We are certainly at an odd moment in time, and today there are more questions than answers regarding the development of the Coronavirus pandemic. The vast majority of those questions are being made as online search queries. As news and updates on the rapidly evolving Coronavirus pandemic continue to inundate inboxes and newsfeeds across the country, many of our clients in the healthcare industry are wondering how they can cut through the noise and make sure time-sensitive messages reach their patients and families.
As of Today, More People Query “Coronavirus” than “Covid-19”
Many of our clients across health and wellness are keenly aware of the level of anxiety and fear many of their patients and families are experiencing, as schools and facilities continue to close their doors across the United States. They want to make sure that timely messages on closures, schedule changes, procedural updates, and helpful messages reach their patients and families.
Parents have questions about how to talk about the virus to their children, vulnerable populations want to know how they can best protect themselves, and folks want to know what’s changed about access to care. So, how are they posing those questions in online search queries? According to Google today, more people use the term “Coronavirus” than “Covid-19” when searching online for helpful and informative content regarding the current outbreak.
A quick glance at Google search term trends, as seen above, shows that by far, more people are using the term “Coronavirus” than “Covid-19” to access information about the virus. This means that in order to ensure you’re reaching your audience and they’re able to easily get to the information they’re looking for, you should consider predominantly using the term “Coronavirus” in your content and messaging. It’s also probably a good idea to familiarize yourself with the questions folks are asking and crafting useful content that addresses how your organization can help.
Of course, if there’s anything we do know for certain about the Coronavirus, it’s how rapidly the situation is evolving — in order to continue to reach your patients, families, and audience quickly and efficiently, it’s important to create and distribute content and messages based on current data around how folks are searching for it. Here are three things you can do, starting right now:
- Review your content trends and website analytics data to best understand what pieces are organically seeing an uptick
- Devise a plan to update existing content or create new content as needed that speaks to what your audiences are searching for help on/answers for, during this time
- Determine the best way to amplify this externally at a critical time when the public needs resources and factual information
Be well, and check back soon for more insights on how we can work together to navigate this season together — online, and in real life.