PharmaSEM Wins Dosie Award!
Last Week, the Winners of the 2011 Dosie Awards were announced over at Dose of Digital, and I’m proud to state PharmaSEM was included as an award winner. PharmaSEM was up for the People’s Choice “Industry Observer Blog”. Thanks to big voter turnout from my friends, family and Intouch Solutions co-workers, I was able to get the Runner Up award in this category. Second place is great for me and allowed Intouch Solutions to take both first and second in the Industry Observer category – Wendy Blackburn’s ePharmaRX won first place!
Congrats to Wendy and all other winners of the 2011 Dosie Awards.
Search Marketing is Your Foundation
I recently contributed an article to the Intouch Soul Blog and wanted to take a moment to expand a bit further upon the conversation I started there. The title of my post – “Thinking Beyond the Search Box” – was intended to illustrate the point that search marketing is no longer about the engine and the search box (that’s why I don’t typically say “search engine marketing”). While marketing through search engines is still a large part of my job, it’s more about leveraging all the different search engine-powered technologies that can help expand reach well beyond Google and Bing. Read more
Facebook SEO: Keywords in Info Tab
Just as I had begun writing this, Facebook went and changed Facebook Page format, so I needed to take a moment to reflect on the new changes. Upon reflection, many of the factors I initially mentioned on my first “Facebook SEO Tips” blog post are still applicable. With that being said, the next topic I am going to discuss is the importance of using keyword rich descriptions in the Info tab on your page. The info tab is the place where you can put all kinds of information about your company, yourself, etc. Why is this important? What are the key areas on the info tab? Read more
Facebook SEO: Choosing the Right Name for Your Page
In my previous post, I introduced the concept of Facebook SEO for Pharma and I decided I would write a series about this topic as I believe it could be a very interesting sequence of articles that may change some perceptions. In the current pharmaceutical marketing environment, social media engagement is the hottest topic (as it has been for about the past 2 years). In my 4+ years in the pharmaceutical marketing profession, half of that time has been spent talking about WHETHER pharma should get involved via social media and another half talking about HOW we should do it. I think those discussions are rather well saturated, so I’m taking a step beyond that and assuming that pharma is ready to take that step as we have seen several do in recent years. Read more
7 Facebook SEO Tips for Pharma
In 2010, Facebook was able to be the first site in many years to surpass Google in total volume of traffic in a month. This is an impressive accomplishment, considering the fact that Google traffic volume continued to increase over years previous. Last year, many pharmaceutical companies started setting up shop in the social media world, and I personally anticipate that we will see more of that in 2011. If you are engaged with a pharma brand that is considering engagement within Facebook (or if you are already engaged), this post may help you with a few considerations that can help you increase your visibility within search. For the record, when I say search, I am talking about both traditional search engines like Google and Bing as well as within the internal Facebook search results. Read more
PharmaSEM Facebook Page Created
Last year I created a pharmaSEM facebook page. I didn’t promote it much as I wasn’t sure I knew what I was going to do with it. I have decided that I’m going to try to keep this facebook page updated and fresh so wanted to officially announce the launch of this page to my few readers. If you’re interested, I’ve provided the link below.
Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of Intouch Solutions.
Google Ads for Pharma: Think Outside the Box
One of my favorite things about working with Google (not, I do not work AT Google) is the fact that they are always testing and trying new things to see what works and what doesn’t. Due to their tremendous success, Google has been able to continuously update and innovate new ways to make search more user-friendly. One of the many things they have done lately is create pharma-friendly ads, which I have blogged about in the past. These pharma ads were presented during the FDA hearings in November 2009, and while there has been no official word from the FDA, some brands have started using these ad formats. Specifically, black-box drugs have been using the “black box” ad format. brands using this include ENBREL, PLAVIX and ELITEK (see screenshots below)
What is a Search Marketer?
Digital marketing for pharmaceuticals is a very challenging business, and one that often leads to various levels of frustration for me as a search marketer. Search engine marketing requires a combination of many skills in order to truly be successful. First and foremost, you have to know the basic needs for search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search marketing (PPC). You have to know what factors to are the most important, and which factors you can “sacrifice” if the battle becomes too heavy. You have to know that keyword research can always help as it provides a deep level of insight into HOW people are researching a specific topic. What kind of language are they using? Does the specific order of the words within a phrase make a difference? Is your target audience more likely to use one phrase over another?
Top 10 Pharma Search Stories from 2010
2010, like every other year, was a busy one in the world of search marketers. For pharmaceutical search marketing, there were many stories that had significant repercussions throughout the year. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the 10 of the biggest changes from 2010. These are not in order of impact, but rather are listed as events/facts which have played a lasting role in search, from my perspective.
10. Search Use Continues to Grow
While not necessarily a specific event, the simple fact that search usage continues to climb is very impressive. Users continue to rely on search engines to find the information they are looking for. At the beginning of 2010, search volume estimates from Comscore showed search volume at around 15.1 billion searches. In November 2010 (December #s not yet available), search volume was estimated at just over 16 billion searches. That’s a 5.7% increase in search volume in 2010.
9. Social Search Connection Grows
The connection between social media channels and search engines became even more cohesive in 2010 with the integration of various channels. Google kicked off the year by partnering with Twitter to show real-time tweets on major topics. Bing and Yahoo followed shortly with their own partnerships with Twitter. Bing further enhanced their social media integration by pulling in Facebook Like data into Bing results.
New Layout for pharmaSEM.com
I’ve implemented a new design layout for pharmaSEM.com as it is a new year and I’ve got a new focus on my blog. I am truly going to attempt to write much more frequently than I have the past few months. With this new refocused energy, I figured a new design/layout would be beneficial. I’m also working on an actual logo for my site and am going to attempt to roll out an integrated social media strategy for my blog that will demonstrate the benefits of an integrated search and social media strategy. I hope readers find value in what I have to say.
Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of Intouch Solutions.
