January 26, 2023
Tom Humbarger
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Visitors to healthcare websites have specific needs in mind. They are often on a time crunch to urgently find very specific information. Because the website represents the primary digital patient experience, quickly finding relevant information is key. This post explores why search is so important to the digital experience and identifies how search can be quickly fixed by focusing on best practices. To learn more about wide variety of healthcare site search use cases, check out our key use cases for healthcare website search blog post.
According to Google, 5 percent of all Google searches are health-related. However, most healthcare website administrators would prefer visitors not use Google to find content on their site, but rather use the site’s search capability to better control the experience. Most consumers themselves would rather search on a healthcare website than make a phone call or use a chatbot. This is evidenced by the fact that search drives three times the number of visitors to healthcare websites, compared to non-search interactions.
Before we share best practices for healthcare websites, we will lay the foundation for what types of organizations rely on search to help their site visitors, what information visitors search for, and who is searching on healthcare websites.
The Healthcare Provider industry covers many types of organizations:
Each of these organizations are unique, but they share many common challenges when it comes to the search experience.
Users visit healthcare websites for a variety of reasons and the most common tasks include:
To reiterate, many people are landing on healthcare websites with a high degree of urgency. Perhaps they or a family member have a medical condition or emergency that needs attention or they are suffering a moment of despair. This is why being able to find relevant information quickly is so critical.
Studies show that men and women between ages 35 and 44 are the most likely to search for health-related information. It is at this stage of life when health concerns are starting to appear. They also may be searching on behalf of elderly patients.
Another study from Solutionreach showed that younger consumers are searching online because they need to find a doctor or provider for the first time or are planning to switch providers. For example, more than 40 percent of Millennials and Generation X are likely to switch physicians in the next few years. On the other hand, the older Baby Boom generation is likely to have long-term relationships with their care providers and only 20 percent are expected to change doctors in the next three years.
Healthcare is a very competitive industry with most providers focused on expanding their market share while defending attacks from multiple sides. Since so much is transacted on healthcare websites, concentrating on improving the digital experience will be key to remaining competitive and viable in the future. Search is one of the critical components of that experience and fixing search is the one piece of the digital experience where rapid improvements can be quickly realized by following search best practices.
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