MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español, National Library of Medicine (NLM)
https://medlineplus.gov/
Expanding the Reach
Bixal assembled a highly qualified team of UX specialists, health and consumer librarians, bilingual marketing communications specialists, developers, and designers to help NLM develop a top-quality, user-friendly consumer health website in MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español. The diverse Bixal team works closely with NLM to plan and execute the production, dissemination, and promotion of content on the website through different social media channels. Bixal collaborates with NLM to conduct Section 508 compliance and promote the use of plain language to ensure that relevant health content is easily accessible for all users.
Search Engine Optimization
Bixal conducted a comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) audit of MedlinePlus and presented a prioritized list of recommendations to NLM on methods to improve SEO and drive more traffic to important medical information.
Bixal supports inbound marketing using social media and other channels, continually monitoring and reporting findings to NLM. The Bixal team looks for outreach and engagement opportunities and compiles weekly and monthly analytics reports using Google Analytics and other tools to measure against specific targets to evaluate the effectiveness of SEO and outreach activities.
As a result of these efforts, and for the first time, MedlinePlus was ranked 7th of the top 100 siteswith more visibility in 2016, just below Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google.
Web Coding and User Interface
Bixal also provides custom programming support to create and maintain web pages using HTML, RSS, and CSS within the MedlinePlus custom CMS and TeamSite CMS. Developers ensure that web pages can support desktop, tablet, and mobile devices and are compatible with multiple web browsers.
Spanish Language Support
The Latino community actively engages online and needs high-quality information on health and other important issues. To meet the community’s information needs, Bixal’s Spanish Language Support Team organizes, edits, updates, and publishes Spanish content for MedlinePlus en español. The Spanish Language Specialist also writes content for the Qué hay de nuevo en MedlinePlus newsletter; supports the promotion of health information and NLM activities through the @MedlinePlusEsp Twitter feed, the MedlinePlus en español Facebook page, and other social media channels; and provides translations that are culturally relevant and neutral. Bixal’s support helped MedlinePlus en español reach 10,000 followers on its Facebook page.
Systems Librarian and Accessibility Support
Bixal proactively monitors content and identifies areas for improvement throughout the MedlinePlus site and also performs site testing for usability, accessibility, and compatibility with web browsers. Bixal’s reports on site-monitoring activities distill quantitative and qualitative results and provide recommendations for improvements that can then be built into the overall site management workflow. Bixal revisits upgrades and changes to evaluate the success of each implementation and provide suggestions for adjustments and improvements.
Consumer Health Librarian Support
The Bixal team’s Consumer Health Librarian (CHL) is primarily responsible for the web content development life cycle, which includes discovery, creation, publication, and maintenance. The CHL collaborates with the Systems Librarian and the Spanish Librarian to ensure that content is current and accessible and that it adheres to the overall content strategy to promote site visibility, accessibility, and usability.
