Google Unveils Hashtag Search – #HealthcareMarketing

Do you want to find or join a conversation on Google Plus? With hashtags preceding words or phrases, you can easily connect with your patients and their conversations by making searches on Google.

Following Twitter’s use of hashtags, Google now supports “hashtagging” in its social network platform, Google Plus, as well as in Google Search. Colloquially known as the “hashtag search,” you can now search and look into conversations bearing the searched topic with a hashtag (examples: #WeightLoss, #Braces, #Dentist)

According to Google’s Zaheed Sabur, this feature is available for searches made in English on Google.com and Google.ca and will reveal posts that are shared with the user or otherwise publicly shared. At least for now, Sabur said, the hashtag search is limited to Google Plus conversations.

When you make a hashtag search on Google, say #ImplantDentist or #CosmeticSurgery, the search results will include related Google Plus conversations with these hashtags to the right of the regular search results page. This search result will provide you with a list of patients (and your patient prospects) discussing the related topics. This is a great (and free) opportunity to join the conversation with your expertise and position yourself and your healthcare practice as the authority (make sure that you never discuss any private patient information).

The integration of the hashtag search in regular Google searches spells a new development in SEO and social media strategies for your practice. You need to make sure you are proactive on your Social Media accounts by posting and starting conversations that include the applicable hashtags.

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