We're looking forward to digging into this new research report just released from Envision Solutions: Diving Deeper Into Online Search.
The research provides new information about why Americans trust health content they find online and documents how Internet health seekers are exposed to a significant amount of user-generated media (i.e., blogs, wikis and online bulletin boards) and frequent Websites developed by government, non-profits and corporations.
Compiled from Hitwise data taken between December 2006 and January 2007, this research was inspired by a Pew Internet &
American Life Project report indicating that “three-quarters of Internet users
who look online for [health] advice do not consistently check the source and
date of [content] they find online.”
Following are some of the key findings of the study:
Following are some of the key findings of the study:
- Internet users’ exposure to health-related
user-generated media is significant: Out of 16 queries Envision Solutions
conducted on Yahoo and Google (using popular health/medical keywords), UGM
appeared on the first three pages of searches 88% of the time.
- Online health searchers are relying on government,
corporate and non-profit produced Websites for information: For example, 32% of
those who typed “diabetes” into major search engines went to the American
Diabetes Association’s Website www.diabetes.org.
- In certain cases, wikis and blogs are receiving significant traffic: Five percent of those searching online for information about the antidepressant Lexapro between mid-December 2006 and mid-January 2007 went to CrazyMeds.org. This is a popular blog that provides information about the safety and efficacy of psychiatric medications.
To download a free copy of the study report, please go
to http://www.envisionsolutionsnow.com/healthsearch.html.
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