Caring.com Caregiving Directory Visits Grow by 40 Percent

Consumer visits to the merged Caring.com and Gilbert Guide directories have grown by more than 40 percent so far this year, highlighting the demand for a comprehensive, free, open list of local eldercare resources.

San Mateo, CA; June 30, 2010 — Consumer visits to the merged Caring.com and Gilbert Guide directories have grown by more than 40 percent so far this year, highlighting the demand for a comprehensive, free, open list of local eldercare resources. Family members caring for an aging parent or spouse increasingly use Caring.com, a leading online destination for caregivers, to find local help and housing options for their loved ones. Thanks to a comprehensive and free directory, businesses are also seeing value"”as evidenced by the growth of listings and new clients, including two of the nation's top three assisted-living companies.

The inclusive directory is built using an open directory business model, one that allows eldercare communities and living facilities to include basic information for free, delivering significant value for consumers and business partners. Leading assisted-living companies have worked with Caring.com to ensure inclusion.

"We consistently heard from our users they needed help in finding a trusted guide to senior housing options," said Caring.com CEO Andy Cohen. "We did not think the current industry players were meeting their needs, so, to fulfill our mission, we merged with Gilbert Guide to let consumers see more than 100,000 different local options for 14 categories of senior services. It's not just a list of those who pay to participate."

The Caring.com eldercare directory provides housing and service providers across the country with the opportunity to reach caregivers directly through consistent branding and messaging, and it allows the caregivers to control when and how they contact these providers. The open model is an industry first and offers two listing options: basic listings, which include contact information, photographs, and a short description; and enhanced listings, which, for a small annual fee, provide more visibility through improved presentation in search results, cross-promotion throughout the directory, and an embedded lead form.

Brookdale Senior Living and Emeritus Senior Living have both recently joined the company's list of advertisers as a way to expand awareness and reach caregivers.

"Both appreciate the way Caring.com allows them to deepen their relationships with family caregivers by providing valuable information on topics like senior nutrition and family communication," said Caring.com Vice President Evan Liang, who heads up the company's directory business. "By allowing our partners complete control of their own brand image and direct access to people in need of assistance, they end up getting more"”and better"”leads after all."

With millions of visitors to its flagship website, Caring.com, Caring is a leading senior living referral service and the nation’s top site for senior care reviews. Founded in 2007, Caring’s mission is to help as many seniors and their caregivers as possible through empathetic, expert guidance. Applying cutting-edge technology to this humane mission, Caring provides relevant senior care information and support, as well as comprehensive senior living and senior care directories for the United States, including nearly 400,000 consumer reviews. Through a toll-free referral line at (800) 558-0653, Caring’s trusted, nationwide team of Family Advisors — who are among the most highly trained, highly skilled, and knowledgeable experts in senior care — helps seniors and their families research and connect to the most appropriate services and support for their specific situations. For more information about our organization and our free services for seniors and their families, please visit http://www.caring.com/about and join with Caring on Facebook.