: they put many providers side by side, with reviews, in one place. The large ones rank strongly for care searches in most towns, so a listing gets you in front of families from the day it goes live.
Reviews are the biggest strength. A family who reads a run of honest, recent reviews from other families is far more reassured than by anything you write about yourself. For a new service with no search history, a directory may be the only way to be found at all in the first few months.
What only your own website can do
A directory profile has a fixed shape. It can hold the basics, but it cannot be the place a family goes to understand your fees, your funding options, your approach to dementia care, or who your manager is. Your own site can, and it is where most families go after they have found you anywhere else.
You control what they see
On a directory, your profile sits among neighbouring providers. On your own site, the family sees only you, your photos, your rating and your phone number.
You own the enquiry
Enquiries from your own site come straight to you, with no third party deciding how they are passed on. That also makes UK GDPR simpler, because you know exactly where family data goes. See why this matters in why your own website beats renting leads.
It builds value over time
Every useful page you publish keeps working. A guide to funding, a page for each town you serve, a clear fees page: they gather visits for years. Spend on a directory stops working when you stop spending.
It recruits as well
Care directories are built for families, not carers. Your own recruitment pages are where applications come from.
It shows your CQC rating properly
Regulation 20A requires your rating on your own website. A directory listing does not replace that. Our CQC rating display checker will tell you whether yours is showing.
How to run both
For most providers, the answer is not one or the other. Keep your directory profiles complete and current, and keep asking families for reviews. Link your directory profiles to your website, and make sure the name, address and phone number match everywhere.
Then build the channel you own alongside. Track where every enquiry comes from, including the phone calls. After six months you will know which directories earn their place and whether your own site is pulling its weight. Our guide to what care directories actually cost per enquiry shows how to work it out, and Autumna, Lottie and the paid directories compared looks at the options one by one.
If you only have the budget for one thing this month, a complete, well reviewed Google Business Profile is free and often does more than either.
When relying on directories is the right choice
If you are opening a new service and need enquiries in the next few weeks, a directory listing is the fastest way to be found. Start there, and build your own site while it works.
If you have very few vacancies and a waiting list, a well reviewed directory profile and a simple website may be all you need. There is no prize for over investing.
If a particular directory brings you good enquiries at a cost per admission you are happy with, keep paying for it. The point is to measure, not to quit. We cover one directory in detail in is carehome.co.uk worth it for a care home?
A quick check of your channels
- Every directory profile is complete, with current photos.
- Every profile links to your own website.
- Name, address and phone number match everywhere.
- You ask every family for a review, on the platform they use.
- Each enquiry is logged with where it came from.
- Your CQC rating shows on your own website.
See how you compare locally with our free care competitor snapshot.
Common questions
Should we stop paying for directory listings?
Do we still need a website if we are on carehome.co.uk?
Can our own website outrank the directories?
Is this relevant for home care and supported living too?
Free buyer's guide
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See how your own site performs
A free audit shows whether your website is ready to carry more of your enquiries, and what to fix first.
