Posted by Dan Brough, SVP, Search Director
There is no question that paid search ads by pharmaceutical companies have dropped a tremendous amount (84% according to ComScore) since March 26 (the date 14 pharma companies received letters from the FDA stating paid search ads were in violation of FDA fair balance guidelines). However, that’s only half the story.
Any person working with pharma companies understands the urgency and sensitivity of responding to an FDA notification. On March 26, these companies responded very quickly by pulling all paid search advertising. Since the FDA did not state clear guidelines on what new search ads should look like, it was up to the independent medical legal teams to 'interpret' the letter and make the acceptable changes. These 'changes' took several weeks and in some cases months to get back live on the search engines.
To claim 'Pharma Drops Search Advertising After FDA Warning' is a misinterpretation of the overall story. My main complaint with the article is that it only sourced data until 'the end of June'. The reality is that many pharma companies returned to the space post-June with new, compliant paid search ads. Hitwise data, focusing specifically on the 'websites which received FDA Warnings', indicates that visits have returned to post-FDA levels.
Many pharma companies have adopted new branded and unbranded strategies to return to compliancy.
While it may take years for the FDA to establish internet advertising guidelines, claiming that 'Pharma Drops Search' is an inaccurate statement since many pharma brands have revised their efforts and returned to the space since June.