Recently, Google has brought a major overhaul of its semantic search updated with health information. Google’s knowledge graph, a system that the giant search engine launched in May 2012 can now provide a fact-checked information about any disease you search for at a glance. It is quick, easier and more visually appeal. Not only this, Google also provides ‘a Download PDF’ link so you can easily download and print without visiting a website. Google may possibly display more “assets” in Knowledge Graph as it moves further by adding more entities and context.
I have
searched “diabetes type 2” on Google, and I was amazed at the semantic display of results in the form of Knowledge Graph.
So, what prompted Google to apply semantic
display of disease information in Knowledge graph?
According
to Google, 1 in 20 Google searches are for health-related
information. Google in one of the blogs says –
“We’re making sure to include Leishmaniasis of neglected tropical diseases, a set of infections
that affect over 1.5 billion people including 500 million children in poorer
regions. We think it’s important for people to have facts on these diseases,
such as Dengue Fever (already included), Chikungunya, and Leishmaniasis (to be
added soon).”
When it
comes to health related information, “trust” is one of the most important
factors. Let me cite my personal experience to add more context here. A few years back, I saw rashes on my fingers. Someone superficially examined and told me it looked like “Scabies”. To my ignorance, I did not know anything about the disease. So, I turned to Google to research more about
it. Literally, I was horrified with the kind of terrible information topped the search results. I was confused and a bit scary too. The next immediate step was to visit a
dermatologist for counselling. He categorically asked me not to Google, because he did not see
all fact-checked search results.
But those days are history now. Today, the semantic display of medical information on search results will certainly win the hearts of HCPs and patients alike, who did not believe Google until a few days back. A post published on ‘Time.com” -Here’s What 6 Doctors Really Think of Dr. Google – checks physicians’ response on Google’s medical knowledge graph.
But those days are history now. Today, the semantic display of medical information on search results will certainly win the hearts of HCPs and patients alike, who did not believe Google until a few days back. A post published on ‘Time.com” -Here’s What 6 Doctors Really Think of Dr. Google – checks physicians’ response on Google’s medical knowledge graph.
Mayo Clinic, ScienceDirect, Medscape, Nature, WebMD, Government agencies
(eg: NIH, FDA, CDC) and a team of exceptionally skilled physicians and HCPs help
Google curate and validate the much needed information at your fingertips. The
current list of verified sources is limited today from where Google takes the information. However, as the Knowledge Graph in health-related
search results becomes more prominent, the search engine will likely expand the
sources over time for inclusion in this coveted search.
What this change means to a healthcare marketer?
It’s
too early to assess the short-term and long-term impact of this update on
health-related paid and organic search; nevertheless there are a few initial
observations that can be considered. At time when a big chunk of medical
content is afloat digitally, this update may pose a threat to “cheap” content
factory. The new format of medical search result (Knowledge Graph) about
diseases is an early signal of a deeper change that has profound implications
on publishers.
By connecting verified information to the real world entities, the search engine is able to create a much richer set of results for its users. This will certainly bring in drastic change the way we produce and market health related content and design products.
With the change like this, a more pragmatic approach, however, would be to explore how our existing and future healthcare digital products can be adapted and marketed to keep up with this changing landscape of semantic search.
By connecting verified information to the real world entities, the search engine is able to create a much richer set of results for its users. This will certainly bring in drastic change the way we produce and market health related content and design products.
With the change like this, a more pragmatic approach, however, would be to explore how our existing and future healthcare digital products can be adapted and marketed to keep up with this changing landscape of semantic search.
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