Which directory fits the type of care we provide?
Start with the care model and the family’s decision. A directory aimed at choosing a care home is different from one aimed at finding visiting care at home. An advice or matching service may introduce enquiries differently from a directly browsed listing.
The table separates the broad purpose of each platform from the current package details you should verify. It does not quote prices or imply that the platforms share a charging model. Follow the official links and request current provider terms before paying or agreeing to receive introductions.
| Platform and official site | Care model / audience | Listing and enquiry checks | Commercial checks before agreeing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carehome.co.uk | Residential and nursing care home research; families comparing individual homes. | Review each home’s facts, care categories, gallery, review process and available contact routes. Ask which fields and enquiry tools your package includes. | Ask about basic versus paid listing options, visibility features, renewal terms and how any contact tracking is reported. Obtain the current package terms. |
| Homecare.co.uk | Home care provider research; people looking for support delivered at home. | Confirm which agency or branch is listed, its true coverage, service descriptions, reviews and enquiry destinations. | Request the applicable listing or subscription terms, included features and renewal conditions; do not assume care-home package terms apply. |
| Autumna | Care search and advice across provider types; confirm the categories and geography relevant to your service. | Ask how your factual profile is maintained and whether a family contacts you directly or arrives through an advice or introduction process. | Request the current provider agreement: ask whether subscriptions, introductions or other charges apply to the specific arrangement offered. |
| Lottie | Care search and matching; check the current service types and locations supported for your provider. | Ask what provider information is shown, how matching or introductions work and who handles the initial enquiry. | Request the current partner terms and any referral or placement conditions, attribution period, cancellation terms and evidence required. |
| Senior Homes Plus | Care-search and advice service; confirm the provider types and locations relevant to your business. | Ask how introductions reach your team, which approved facts are shared and how corrections are made. | Request the actual provider agreement, including any introduction or placement charges, attribution and cancellation terms. |
Feature access and commercial arrangements can change. Treat descriptions of packages, prices and charging triggers as unverified until confirmed directly in the agreement offered to your business.
What should we check in every listing?
- The real provider or home name, address where appropriate, care types, coverage and monitored contact details.
- Which information your team can edit and how corrections are requested.
- How reviews are collected, moderated and displayed, and what your team can respond to.
- Whether a family contacts you directly, uses a platform enquiry form or is introduced by an adviser.
- Which reports identify traffic, enquiries or introductions, and how duplicate enquiries are handled.
Keep a small register of profile owners, update dates and renewal obligations. The Carehome.co.uk profile guide provides a detailed example of reviewing one home.
How do we compare the commercial value fairly?
Use your own suitable enquiries and the actual contract, not a headline audience figure. Ask what counts as a chargeable event, whether charges depend on a listing, lead or placement, and how an existing enquiry is distinguished from a new introduction. Do not assume a platform’s commercial model from the way its consumer pages look.
Record relevant enquiries, response time, suitability and any resulting assessment or admission in your own system. A directory dashboard click is not automatically a qualified enquiry. Allow for different care types and capacity before comparing channels.
Should directory profiles copy our website?
The facts should agree, but the explanation should fit the page. A home’s directory entry needs enough specific information to help a family shortlist it. Your own website can provide fuller service explanations, accessible practical details and a clearer account of what happens next.
A profile should link to the most useful page for that home or branch where the platform permits. Directory management can coordinate approved updates; Care Home SEO and Home Care SEO address the wider website and local-search journey.
If that destination cannot explain the care clearly or provide a usable enquiry route, redesigning your care website may be more useful than sending additional directory visitors to the same confusing page.
What should we do before renewing a paid arrangement?
- Check the current agreement and renewal date rather than relying on a historic sales conversation.
- Review enquiry quality and duplicates alongside any platform reporting.
- Check whether the listing still reflects your current care offering and capacity.
- Confirm attribution, cancellation and dispute arrangements in writing.
- Compare maintaining a smaller number of relevant profiles with the operational cost of managing every possible directory.
This guide is editorial guidance, not a verification of current package features or commercial terms. No paid listing or profile change guarantees an enquiry, admission or higher organic Google position.
Autumna: what should the provider check?
Review whether the profile explains the actual home or service: setting, care provision, photographs, practical arrangements and monitored contact information. Ask which fields your team controls and how corrections are processed. Do not assume a premium feature, audience percentage or referral-fee claim from historic marketing copy; confirm the current agreement.
Homecare.co.uk: coverage, profiles and placement
Confirm the agency or branch represented, approved services and genuine coverage, and whether each available contact route reaches the correct team. Ask the platform for its current placement and review-score rules and applicable package terms. Do not publish old tier-point formulas, update intervals or review-volume targets without current official evidence. The home care local SEO guide covers the website’s separate coverage structure.
Lottie: information, introductions and responsibility
Check which provider details are displayed, who approves changes and how a family or introduction reaches your team. Ask what the offered arrangement includes, what triggers any charge and how duplicate or existing enquiries are handled. Confirm any availability tools or integrations directly rather than treating them as standard features or guaranteeing referral quality.
Senior Homes Plus: reviewing an advice-led channel
Ask how your home is considered, what factual information is held, who handles introductions and how changes to approved details are made. Review the offered provider agreement before making commercial comparisons. Do not assume that an adviser-led introduction is suitable, higher quality or free of provider charges.
Which platform should we compare with which?
For an agency comparing Homecare.co.uk with Autumna or Lottie, start with whether the specific arrangement covers your care model and actual operating area. For a home comparing Carehome.co.uk with either platform, compare approved information, contact ownership, relevant enquiries and the actual terms on the same basis. There is no universal winner or identical fee model. Keep your own enquiry records alongside platform reporting.