Promotion of mHealth Applications in Search Engines - A Study of Australia and Slovakia

Abstract

Search engines represent an essential channel for promoting mHealth applications. Links to a website, application store, or other resources appearing on the first search engine results page generate traffic and increase the number of application downloads. The aim of this paper is to identify the state of promotion of mHealth applications from the Health and Fitness category in search engines. The authors analyzed 880 search results and determined the frequency of occurrences of various types of links directly related to mHealth applications. The findings indicate that the level of promotion varies significantly across the keyword category, platform, location, and mHealth application. The competition in search results for keywords related to two categories of mHealth applications - exercise and training and mental health - is more intense than in two other areas of healthy living - general and healthy eating/diet. There are significant differences between search visibility in search engine results pages in Australia and Slovakia.

Keywords: mHealth; Mobile Health; Promotion; Search Engine Marketing

Australian Academy of Business and Economics Review, vol 4, issue 2, April 2018, pp 103-111