Ben Rolfe of Childcare Marketing, focuses on helping childcare providers improve their marketing strategies to drive inquiries, increase occupancy, and support staff recruitment. Ben highlighted that 80% of parents find childcare via Google Search, so SEO and paid advertising are critical for Early Years settings. However, social media, although valuable, plays a supporting role rather than a primary one.
Key takeaways
- Conduct a SWOT analysis and build a marketing plan:
Identify internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats, then set SMART objectives for each aim. This provides the foundation for all marketing activity and enables ongoing evaluation.
- Audit current inquiry channels:
Assess where inquiries are coming from (e.g. word of mouth, website, social media) and identify underperforming channels that could be opened up to grow inquiry volume. As demonstrated by a provider with 40% occupancy whose sole channel was word of mouth, diversifying channels can significantly increase results.
- Prioritise website quality and SEO:
Ensure the website is optimised with relevant keywords, particularly "childcare," "nurseries," and "daycare", in page titles, headings, meta titles, and meta descriptions, as 80% of parents find childcare via Google Search and 55% only look at the top three results.
- Collect Google reviews actively:
Implement a direct approach, such as SMS with a review link or an in-setting tablet, to gather reviews promptly, given that 75% of parents look at Google reviews before choosing a setting.
- Consider paid advertising for short-term visibility:
Run Google Ads or Facebook Ads to generate immediate inquiry flow, particularly for settings in low-footfall areas or those needing rapid occupancy growth, while building organic SEO in the background.
- Think creatively about staff recruitment:
Move beyond standard job boards and explore TikTok, Facebook Ads, and differentiated job titles (e.g. music educator, arts practitioner) to attract candidates, as providers who have done so have seen strong results in a difficult recruitment climate.
