Dr. Google and Disease Searches
We know that more than 85% of people go to Dr. Google first, before going to a physician or physician’s assistant.
We all seem to be Googling our ailments. And when you Google, we now have data to dissect and analyze.
The chart shows that “diabetes” is the No. 1 Googled term in Iowa; “cancer” and “HPV” were the most Googled in Florida and Wisconsin was “diabetes” and “celiac.”
I asked my doctor once if he minded when people brought in printouts from Google searches. He said, “Many times they are right on with their diagnosis.”
TermLife2Go used Google Trends over one full year. One of the findings revealed that heart disease “deserves a bit more attention.” As the leading cause of death in the U.S., you would expect it to be the top-rated search term.
HPV (human papillomavirus) is the most common sexually transmitted infection and affects nearly 80 million U.S. citizens (mostly teens and 20-somethings). It’s a top-rated search term in many states.
This chart shows why we all need more health education, because we really will not be more healthy until the word “prevention” is part of every search.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
