Shelf-Space Analysis for Pharmas: The Search Results Are…Underwhelming
My colleague Pete Blackshaw has been talking about a search optimization metric he calls Shelf-Space Analysis, which looks at where branded web content appears within search results for general terms related to a topic of interest. So I decided to run a little test of my own. I searched in Google for 10 different diseases — from more to less serious, from well-known and widely diagnosed to more rare. I looked only at natural search results, not at sponsored search links. I wanted to see whether the branded website of any treatment (or any pharmaceutical manufacturer) would show up in the top 10 search results for any of these disease categories.
The result? Not one branded site appeared in the top 10 search results for any of the disease categories I searched. (In case you’re wondering, the terms I searched on were: asthma, allergies, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, breast cancer, prostate cancer, insomnia, Crohn’s disease and alpha-1 antitrypsin.) The top search results invariably included links to Wikipedia, well-known healthcare information sites and government sources. The national disease organizations or foundations also have good representation, as does the Mayo Clinic.
Here are some numbers behind these findings:
I decided to take the search a step further and look through additional search results for two diseases to see how far in I would need to go to see a branded treatment/pharma site appear in the results. I chose two diseases that are very different: breast cancer because it is so widely recognized and so many companies have initiatives related to breast cancer research, treatment and support, and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency because it is much less commonly diagnosed and therefore should have fewer players vying for search placement.
- For breast cancer, the first branded search result I found was #47, a link to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. After that, #81 links to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Aside from these two, there were no other branded links among the first 100 search results.
- For alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, results #22 and #40 go to the Mercksource.com resource library. #67 goes to the branded web page for Prolastin, one of the primary treatments marketed for this condition. There are no other pharma/medication-branded links in the top 100 search results - including sites for two other main prescription treatments for the condition.
All I can say is, wow. I anticipated that search optimization might not be maximized for pharma-branded websites, but I am honestly surprised by the extent of these results. Given the value of search for finding healthcare information, based on our recent survey and healthcare webinar — one-third of survey participants told us that an Internet search engine is their first source for finding healthcare information online — an updated search strategy may be just what the doctor ordered. (Pardon the pun.)
Melissa: Just to reinforce your point, what’s essentially happening here is that the major health care brands are NOT part of the solution when the consumer is curious, or looking for obvious information. This is a major indictment of brand website content, or even the lack of participatory or conversational elements. Google rewards links, but you can’t get the “link-love,” so to speak, if your content isn’t timely, engaging, relevant, and always-refreshed. Large brands (even outside of pharma) struggle with the concept of “agility” and “sense and respond” — and this ultimately erodes their usefulness to online consumers. What your note suggests to me is that most health care brands need a complete “reset” of their online content strategies. - Pete
Melissa,
Unfortunately, your article doesn’t surprise me. I work for an interactive agency focusing on pharma and we are constantly providing education on the value of SEO.
I will point out that searching on the disease term alone may be too broad. For our clients, the disease term doesn’t convert searchers to customers, they are too early in the process and may be looking for symptoms or a diagnosis. If you add the words “treatments” or “medicines” after the disease term, that’s the traffic that we are going after for our pharma clients.
Eileen O’Brien
Compass Healthcare Communications