These stats show the trends of people search for healthcare online.

You should be paying close attention to online trends on healthcare marketing for referrals.

Here are 7 statistics from companies around the web.

TeleVox says: 51% of those polled they’d feel more valued as a patient if their providers were using digital health communications.

This study from Google and Compete, shows the growing value of online sources as opposed to other methods for reaching customers during the research process of finding a medical provider.

Geonetric says: 81% will click through a sponsored link when searching for medical information, which could be important for gaining attention for your practice during the search stage.

Google says: 77% of people used a search engine before scheduling an appointment. SEO or “search engine optimization” is the method of optimizing a website to rank in search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo, so the people who are looking for you will find you.

Healthcare tech startups are starting to rise to the occasion so people can search for recommended healthcare professionals and schedule appointments on ZocDoc, or share referrals and manage their network between providers on referralMD.

Email is a crucial way to nurture relationships with potential patients, plus traditional channels like direct mail usually cost 20 times more than email marketing, according to Phyzoom.

In 2012, 1 in 8 people searching for healthcare providers watched an online video on: Health Insurance Information Sites (31%), Health Information Sites (30%), YouTube (29%), Health Insurance Company Sites (20%) or Hospital Sites (42%).
You should be able to see the importance of healthcare marketing for referrals in the digital world, and formulate a plan for what your next marketing campaign should be.