Editor’s note: This article was rewritten for July 2026.
Reviews matter. Full stop. People rarely make purchases without checking reviews, especially when considering local businesses like senior living communities.
Consider these stats from BrightLocal’s 2026 survey on the impact of local consumer reviews:
- 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses.
- 71% of consumers use Google to read local business reviews.
- 54% of consumers visit a business’s website after reading positive reviews.
Bottom line: Senior living reputation management needs to be a regular part of your ongoing marketing and sales efforts. It absolutely makes sense when you consider the emotions around the move into senior living. People want to know their loved one will be happy and in capable hands.
But here’s something you might not realize about reviews: They also help teach AI models like ChatGPT about your community, which is key to boosting potential citation mentions.
Overwhelmed? Confused? We got you. Below are strategies for improving and managing your community’s online reputation.
Executive Summary: Why Reputation Management Deserves Ongoing Attention
- Online reviews influence how families evaluate senior living communities, especially when emotions are high and trust matters.
- Claiming and maintaining listings on your community’s Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Yelp, and senior living review sites will help you manage what prospects see.
- Responding thoughtfully to positive, neutral, and negative reviews shows families that your community is listening and engaged.
- Review solicitation rules vary by platform, so communities need to be careful about how, when, and where they ask for reviews.
- Positive reviews can be repurposed across websites, social media, print collateral, and other marketing materials to build trust and reinforce social proof.
Table of Contents
Claim and maintain listings on popular review sites.
Actively monitor reviews and act on suggestions.
Respond thoughtfully to reviews.
Don’t forget to monitor social media.
Recency matters when it comes to reviews, but be careful about how and when you ask for them.
Promote and repurpose reviews.
Don’t overlook your senior living staff.
Work with a partner to help manage your senior living reputation.
1. Claim and maintain listings on popular review sites.
The first step to effective senior living reputation management is to claim listings where people leave reviews. Focus on review sites that rank well in organic search and that influence AI and large language models, starting with your Google Business Profile, Bing Places for Business, and Yelp.
- PRO TIP: Why Yelp? Yelp matters because its reviews and business information can surface beyond Yelp itself, including in places like Apple Maps and Bing local results. So, if your Yelp presence is outdated, incomplete, or weighed down by negative reviews, that reputation issue may follow families across multiple listing networks as they research senior living options. Here’s the thing about Yelp, though: Don’t solicit reviews. Doing so violates Yelp’s review policy (we discuss this more in tip #5 below).
From there, focus on highly-trafficked review sites related to the senior living industry, such as A Place for Mom, Caring.com, and SeniorAdvisor.com. (The latter has a turnkey approach to claiming your listing, responding to reviews, and soliciting more reviews.)
An important reminder: Whether you’re actively managing your listings or not, the listings likely already exist. So, for example, even if you haven’t claimed your business listing on Caring.com, your senior living community is probably already listed and getting reviews.
Claiming a profile simply allows you to manage reviews better (as well as other information, such as phone numbers). Plus, you can respond to reviews (good and bad) as the business.
2. Actively monitor reviews and act on suggestions.
Pay attention to suggestions and criticisms brought up in reviews. If you keep hearing people talk about the same positive things, make sure you’re promoting these items throughout other marketing materials, like your senior living website, lead nurturing, and social media.
On the flip side, if you see a recurring theme in people’s grievances, address those complaints. Once you’ve made changes or addressed the complaints, pay close attention to reviews moving forward. Hopefully, you’ll see fewer rumblings about the issue.
3. Respond thoughtfully to reviews.
Responding to ALL reviews is important for a few reasons. From a human perspective, responses show that the community cares and “hears” what the reviewer is saying, whether the review is good, bad, or neutral.
But responding to reviews also matters to Google, which values a business’s frequent activity on its Google Business Profile. And, unsurprisingly, AI models care about responses, too.
So, what should you say? Let’s break it down into positive reviews, neutral reviews (average, three stars), poor reviews, and abusive, trolling, or spam reviews.
Positive reviews
Acknowledging positive reviews is a nice way to thank reviewers and show others that you’re actively monitoring and responding to people. Make the response substantial. Saying something besides “Thanks for the wonderful reviews” provides a great opportunity to discuss an aspect of your community in a conversational way, which is especially helpful to AI and LLMs.
Neutral/average reviews
While the goal is to gather positive reviews, the reality is that average and negative reviews are a part of doing business. In fact, some savvy consumers might be suspicious if a business has only glowing reviews. Two- and three-star reviews usually involve the reviewer pointing out positives and negatives. If you respond, the key is to thank the person for their honest feedback. Let them know you’re glad they’re happy with X (positive stuff). And thank them for bringing your attention to Y (negative stuff).
Poor reviews
In those truly negative one- and two-star reviews, people are clearly unhappy, and they’re publicly calling out your community. Acknowledge their complaints. Thank them for their honest feedback, even though it’s tough to hear. Ask them if they’d be open to reaching out so you can learn more about the issue. Let them know that you and your team members are listening and always striving to do better. This is where senior living reputation management can be difficult, but addressing negative reviews is essential.
Abusive, trolling, and spammy reviews
The customer isn’t always right. You do not need to tolerate reviews that contain toxic, offensive, or bullying language. Do not respond to the reviewer directly. Follow the platform’s protocols for flagging and disputing a review. Some sites will remove these sorts of reviews after an internal evaluation. But even if the site doesn’t remove the review, don’t fret. Today’s consumers are savvy. They can discern between someone leaving a legit review about a mediocre experience and a troll directing hatred at your community.
- WORTH NOTING: Here’s something we’re keeping our eyes on. As of March 2026, Google has been testing the option for AI-generated review responses, something that has historically been frowned upon. We’re not suggesting senior living communities automate responses at this point, even if Google ultimately says it’s OK. Our industry is way too personal and high-touch. But it’s something to be aware of.
4. Don’t forget to monitor social media.
People often air their grievances on places like Facebook, X, and Instagram. Don’t overlook mentions of your community, especially the negative ones. It doesn’t take much for a negative tweet or Facebook post to go viral.
Remember, be thoughtful in how you respond on social media. Empty-sounding phrases or condescending responses (e.g., “We’re sorry you feel that way”) add little value and come off as defensive or aloof. Sound human: “We’re so sorry about your experience, and we want to know more so we can address it. Please DM us or call this number directly and ask for Susan.”
5. Recency matters when it comes to reviews, but be careful about how and when you ask for them.
The best antidote to bad reviews? More good reviews. But be careful! You might think that all you need to do is get in the habit of asking for reviews. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
Review solicitation policies vary across platforms.
In April 2026, Google announced a specific policy against rating manipulation, including soliciting employees for business reviews and running review contests.
Yelp, on the other hand, strictly prohibits ANY form of asking for reviews and has a built-in algorithm to hide or exclude reviews it suspects are even remotely solicited. Yelp won’t let you appeal its decision, either. Yelp’s philosophy is simple: It believes that providing great service is enough to inspire someone to leave a good review.
So, what should your community do?
Claim your community’s listing on Yelp, but don’t make it an active part of your review solicitation strategy. A sudden surge of only 5-star reviews will raise Yelp’s virtual eyebrows.
For Google, it’s generally OK to remind people about reviews. You could have a placard with a QR code in your community’s reception area and in the elevators. Add the QR code to the back of the monthly or quarterly newsletter. In correspondence with residents/families, always remind people that you welcome Google reviews. In electronic communications, you can include a direct link to the place where you want people to leave a review.
For example, you might write: “Do you love living in The Elmwood Senior Living? Tell people about it! Provide a review about your experience.”
6. Promote and repurpose reviews.
Other people’s experiences provide that all-important social proof that consumers care about. Promote your positive reviews throughout your marketing materials.
- Add a plugin or widget to your website’s home page that highlights the latest five-star reviews.
- Sprinkle positive reviews on other high-traffic website pages, such as locations, amenities, and contact pages.
- Share reviews on social media. “Another happy resident talks about her experience at The Elmwood . . .”
- Use snippets from stellar reviews in print collateral, such as brochures and print ads.
7. Don’t overlook your senior living staff.
Sites like Glassdoor also provide great insight into what it’s like to work in your community. This is particularly important for the senior living industry since happy employees will provide a happier experience for residents.
Not to mention, more and more savvy consumers will look at sites like Glassdoor to get a sense of what employees think about the senior living community, including its leadership and business practices.
8. Work with a partner to help manage your senior living reputation.
Senior living reputation management can be a lot of work. That’s why it makes sense to turn to a trusted partner like Senior Living SMART to manage the work for you. We know senior living inside and out, including the review sites you need to pay attention to. Let’s talk about your community’s specific needs.
