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Departmental Internet

Health written question – answered at on 8 February 2010.

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Photo of Nick Hurd Nick Hurd Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for which Google Adword online advertising keywords his Department and its agencies have paid in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Photo of Phil Hope Phil Hope Minister of State (the East Midlands), Regional Affairs, Minister of State (the East Midlands), Department of Health

For the period 1 February 2009 to 31 January 2010 the Department ran 21,939 active search terms, (including searches on specific campaigns and those used by NHS Choices).

The total spend on all these searches was: £2,720,457.11.

In relation to which Google keywords have been bought for use, such information is commercially sensitive; in particular the collection of the keywords the Department has paid for on NHS Choices is estimated to have taken approximately one year to complete.

The commercially competitive nature of the cost of Google Adword keywords means that putting specific information in the public domain on actual keywords used could put the Department at a future competitive disadvantage.

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