You may recall the famous scene from the 1967 film "The Graduate" in which Mr. McGuire, a family friend, tells young Benjamin Braddock (a baby-faced Dustin Hoffman) the secret of future economic success: plastics. Today I think “search” would be the tip.
More and more with each passing day, our online and offline existences overlap, get tangled, and exist intertwined. We have the Internet in our pockets. Our cars tell us where to go by consulting maps that are updated in real time, then speak the directions out loud. We can ask questions to our smartphones and get answers spoken back to us. "Google" has become a common verb. It is clear: search engines are now how we find information. Whether we are looking for a new pair of running shoes or researching a disease, search engines are the focus of almost all our information-gathering.
Search has become one of the most popular Internet activities. On any given day online, 59% of people using the Internet use search engines to discover information. Eight in ten people start their search by typing a query into a search engine when looking online for health or medical information. Even when patients end up in the doctor’s office following a phone call or referral, they have usually started their fact-finding and decision-making online.
With such universal use of search engines for health information, there is a great opportunity for companies to become part of the prospective customers' consideration set early in the decision-making process. Search engines are the hub for people who need medical information—not just patient, but practitioners too. No matter what your position in the healthcare marketplace, you need to make sure that when someone goes to a search engine for something you manufacture, sell or simply know about, such as a disease state or medical condition, they find you. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how to get that done.
At Grey Matter Marketing, we specialize in helping medical technology companies leverage digital marketing to drive business and compete effectively in the new era of healthcare. Part two of our five-part series shows you how to use search engine optimization to get found, gain authority and build your business. Even more importantly, it gives readers the supporting evidence needed to recommend specific SEO strategies to management.
Stay tuned for our next eBook chapter on mobile marketing!
