Written on December 14th, 2010 by tasha
How do we appropriately refer to older adults, especially in the world of search engine optimization? Boomers have made it abundantly clear that they do not like the term “senior.” They/we will never get “old.” (Remember the shock when Ringo actually DID turn 64?) We live in ageist society. Sigh…
With the leading edge of Boomers born in 1946, they are just starting to enter the official realm of senior citizens. Okay, so “senior” is NOT a term to use when addressing this group. But what about persons in their 80’s and 90’s today? What do they want to be called? And when Boomers go to the Internet—78% of them do—what terms do they use to search about information on caring for their aging parents?
I was not able to find specific demographic breakdowns. But through some Google tools, I was able to get a snapshot of the top terms relating to older adults. These serve as a starting point, and from there I suggest we extrapolate.
In research, the term “older adult” is generally used to mean a person age 50 or older; and “senior” to mean a person age 65 and older. “Older adult” is not in common usage however. While “senior” is in our spoken vernacular, as noted above, “senior” has negative connotations for many people, and not without reason! (My personal pet peeve is to go to the movies with a friend over 65 and find that we have to ask for “One senior admission and one regular.” or “One senior and one adult.” Hello! Seniors are not regular? They are not adults? Isn’t that a nifty bit of ageism? But I digress…)
In marketing, if you put people off in any way, you have lost your access and credibility. We know this all too well in hospice. For instance, we don’t create sites at death-and-dying.com. Instead, we create them at seriousillness.org. It’s more inviting, less threatening.
Similarly, when talking about issues and services that pertain to individuals of advanced age, we need to look at the most popular terms and then deduce which ones will work for which audiences.
Here are the top contenders to choose from based on U.S. Google searches in the last month:
- Senior (3,350,000). Over three million searches. Pas mal! However, with any search word, one needs to be wary of possible double meanings. For instance, “senior” is also a term used for students in their 4th year of high school and 4th year of undergraduate studies. Given the high proportion of young people who use the Internet, I would not be surprised if half or more of these searches pertain to the scholastic connotation.
- Elder (1,000,000). Is this a word adults over 65 use for themselves, or a word that those under 65 use for people older than they are? Personally, I really like this term. It conveys an element of respect that runs counter to the rampant ageism in our society. (Okay, I’ll get off my ageism soapbox.) I would vote for this one when you are targeting Boomers searching about their parents. It’s one reason I named my business “Elder Pages Online.”
- Elderly (823,000). I can tell you right off that seniors are extremely unlikely to use this term for themselves. I believe “juniors” (my word for persons under 65) might use it in a search, especially if their parent is frail, or over 85. But would they forward a link to their parent if the words in your website referred to their parent as “elderly”? Not likely. If part of your Internet strategy is to reach out to Boomers (higher penetration on the Web than seniors) and have them then share your information with their parents, I would avoid the word “elderly.”
- Seniors (550,000). Compare this with 3,350,000 for “senior.” What a difference the plural makes! The confound between 4th year students and persons over 65 still remains, however. If I have a choice to use the word “senior” or “seniors” in my page titles or links, I would definitely use the singular. It’s nearly 6 times more popular in searches!
- The elderly (201,000). A pretty significant drop from “seniors.” Less than half as many searched. This phrase has similar issues as “elderly,” the only difference being “the elderly” becomes a noun in a sentence, whereas “elderly” alone is an adjective. If I were ever to refer to “the elderly” on a website, I would want to be sure I specifically was talking about very frail individuals, and that I never expected the page to be something shared with persons of advanced age, just other professionals or perhaps younger family members.
- Senior citizens (135,000). This surprised me. Somehow I thought it would be a more common phrase. Apparently not. Again, I think this is one that people use to refer to individuals older than they are. It’s not something the “young old” are likely to identify with much for themselves. In fact, given the small numbers, I’d venture to guess that this is a phrase that professionals use more than the general public. The numbers are too small for broad usage by the average netizen.
- Old Age (135,000). I would be very curious to learn in what context this is used as a keyword phrase. For instance, is the search phrase something like “Coping with old age?” or could it be something like, “How much is the old age pension?” I know family caregivers often do not list a diagnosis for an ailing parent. In surveys, one of the most popular reasons sited for why a parent needs help is “old age.” Still, this phrase strikes me as awkward. I wonder how it got to be so popular, relatively speaking.
- Elders (110,000). Many of the same principles apply as for “elder.” Again, though, it’s interesting that the singular is searched as a keyword nine times more often than the plural.
- Older adult (60,500). A pretty steep drop from the next highest up—”elders” at 110,000. Seems like we’re getting into rarified air. “Older adult” is probably the most benign term. In our ageist culture, it is not particularly offensive. But it is also not something that is commonly used in search. Again, I’d bet this was professionals searching more than the average lay person in the community.
Any surprises for you here? What terms have you found to be successful?
Tags: search engine optimization
Posted in GCM Marketing, Home Health Marketing, Hospice Marketing, Internet Marketing, Private Duty Marketing, Technology
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I started my geriatric care management practice over twenty-five years ago. I thought about the language I would like used about me ( I was then about 56 years old) and called my praactice/business Creative Care for Older People. Many of my clients have commented on this name over the years. It felt comfortable to them. Now that I am just about to be 81 this month, and still working with a few of my clients, and leading a very active life, I do not care about this issue. I am old and getting older. What really bothers me is the ageism that does not value me as an experienced valuable member of the community or world that haas a lot to offer. Thanks for your interest in this subject.
I wonder how ‘late lifers’ would stand the test of time? Or, “Eternalists”, perhaps, is a more appropriate suggestion for a generation that denies (or defies!) aging.
Debra
How fun! I did research on these two terms:
late lifers (0 searches in the last month)
eternalist (210 in the U.S.; 480 globally)
The next “relevant term” according to Google keywords? “Best wrinkle cream” at 27,100 U.S. searches in the last month!
I went for an uncommon but highly respectful name for my Geriatric Care Managership. I call them Third Agers. I learned the term in one of my master’s classes (in Gerontology). if youth is the first age of man, adulthood is the second age of man, then the third age of man is “older adulthood”. Not good for Google search, but VERY good when asked to explain the term. Only one “older adult” didn’t like the term when it was explained to her. And she wasn’t a very happy person anyways!
Even when we get to be “elders” we’ll still be “Boomers”, so that’s my “label” and I’m sticking with it! We can change the “old age” titles. Age on Boomers!
Very cool. I have a vague recollection that Spanish refers to older adulthood as the “tercer edad,” third age.
So, the Google keyword report on
third age: 27,100 U.S. Searches in the last month; 135,000 globally.
third ager: Less then 10 in the U.S.
Keep ‘em coming. This is fun!
In many cases the term “Over 55″ or alternately “55+” or “55 plus” describes an age group without any hint of bias. It would be interesting to see what the search demographics are for these terms!
Great idea! Here’s what I found
zero listings for “55+” (I guess it only tracks text, not punctuation. Hmmm)
“over 60″ 60,500
“50 plus” 60,500
“over 55″ 49,500
“60 plus” 33,100
“over 65″ 22,200
“55 plus” 14,800
The entries for “55″ tended to be about “over 55 living communities”. The entries for 65 were often about insurance. Go figure!
Thanks for the suggestion. Keep ‘em coming!
Tasha