Since launching in March SH:24 has become a team of data geeks – tracking usage of the service on a daily basis to inform ongoing development of the service and our emergent engagement with users.
To date we have received 735 orders, 61% were ordered by women and 39% by men broadly reflecting the gender split of clinic users. Our user research indicated that the majority of users would be accessing SH:24 using their mobile phone, which shaped design of the website. This has been confirmed with 70% of people using their phone to order a test.
The website has received 2,885 visitors (70% of which are new) and 14,422 page views. This reflects SH:24’s continued soft launch activities, including the growth of its online presence.
Web analytics shows that on some days over 500 people search for sexual health related services in Lambeth and Southwark. We want these people to know that free online STI testing, information and support is available to them.
Having moved to the top of search engine rankings when people search for ‘SH:24’ we are now focusing on making sure we are found when people use the broader search terms such as ‘STI Lambeth’ (19% of users discover SH:24 through organic search at the moment).
We don’t want to make assumptions about how people search for sexual health services – knowing that people can come at it from lots of different angles – so we are asking users to understand what search terms they use. One unexpected finding is that instead of using STI (which is most commonly used by health care professionals today), users frequently search for STD instead.
Last time we blogged about our metrics offline engagement had primarily involved promoting the service in clinics, GPs and pharmacies. One of our key objectives is to shift some STI testing activity online to free-up resources for more complex cases. The tactic seemed to work, creating a significant amount of traffic to the website (indicated by the number of people directly inputting SH:24’s url into their browsers - 55%).
Since then we have stepped-up promotion distributing our mini Moo cards (below) in high footfall and commuter areas in the boroughs as well as outside clinics when they are closed. This had an immediate impact increasing our weekly total of orders to over 100.
We also have our Moo cards and posters displayed in a variety of community spaces (from local enterprises such as the Stockwell Partnership and Better Bankside to libraries in the boroughs). We are currently working with local bars and clubs to arrange for our stickers (below) and posters to be displayed on their premises.
Engagement with press has made an impact – the feature in Attitude (http://bit.ly/Attitude_SH24) led to 10 readers ordering a test. We will be continuing to seek opportunities to tell our story and raise awareness of the service through whatever channel we find users accessing – from digital through to traditional media. We’ll keep you updated.