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70,000 health-related searches occur every second on Google, according to former Google Health VP Dr. David Feinberg.
That’s an astounding 7% of all Google Searches.
Most of us know Google as the search engine. Some of us know it as the world’s largest advertising company. And a few know they make search data available to advertisers. For free.
It turns out Dr. Google is useful for something most don't think about – answering the question, “What does our market want?”
If you know the keywords people are typing into Google, you can see their intent, and you can come up with ways to serve them.
Not every keyword has the same intent.
As consumers move through the different stages of the buying process, their intent changes. This is reflected in the search terms they use.
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There are three main stages of the consumer buying funnel.
Whether it’s the home buying journey, a novice runner looking to break into marathoning, or a recent retiree looking to finally take action on knee pain, journey-based Google searches will map to these funnel stages.
Here’s a breakdown:
Awareness - In this initial stage, the consumer recognizes a problem or need. Their search terms tend to be broad and exploratory during this phase as they try to learn more. They may search for general information about a topic to become aware of their options.
Consideration - At this stage, the consumer starts researching and comparing specific solutions or providers. Their searches become more focused as they look at reviews, compare products and services, and dive deeper into learning about their options.
Decision - Here the consumer is ready to make a final choice. The search terms used in this stage are very specific, often including brand names, product specifications, prices, and promotions. The consumer has a clear idea of what they want and is looking for final details to make their purchase decision.
The search terms go from broad to narrow as the consumer's intent gets clearer.
Mapping keywords to these funnel stages and identifying which ones your prospective patients are searching can uncover tremendous insights into local demand.
You can see what I mean via these two keyword examples:
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As you can see, an awareness stage search like, “knee pain” has consistently more search volume (3-4x) and interest than a consideration stage search like, “knee surgery.”
A quick note on branded vs generic terms
A branded search term is one that includes the name of your group, location, or doctor. Consumers use these types of terms after they have gone through the awareness and consideration stages. However, just because a search term includes a brand name, it does not mean they are loyal to that brand. For that reason, competitive brand terms are not “lost” patients. This is why you’ll see Reebok bidding on Adidas keywords.
A generic term is just that – no brand included. Typically, consumers using these types of terms will be higher in the funnel and earlier in their decision-making process. Occasionally, generic terms can be very specific searches. Think, “Orthopedic hand surgeon in Nashville that takes blue cross blue shield.” That’s a generic term, but is also very far down the funnel.
Now that we’ve got the general idea behind how keyword intent matches consumer funnel stages, let’s see how to use those keywords to map out the consumer demand in our market for orthopedic services.
Once we understand this data, we’ll get a picture of how much opportunity there might be. This will fuel what types of marketing or offers we can create for consumers in the buying journey.
To do this, we’ll use the keyword planner to find keywords for the awareness, consideration, and decision stages of the orthopedic services journey.
Here are the steps:
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Important note: This is the projected search volume for next February.
Awareness stage keywords far outweigh the consideration stage and so on. No surprise. What I do find surprising is the sheer volume of searches happening in what feels like a relatively small market.
After validating consumer demand through intent-based research, streamline your strategy with these steps:
We got tactical today. Let’s recap:
Intent-based research allows you to uncover customer demand hidden in search engine data. By analyzing search volume patterns and mapping keywords to stages of the consumer journey, you gain invaluable insight into your target market's needs and intent.
This enables you to validate if sufficient demand exists to justify expanding into new service lines or optimizing your online presence. Once demand is validated, you can assess where gaps exist between consumer intent and your own offerings. From there, you can make strategic decisions to align your services, website content, and marketing to meet the demonstrated needs of your local consumer base.
The value of this process is the treasure trove of insights it unearths directly from your potential customers. Rather than guess what they want, you can leverage concrete data to guide your strategy and expansion plans. Done regularly, intent-based research allows you to stay aligned with your market's evolving needs over time. The result is growth opportunities tailored specifically to your local community, informed not by assumptions but by data-driven consumer demand.
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