Running a childcare centre is a full-time job before you even think about marketing. You are managing staff, meeting compliance requirements, and making sure every child in your care has a great day. Attracting new families often ends up at the bottom of the to-do list, even when your books are not as full as you need them to be.
The good news is that you do not need a big budget or a marketing team to fill your enrolments. You just need a clear plan and the right tactics applied consistently. Here are ten practical ways to generate more leads for your childcare centre.
1. Get your Google Business Profile working for you
If a parent searches “childcare near me” and your centre does not show up, you are invisible to them. Your Google Business Profile is the single most important free tool available to you.
Make sure your profile is complete, including your hours, photos of your facility, a description of your programs, and a link to your website. Ask satisfied families to leave a review. A centre with 20 genuine five-star reviews will consistently win clicks over one with none.
KPI to track: Number of profile views and direction requests per month via Google Business Profile Insights.
2. Build a website that converts, not just one that looks nice
Parents researching childcare options will visit your website before they call you. If your site is slow, hard to navigate on a phone, or does not answer their key questions, they will move on to the next centre on the list.
A good childcare website clearly explains your philosophy, your age groups, your fees (or at least your fee range), and what the enrolment process looks like. It should have one clear action for the visitor to take, whether that is booking a tour or submitting an enquiry.
KPI to track: Website enquiry conversion rate (enquiries divided by total visitors).
3. Run Google Ads targeting local parents
When a parent is actively looking for childcare, they are searching Google. A well-run Google Ads campaign puts your centre in front of them at exactly that moment.
The key is to target local, intent-driven search terms like “childcare [your suburb]” or “long day care [your area]” rather than broad terms that attract clicks from people outside your catchment. Set a geographic radius, write clear ad copy that speaks to what parents care about most, and send clicks to a dedicated page with a simple enquiry form.
KPI to track: Cost per enquiry and number of qualified leads generated per month.
4. Use Facebook and Instagram to stay visible in your community
Social media is not where parents go to make a decision, but it is where they go to validate one. If a family has already heard about your centre through a friend or seen your Google listing, they will often check your Facebook or Instagram before reaching out.
Post consistently. Share photos of your facilities and programs (with appropriate permissions), highlight your team, and share useful parenting content. The goal is to show that your centre is active, warm, and well-run.
KPI to track: Reach and engagement rate per post, and the number of profile link clicks.
5. Run a targeted Meta Ads campaign
Facebook and Instagram advertising allows you to reach parents in a specific postcode who fall within a certain age bracket. For childcare, this is a genuinely useful targeting capability.
A simple campaign promoting a virtual tour, an open day, or a downloadable guide to choosing childcare can generate enquiries at a reasonable cost. Keep the creative simple and the call to action clear.
KPI to track: Number of leads generated and cost per lead.
6. Invest in local SEO so parents find you organically
Beyond your Google Business Profile, there is longer-term work that helps your website rank when parents search for childcare in your area. This is called local SEO, and it includes creating suburb-specific content on your website, earning mentions on local directories, and making sure your name, address, and phone number are consistent everywhere online.
This takes time to build but pays off continuously. A centre that ranks on page one of Google for “childcare [suburb]” is generating enquiries every week without any ongoing ad spend.
KPI to track: Organic search traffic to your website and your position for key local search terms.
7. Create a referral program for current families
The most trusted recommendation a prospective parent can receive is from another parent who already has a child at your centre. Make it easy for your current families to refer you, and acknowledge them when they do.
A simple referral program does not need to be complicated. It could be a gift card, a fee discount, or simply a heartfelt thank-you note. What matters is that you ask, and that you make referring you feel natural and appreciated.
KPI to track: Number of enrolments attributed to referrals per quarter.
8. Host open days and virtual tours
Many families want to see your centre before they commit to an enquiry. An open day removes the barrier of a formal phone call and gives you the chance to show your centre at its best.
If hosting in-person events is difficult, a short virtual tour video on your website or social media achieves a similar result. Show parents what a typical day looks like, introduce your team, and walk them through your facilities.
KPI to track: Number of attendees or video views, and the conversion rate from tour to enquiry.
9. Claim your listings on childcare directories
There are several online platforms where parents search for childcare, including Care for Kids and the Australian Government’s Child Care Finder. These platforms send parents directly to listed centres, and being absent from them means missing a straightforward source of leads.
Claim your listings, keep your information accurate, and where possible, collect reviews on these platforms as well as Google.
KPI to track: Number of enquiries received via directory listings per month.
10. Set up a simple lead nurture process
Not every family that enquires is ready to enrol immediately. Some are planning months ahead. If you respond to an enquiry once and then never follow up, you are leaving enrolments on the table.
A basic lead nurture process can be as simple as sending a follow-up email a week after the initial enquiry, then another at the one-month mark. If you use a CRM like HubSpot, this can be automated so no lead slips through the cracks. Families can book a tour online, receive friendly reminders at each step of the process, and your staff get notified automatically so nothing falls through.
KPI to track: Enquiry-to-enrolment conversion rate and average time from first contact to enrolment.
What this looks like in practice
Child’s Play ELC is a family-owned early learning centre in Victoria with a simple motto: every child matters. When owners Sam and Ian Johnson decided to expand into additional locations, they needed a clear plan to fill each new centre within three months of opening, while keeping their team focused on caring for children rather than managing a flood of admin.
We worked with Child’s Play to build a full inbound marketing strategy covering their website, local SEO, Google Ads, Facebook and Instagram, and their Google Business Profiles. At the same time, we set up HubSpot to automate the enquiry and enrolment process so that families could book tours online, receive nurturing email sequences, and move through each step without manual follow-up from staff.
The result? The centres filled. And Child’s Play, which started with two locations when they came to us, now has eight.
It is a good example of what happens when the right tactics work together with a clear process behind them. The marketing generates the leads, and the system makes sure none of them go cold.
You can read the full story here: Child’s Play ELC — Rapid Growth Through Digital Marketing and Strategy
Start with one or two, not all ten
The biggest mistake childcare operators make with marketing is trying to do everything at once and doing none of it well. Pick the two tactics most relevant to your current situation. If you have no online presence, start with your Google Business Profile and your website. If you already have those in place, layer in Google Ads or a referral program.
Consistent, focused effort over six to twelve months will deliver far better results than a scattered approach across ten channels.
If you want help working out which of these makes sense for your centre, we are happy to have that conversation. No buzzwords, no pressure. Just a practical look at what is likely to work for you.
