Using Google Adwords can be an additional
source for recruiting trial participants

2.1. Adwords and Geo-Targeting

Part of setting up an Adwords system is the option of indicating a geographical region from which you want to attract Searchers. So basically, you could indicate that if a Searcher in Amsterdam is looking for information on ‘isomerase deficiency’, you are willing to pay a certain amount (the CPC) to show your Ad and to pay that amount (to Google) if the Searcher clicks your Ad.

As part of the Adwords system, you can also define to which specific page on your website the Searcher is directed to. This would allow to define specific regions in a Country (or different Countries) and define that a Searcher from each Region is directed to the corresponding page on your website for that Region.
In other words, when searching with the same keywords, a patient from Amsterdam is shown the webpage with the Amsterdam contact details, while a patient from Brussels is shown the Brussels contact details.

There is no limit on the amount of geographical regions you can define, nor on the level of detail. So a geographical region can be set to a Country, a language, or even a City.
Two major benefits of using Geo-targeting with Adwords are therefore:
• it allows to direct a patient to the proper webpage.
• if you have no presence in a certain region, there is no need to spend Adword costs on that region.

2.2. The Adwords Ad in more detail

Below is an example of a Google Adwords Ad. It has a number of different sections in which text can be entered:

The ‘Visible URL’ is the URL (like ‘www.study-portal.com/new-trial’) as shown in the Add. Most Searchers use this URL to decide if it makes sense for them to visit the website.
The ‘Actual URL’ is the URL to which they will be redirected. The actual URL is hidden in the Add.

It goes without saying that the actual text in these four lines is essential to ‘attract’ visitors to your webpage.

2.3. Adwords and then?

In this era of ‘Google Marketing’, a first and essential step is to be listed on the first page of Google. That’s where Adwords can help you, possibly in combination with Organic Search. The next step is to have an attractive webpage where Searchers can find the information they are looking for. An average person scans a webpage in a couple of seconds and decides if he/she wants to continue or not. So a first impression is essential.

2.3.1. Conversion rate

The key variable in this is ‘conversion rate’: how many of your visitors are doing what you want them to do. Again, there are many variables which influence this step. However, the design of your webpage ranks high in this. It has to be easy for a visitor to ‘convert’.
If you want them to request more information, have a large button ‘Get more information’ and make it easy for them to enter the necessary information. And don’t ask for more information than you need.
If you want them to contact a Site or an Agency, have the relevant information clearly visible on the webpage.
If you have multiple Sites in a region, include a Google map with all the sites references:

2.3.2. Web Statistics

Any Adwords policy should be based on Web statistics. There are many tools which allow you to track visitors. You can measure how effective your Adwords Ad is by counting how many visitors are clicking the Adwords Ad and actually visiting your site. Try a different text and you will be able to know the effect. It is not uncommon to double the click-through rate by having a more attractive text in your Add.
You will be able to track how many visitors are ‘converted’ by clicking the ‘Get more information’ button. Or you can count how many visitors are viewing your page on ‘Explain trial in more detail’ (and how long they are staying on this page).

2.3.3. Privacy

The information collected by web statistics tools could possible interfere with privacy. Some of these tools collect data per IP address. If you have a trial on a rare disease, knowing a person’s IP address (and location) and his/her action on your website might come very close to knowing personal information.
This might be resolved by having different organizations handle the different sources of information. Like a Call centre handling the requests for information and Study-Portal handling the Adwords strategy based on the Web statistics.

2.4.Public and Secured webpages

Any link referenced from an Adwords Ad should always direct a Searcher to a page on a ‘public’ website.
With ‘Public’, we refer to a website or webpage which can be accessed by any internet user without need to supply login details (e.g. username and password).
With ‘Secured’, we refer to a website or webpage which can only be accessed by a user by entering login details (e.g. username and password).

By using a system like Study-Portal, it is possible to combine a Public section with a Secured section. The Adwords Ad could point a person to the Public section with all relevant details on the Trial or Study as far as a Pharma or Biotech company is willing to share with the general public.
As a next step, any person who has been seen or screened by a Site could then be granted access to the secured section in which he/she would be able to find more details on the Study.

2.5. Adwords and Medical Ethical Committee’s (MECs)

As a Google Adwords is an advertisement similar to any other way of advertising a clinical trial, it would be wise to include the actual text of the Google Adwords add in your approval package to the MECs.
You will probably have to explain that there is only very limited space in a Google add (only three lines) and that therefore the actual text will have to be concise and appealing.

2.4.1 Landing page

A second issue which might require approval by a MEC is the actual ‘landing page’, that is the page to which a user will be redirected when he/she clicks that Adwords add.
If this page contains nothing more than just the address or contact details of your participating sites, there is no need to get approval from a MEC. Anything more than this will probably require approval.

2.6. Conclusion

Using Adwords in combination with Geo-targeting can be a very attractive and cost-effective method to recruit patients for clinical trials. The Adwords is sufficiently flexible to adjust to any specific requirement of a Clinical trial. The paid Ads can be supported by results from unpaid Searches. Using web statistics allows measuring the effect of your Adwords strategy on patient recruitment. It has to be decided which information on a Study is accessible by the general public and which information has to be secured with a login account.