Heart-breaking ‘Suicidal’ Search Terms Reports that Can Help Advertisers Understand How to Reach People in Crisis

This Suicide Awareness Month, recognize the power of search. Some of our clients offer advanced psychiatric treatments for depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. The following search terms were copy-and-pasted from some of our clients advertising accounts exactly as they were entered into Google

Trigger warning: the search queries below were likely entered by individuals in crisis and my trigger some readers. Please use discretion.

In honor of September being Suicide Awareness month we decided to shed some light on the nature of the search queries we sift through every day in an attempt to help our clients reach people with overwhelming, debilitating thoughts of suicide. Many of our clients offer treatments that can turn suicidal thoughts around even when they’re as dire and graphic as those you’re seeing above.

The Collection and Analysis of Data that Can Save Lives

There is a negative stigma surrounding medical advertising that M.Ad is determined to turn-around. It’s the belief that access to sensitive data like the search queries you’re seeing above gives us too much insight into the users we’re targeting. The concern is that there’s too much room for exploitation and an abuse of power. The concern with the healthcare advertising industry isn’t totally unfounded and we’re not going to try to defend masses of misleading pharmaceutical ad campaigns that have become the norm over the past few decades across North America. What we are going to suggest, however, is that a different kind of medical advertising is possible with the help of the digital tools we have at our disposal today.

Our Ad Campaigns Help Doctors Reach People in Crisis

At M.Ad, we believe our clients are good, honest, hard-working people. Many of whom, we’ve worked with for years and who have a vested interest in reaching the right people with the treatments they know provide healing. The progress we’ve seen them make with patients struggling with suicidal thoughts has been particularly inspiring. Most of our clients own small private practices and when they first contact us are in need of lean-advertising solutions. They can’t afford to spend thousands on wasted ad-clicks incoming from the wrong people. Being able to see exactly what users are entering into Google and a little bit about who they are: age, gender, location etc. can help us focus our clients advertising dollars on getting their ads in front of the people who need treatment most urgently.

A Search Engine is Many People’s Last Point of Contact

The internet is often the last digital space where there’s a chance to intercept someone who’s on a path towards self-destruction. We make it a policy at M.Ad not to interrupt someone’s direct search for a prevention-line, crisis-line, help-line, hotline etc. because accessing those tools should always be uninterrupted if that’s what the user is searching for. But if their search queries are bleaker (like those above) or broader (perhaps they’re searching for suicidal ideation treatment options), we believe reaching them with ads that offer hope and a chance at a healthy way of life is noble work.

Medical advertising is a delicate industry – M.Ad likes to think we’re helping to make it a safer and more respected space one ad campaign at a time. To learn more about our advertising strategies for reaching people who are struggling with suicidal thoughts and who are interested in treatment options please leave a comment or Contact Us.