Top Hospitals Neglect Search Marketing - Oneupweb White Paper

Posted by maureen on January 06, 2009 at 11:03 AM

Consider this: In 2007 over 160 million U.S. adults sought medical information online. From information on specific procedures, conditions, symptoms and medical facilities - we went to the web in search of information. Unfortunately, many of our nation's top hospitals probably weren't able to provide it.

A new study by Oneupweb finds that 63% of America's top hospitals, as identified by U.S. News & World Report as the Best Hospitals Honor Roll, have little or no online presence. A quick look at the findings shows some of the greatest specialized facilities in the country neglecting online marketing. Yikes.

I think it's time to prescribe a little SEO to the healthcare industry.

Let's look at it this way. When a friend or family member is faced with a healthcare issue, their loved ones want to get them the best care possible. In my own experience, I went straight to the internet to research the care that was available. And I can tell you this - if a medical facility didn't show up in the first page of search results, they weren't even a consideration.

So it pays to get found where and when your potential patients are looking. And effectively reaching a patient base isn't the only reason that online marketing makes sense for the healthcare industry. Local search can help to eliminate medical tourism by ensuring that patients and prospects in a healthcare facility's region stay in that region - instead of traveling elsewhere for care.

Online marketing can also help hospitals build and maintain credibility. People will talk, and people will listen to what others have to say. Good or bad, reviews about your organization are going to be floating around. It's important to monitor and understand what people are saying, and it never hurts to join in the conversation with a blog or a podcast.

Find out which of our nation's top hospitals are effectively using online marketing, and which are falling drastically behind online. Download America's Hospitals and Online Marketing: Do They Get It?

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