Getting healthy on the Web! Top NZ health searches online
Our personal health and fitness is one of our biggest concerns, so it’s no surprise that we look online for health information, advice, diagnosis, products, insurance, health shops and pharmacies… but what exactly are we looking for?
According to Hitwise, gatherers of online search data and statistics, the top 10 New Zealand health searches for December 2007 were:
1. movember
2. les mills
3. bmi
4. treasures
5. weight watchers
6. pubmed
7. southern cross
8. sparc
9. depression
10. auckland hospital
Viewing and analysing search data such as this can be hugely valuable in terms of creating content, targeting Web users and reading the minds of New Zealand searchers. We’ve got a lot of health issues on our minds, covering:
- Health fund raising – Taking part in the men’s health event of the year (the month formerly known as November)
- Health and fitness – Finding gyms, fitness centres and recreational pursuits
- Weight loss – Calculating Body Mass Index and signing up for Weight Watchers
- Health care – Sourcing private health care, hospitals and PubMed (an online medical information resource)
- Mental health – Depression, an all-too-common symptom of modern living?
- Baby nappies – The essential item for newborns and infants!
Not only is this kind of information useful, it’s also changeable throughout the year; in winter, for instance, ‘cold and flu’ searches will be big, as will any hot current events, such as immunization or bird flu. So, keep an eye on search data – it makes for a fascinating insight into the world of search.
