Directing the public to evidence-based online content

To direct online users searching for gynecologic cancer information to accurate content, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 'Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts About Gynecologic Cancer' campaign sponsored search engine advertisements in English and Spanish. From June 2012 to August 2013, advertisements appeared when US Google users entered search terms related to gynecologic cancer. Users who clicked on the advertisements were directed to relevant content on the CDC website. Compared with the 3 months before the initiative (March-May 2012), visits to the CDC web pages linked to the advertisements were 26 times higher after the initiative began (June-August 2012) (p<0.01), and 65 times higher when the search engine advertisements were supplemented with promotion on television and additional websites (September 2012-August 2013) (p<0.01). Search engine advertisements can direct users to evidence-based content at a highly teachable moment--when they are seeking relevant information.