Byte Digital managed Google Search advertising for South East London Integrated Care System's COVID Recovery Puzzle resource. The campaign helped people actively looking for long COVID information find NHS guidance and supporting videos.
The brief
Advertising ran from 24 July–7 September 2024. The campaign was built around a clear information journey: a relevant search, a visit to the NHS resource and the option to select a supporting video.
Search suited this brief because the audience was already expressing an information need. The task was to connect that question with useful NHS content at the moment it was being asked.
Matching searches to information needs
Byte organised the campaign around long COVID queries and more specific symptom-related themes. Searches about recovery, fatigue and life after COVID could be grouped with advertising that reflected those questions.
The plan distinguished direct long COVID searches from broader symptom terms. That distinction helped prioritise relevance and keep the campaign focused on the people the resource was intended to support.
The creative work therefore began with the search itself: what the person was trying to understand, which wording would make the NHS resource relevant, and what they could do after arriving.
A useful action beyond the first click
The measurement plan followed the information journey into the NHS page. Google Analytics 4 recorded clicks on resource videos, giving the campaign a defined engagement action beyond an advertising click.
The campaign achieved a cost per conversion of £10.99 for a tracked resource-video click, with a 15.69% conversion rate. The action means that a visitor selected a video from the resource page.
This gave the communications team a practical way to assess whether advertising was bringing people into the supporting content.
Byte's role
Byte handled strategy, audience targeting, campaign setup, optimisation and reporting. Advertising copy was developed with the NHS team through proposed wording, review and joint refinement.
Campaign management connected search relevance, the advertising message, the destination and the agreed event measurement. The result is a named example of Byte using Google Ads to support access to an NHS information resource.
Relevance for NHS search campaigns
The approach is useful when people are already searching for a service, condition or practical guidance. It starts with those questions and develops the campaign around a relevant information destination and a clearly defined next step.
The Pharmacy First programme shows how search intent can also inform wider service communications. The preconception campaign combines active-search demand with awareness, education and supporting resources.
References
- South East London NHS, COVID Recovery Puzzle Report, ID 042, version 2: pages 2–4 for the objective and campaign approach; page 11 for the reporting period and results.
- Byte Digital: NHS marketing agency.
- Campaign measurement.
- NHS marketing and campaign directory.