Is it wrong to have an alternative med section on a site dealing with conventional health?

9 years ago

From marketing and credibility perspectives, mixing conventional and alternative medicine together on the same site will most likely have devastating effects. In addition to legal and respective regulatory agencies, the demographics and marketing approaches are completely different. Although it is not necessarily "wrong", these generally are considered diametrically opposite conventions and do not mix well.

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Anton543

9 years ago

Originally Posted by myob

From marketing and credibility perspectives, mixing conventional and alternative medicine together on the same site will most likely have devastating effects. In addition to legal and respective regulatory agencies, the demographics and marketing approaches are completely different. Although it is not necessarily "wrong", these generally are considered diametrically opposite conventions and do not mix well.

Its not actually uncommon (even quite common for some conditions) for people to look to alternative health if conventional medicine isn't proving effective or causing too many unwanted side effects, and in some cases its not uncommon for people to take the alternative health route first. But as you point out, credability is importannt to me. Interestingly, Adsense sometimes shows ads on the site from the alternative health industry.

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myob

9 years ago

In my experience, conversions took a nosedive whenever alternative medicine was suggested on my medical sites and likewise for conventional medicine on my homeopathic remedy sites. Whatever you decide, however, you must have conspicuous disclaimers emphasizing to consult with a competent medical practitioner before acting on the information provided or using the product(s).

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Anton543

9 years ago

Originally Posted by myob

In my experience, conversions took a nosedive whenever alternative medicine was suggested on my medical sites and likewise for conventional medicine on my homeopathic remedy sites. Whatever you decide, however, you must have conspicuous disclaimers emphasizing to consult with a competent medical practitioner before acting on the information provided or using the product(s).

I agree about disclaimers.

What conversions on the medical health sites of yours nosedived when you referred to alternative medicine? By the way, Adsense quite regularly shows ads of products that I would definitely consider alternative medicine. I have no control over the ads (unless I decide to block urls). Interestingly, they get good clickthroughs. Also, it's not at all unusual for people to consume vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements whilst on regular medication. Wasn't there a research paper a while back suggesting conventional medicine for some conditions work better with Chinese medicine, and vice versa, than either do on their own? The problem with medicine is that nothing is clear cut. It's not unusual for a study to conclude a drug to work well only for another study some time later to conclude the opposite, or at least not as good as previously thought. Even doctors have to make a judgement call on a patient sometimes.

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myob

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Anton543

What conversions on the medical health sites of yours nosedived when you referred to alternative medicine? By the way, Adsense quite regularly shows ads of products that I would definitely consider alternative medicine.

The reality is that mainstream medical practices and pharmaceuticals are rigidly controlled by a consortium of narrow interest groups in business, industry, government, media, public educational system, etc.

Although certain formerly "alternative" medical practices such as chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathic, hormone therapy, etc have gained wider acceptance (thanks to the prowess of powerful lobbyists and other influencers) the cost of casual mingling across entrenched boundaries is still quite formidable.

A typical recent example is how the media pounced on general herbal remedies in a referendum surrounding the use of an herbal supplement to enhance sexual performance by Lamar Odom.

The aftermath of such publicity would have a severe negative impact on medical health sites which promoted "herbal Viagra". Exposed as being neither herbal nor Viagra, another "unregulated" supplement has crossed over into the realm of the discredited and dangerous.

This kind of a product promoted on a mainstream medical website (even if an Adsense ad) would most certainly reduce the site's credibility and subsequent conversion rate.

Originally Posted by Anton543

it's not at all unusual for people to consume vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements whilst on regular medication.

These products generally are not considered "alternative" medicine except where they deviate from regulations and dosages established by the FDA.

Originally Posted by Anton543

Wasn't there a research paper a while back suggesting conventional medicine for some conditions work better with Chinese medicine, and vice versa, than either do on their own?

There have been countless such "research" papers often with an agenda to either support or denigrate opposing treatment plans and practices. Vested special interest groups such as lobbyists, large corporations, and "Big Pharma" are notoriously implicated for influencing the initiation and even the outcome of "research" in their favor.

Originally Posted by Anton543

Even doctors have to make a judgement call on a patient sometimes.

Sometimes a bad judgement call made by doctors on their patients just gets buried. Have you ever wondered why this profession is considered a "medical practice"?

Originally Posted by Anton543

The problem with medicine is that nothing is clear cut.

The problem that nothing is clear cut is a universal condition; not limited to only medicine. Your success is directly related to how well you can demonstrate an understanding of the problem(s) faced by your prospects and credibly guide them toward resolution.

The bottom line is that marketing in the medical arena really is not fundamentally different from any other niche. To maximize conversions you simply need to either align marketing with the traffic source or align the traffic source with your marketing.

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Anton543

9 years ago

Originally Posted by myob

The reality is that mainstream medical practices and pharmaceuticals are rigidly controlled by a consortium of narrow interest groups in business, industry, government, media, public educational system, etc.

Although certain formerly "alternative" medical practices such as chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathic, hormone therapy, etc have gained wider acceptance (thanks to the prowess of powerful lobbyists and other influencers) the cost of casual mingling across entrenched boundaries is still quite formidable.

A typical recent example is how the media pounced on general herbal remedies in a referendum surrounding the use of an herbal supplement to enhance sexual performance by Lamar Odom.

The aftermath of such publicity would have a severe negative impact on medical health sites which promoted "herbal Viagra". Exposed as being neither herbal nor Viagra, another "unregulated" supplement has crossed over into the realm of the discredited and dangerous.

This kind of a product promoted on a mainstream medical website (even if an Adsense ad) would most certainly reduce the site's credibility and subsequent conversion rate.

These products generally are not considered "alternative" medicine except where they deviate from regulations and dosages established by the FDA.

There have been countless such "research" papers often with an agenda to either support or denigrate opposing treatment plans and practices. Vested special interest groups such as lobbyists, large corporations, and "Big Pharma" are notoriously implicated for influencing the initiation and even the outcome of "research" in their favor.

Sometimes a bad judgement call made by doctors on their patients just gets buried. Have you ever wondered why this profession is considered a "medical practice"?

The problem that nothing is clear cut is a universal condition; not limited to only medicine. Your success is directly related to how well you can demonstrate an understanding of the problem(s) faced by your prospects and credibly guide them toward resolution.

The bottom line is that marketing in the medical arena really is not fundamentally different from any other niche. To maximize conversions you simply need to either align marketing with the traffic source or align the traffic source with your marketing.

I take your point(s). I decided to take off the natural med I was promoting. Something just didn't sit right with me. It earned me fairly nice commission the year I promoted it. I didn't review it or anything like that, just put a link to the merchant site. Since the product was heavily promoted through Adwords by the merchant, Google obviously didn't feel the need to exclude it, so it was kind of reassuring. The fact that I made pretty decent income from it for a year to me it suggested the product must have been fairly effective. There is obviously a sizeable market for it (when you consider I am among many others who promoted it, and many must still do). The way I saw it was that I provided my readers with an extra choice.

I am now going to stay away from herbal/natural products by focussing on products that have at least some medical backing. But do you think promoting products (say a range of them through a store attached to the site) will compromise the impartiality of the main site, which is designed to provide impartial advice?

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createyouwealth

9 years ago

Honestly as long as your audience is in the
health niche it would not be a problem to
have a different section. As long as it's health
related that would be the only thing that will
matter.

All the best with your site!

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Randall Magwood

9 years ago

I wouldn't do it. I would specialize in one or the other. You will basically giving people false hope from all the mix-match on your site. So you will leave them in a state of confusion. Plus your credibility will take a hit.

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myob

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Anton543

I am now going to stay away from herbal/natural products by focussing on products that have at least some medical backing. But do you think promoting products (say a range of them through a store attached to the site) will compromise the impartiality of the main site, which is designed to provide impartial advice?

There is no real justification, IMO, for not promoting herbal/natural products in addition to conventional medicine. But as I mentioned in earlier posts, these two generally diametrically opposite camps do not mix well together. Admittedly, you may have seen some exceptions. Impartiality, however, is relative only to your targeted audience.

There is actually a huge market for herbal/natural products among casual users (ie products people "already buy") as well as those on the other extreme of being distrustful toward conventional medicine and its widely perceived corrupt coziness associated with the drug consortium, derisively named "Big Pharma".

In my experience, uncompromised "impartiality" does not work. People want support for their own preconceived conclusions. When you can provide that, by appealing responsibly to alternative viewpoints separately through totally unassociated venues, your conversions will soar through the roof.

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Anton543

9 years ago

Originally Posted by myob

There is no real justification, IMO, for not promoting herbal/natural products in addition to conventional medicine. But as I mentioned in earlier posts, these two generally diametrically opposite camps do not mix well together. Admittedly, you may have seen some exceptions. Impartiality, however, is relative only to your targeted audience.

There is actually a huge market for herbal/natural products among casual users (ie products people "already buy") as well as those on the other extreme of being distrustful toward conventional medicine and its widely perceived corrupt coziness associated with the drug consortium, derisively named "Big Pharma".

In my experience, uncompromised "impartiality" does not work. People want support for their own preconceived conclusions. When you can provide that, by appealing responsibly to alternative viewpoints separately through totally unassociated venues, your conversions will soar through the roof.

"appealing responsibly to alternative viewpoints separately through totally unassociated venues"

What do ou mean by this?

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myob 9 years ago

Originally Posted by Anton543

"appealing responsibly to alternative viewpoints separately through totally unassociated venues"

What do you mean by this?

There certainly are valid and credible alternatives to conventional medicine. For example, the case for nutritional and herbal therapies in preventing and even treatment of illnesses and disease is seldom taught in medical schools. The drug industry has invested heavily in the medical education system along with financial incentives that often influence medical diagnostic judgement and treatment. On the other hand, alternative medicine has a tendency to exclude conventional medical intervention which quite often may result in severe risk to health. IMO, there is a responsibility when marketing in the medical arena to maintain a balance (ie responsible caveats and any legally required disclaimers), when presenting either viewpoint.

The reality of marketing, however, demands that for maximizing conversions one needs to focus on one viewpoint or the other. You cannot do both together on one website. As a suggestion, consider using separate and unassociated websites; one for "natural health" and the other for conventional medicine. Although there may be some overlap as you've seen, for the most part these are like oil and water. They really do not mix well together. On both sides there is also a dizzy complex array of conflict, contradiction, controversy, confusion, corruption, convulsion, caprice, carelessness, castigation, complicity, convolution, contrivance, calumny, comedy, etc. Depending on how well you can responsibly relate to these points of view, there is a fortune awaiting you.

"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack."
- Winston Churchill
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Anton543

9 years ago

These products would be your everyday products that people already buy. Let's say I could have a blood glucose meter in the store which is sold through an affiliate or Amazon or a tool that helps people suffering with some form of arthritis. I will only carry product descriptions as opposed to review. With few exceptions, the products I'll feature won't really have any credibility issues.

It's not much different to what contextual advertisers do anyway. Adsense or Amazon contextual provide ads based, usually, on the content of a page. People then typically click through to a merchant site.

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Daniel8

Banned 8 years ago

[DELETED]

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PaulSch

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel8

And what can you say about my site with medicine coupons?
RX Discount Coupons 2015 - Save on Meds!
I'm looking for some constructive criticism here.
Go ahead, guys

Constructive? OK -

Don't drop your link into somebody else's thread.
Don't keep dropping one line responses into other peoples' threads.
Stop trying to get a few visitors to your site by using spammy techniques on this forum.
Just stop the crap that some clueless jerk told you was 'the right' thing to do on a forum

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Is it wrong to have an alternative med section on a site dealing with conventional health?

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