It’s not new news that nearly 60 percent of the population searches for health related issues on the Internet.
But the latest findings from a Pew Internet & American Life Project indicate that you can fine tune your focus on whom is searching for what particular kind of medical information.
For instance, those 30-49 have far more interest in discovering how to manage chronic pain and are seeking solutions. This nugget is a heads-up for orthopedic and neurology specialists. This sore, increasingly achy demographic can directly be reached and your practice promoted through online behavior ad placement. For example, when your practice’s physicians write a brief blog about their experiences in treating ailments typical of this nature, a simple search ad campaign can return impressive results. Your search campaign can read something like: “Knee pain common for 38 year old men. Read doctor’s blog post…” Better yet, seek questions from readers that your physicians can then answer as a step in process of transforming potential patients in patients.
Here is another interesting aspect. Latinos show the highest rate of search for information on pregnancy and childbirth. With a Northern Nevada Hispanic population hovering at 25 percent (California’s is 37 percent), ob/gyn practices could gain a significant market advantage by presenting their services to this very brand loyal audience through a targeted, cost-effective online search campaign.
The final finding of interest: Those in the 50-64 years age group are seeking details on memory loss issues. Specifically, adult children of parents who are revealing signs of mental loss are distinctly interested in learning everything they can about assistance and care. This is a clear indication that home health care services may be of need. If that is your niche, you might want to build awareness of your skills known through a straight-talking search campaign. “If your parent is showing acute signs of memory loss…”
Here are additional Internet user statistics from the report that can help hone your marketing even further.
Major Internet users consist of…
- Women – 65%
- Consumers between the ages of 18-29 – 71%
- Whites – 63%
- Consumers with an income over $75,000 – 83%
- College graduates – 81%
Finally, it was shown that consumers show little variation in the types of health related research they carry out online. The top categories of interest are:
- Specific disease or medical problem – 66%
- Certain medical treatment or procedure – 56%
- Doctors/other health professionals – 44%
- Hospitals/medical facilities – 36%
Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we incorporate information like this to create online and brand building campaigns to grow our clients’ patient pool and referral networks.
[Source: Fox, Susannah. Health Topics. Pew Internet.org. 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2011]