Breaking Through the Internet Clutter

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November, 2009

Have you ever Googled a common diagnosis, such as diabetes? What you would likely find is more than 16 million sources. With all this information, how can one be expected to discern what’s reliable, accurate and even relevant?

With this in mind, organizations need to pay greater attention to what and how they are communicating. Here are a few strategies to help elevate an organization in the eyes of its constituency (and improve Google rankings).

  1. Focus on Clear, Consistent Messaging: While many diseases and their treatment options are complex, the way you describe them should not be. Work to describe medical and scientific language in layman’s terms. It is also important be consistent in your messaging. Utilize the same definition and descriptions for each term, no mater where it appears in your content. Finally, make sure your information is formatted for easy navigation.
  2. Be a Credible Resource: While patients may be looking beyond their doctor’s office, accessing accurate and reliable information is still a priority. Ensure your content is developed from credible resources, based on up-to-date research and checked by professionals. But, there are additional steps you can take to help enhance perceived credibility, including encouraging other organization to provide a Web link to your Web site or resource and engaging the media. The more people pointing to you as an expert, the more likely you will be received as one.
  3. Ensure Accessibility & Usability: It won’t matter how clear or reliable your information is if it can’t be seen above the crowd. Leverage simple tactics to improve your search engine optimization (SEO). This might include a links campaign, defining meta-tags, word stuffing, or even a small, paid search engine campaign. There are steps you can take to move from a Google ranking of 16 million to the top 10.
  4. Be Interactive: In today’s health information landscape it’s not enough to just be found. Interactive and personalized health tools are what it takes to engage consumers and make your health information resonate. Consider how you can enhance your online offerings with customizable tools, surveys, blogs and social networking opportunities (i.e., chat rooms, discussion boards, Facebook or Twitter).