Here’s your March digital round-up, highlighting key changes, trends, and news from across the health and tech landscape. From evolving SEO best practices to major moves in AI and virtual care, these updates offer insight into what’s shaping the future of digital health marketing. We’ve also included practical examples and campaign ideas to help you stay ahead of the curve.
March Insights for Wellness Brands
Industry Trends Driving Health Engagement
The Rise of Virtual Wards
As the NHS continues rolling out virtual wards across the UK, there’s a growing opportunity for healthcare brands to promote remote care solutions, highlighting convenience, accessibility, and improved patient outcomes. One standout example is the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICS, which used short-form video content and patient testimonials to show how individuals are receiving hospital-level care from the comfort of home. These real stories not only build public trust but also offer great potential for boosting engagement in decentralised clinical trials, where patient confidence in remote care is key. According to NHS England, over 240,000 patients have already been treated through virtual wards, with a target of 40–50 virtual beds per 100,000 people by 2025¹.
SEO-Focused Health Literacy Campaigns
In 2025, SEO in healthcare is about more than just being found online, it’s about helping patients understand and act on the information they find. This is especially important when it comes to clinical trial recruitment, where clear, accessible content can make the difference between interest and drop-off. A great example is Bupa UK, which redesigned its online health guides to be readable at a Year 7 level, using simple language, FAQs, and clear calls to action. This approach helps them rank highly for search terms like “symptoms of IBS” and “how to sleep better,” bringing in traffic and building trust. With 77% of UK adults turning to the internet first for health information², and more than 4 in 10 adults struggling with health content written for the public, rising to over 6 in 10 when numbers or statistics are involved, accessible content is no longer optional³.
UK Leads with AI-Powered Skin Cancer Diagnosis
In March 2025, the NHS began using a new AI tool called Derm to help spot skin cancer quickly. At Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, doctors used Derm with an iPhone and magnifying lens to scan moles in seconds. Nearly half of patients got the all-clear right away, while others were fast-tracked to specialists. Derm is 99.9% accurate at ruling out melanoma and has already helped find 13,000 cancer cases across 20 NHS hospitals. This marks a big step in using tech to improve care and cut waiting times⁴.
Digital Platform Shifts That Matter
Google Targets Misinformation with Major Search Update
Google completed the rollout of its March 2025 Core Update, a significant adjustment to its search algorithms aimed at enhancing the relevance and quality of search results. The update commenced on March 13 and concluded on March 27, with notable ranking fluctuations reported across a range of industries, particularly in the health and wellness sector.
Google has increasingly focused on elevating high-quality, experience-based content, especially for topics like healthcare, where misinformation can be harmful. Many websites with thin, AI-generated content or unclear authorship saw ranking drops, while pages with medically reviewed, plain-language information and clear source attribution were rewarded.
Facebook Reintroduces Friends-Only Feed
Meta announced the reintroduction of a “Friends” tab on Facebook, allowing users to view content exclusively from their friends without additional recommended posts. This feature aims to enhance personal connections and is initially available in the US and Canada. The “Friends” tab showcases personal posts, Reels, stories, upcoming birthdays, and pending friend requests. This move is part of Meta’s broader effort to revitalise Facebook’s appeal, particularly among younger demographics who favor platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
ChatGPT Rolls Out Free AI Image Generation Tools
After OpenAI enabled image generation within ChatGPT using its GPT-4o model, users across all tiers, including free accounts, gained access to powerful visual creation tools directly in chat. This marked a major update to the platform, making AI image generation more accessible than ever. The rollout sparked immediate engagement, with trends like Studio Ghibli-style prompts gaining traction and showcasing the model’s ability to produce stylised, high-quality visuals. The update also included safety features like C2PA metadata tagging and safeguards against harmful content, reinforcing OpenAI’s focus on responsible use as it expands creative capabilities
Key Developments In Tech, AI Policy
Meta Facing Potential EU Antitrust Fines
The European Union is preparing to fine Meta up to $1 billion or more for breaching the Digital Markets Act. The compliance issues focus on Meta’s “pay or consent” model, which forces users on Instagram and Facebook to either pay for an ad-free experience or consent to their data being used for targeted advertising. This development has serious implications for digital marketers in regulated industries like healthcare, where privacy, consent, and ethical data use are paramount. If stricter regulations follow, healthcare brands may need to rethink how they reach audiences through Meta platforms without relying on detailed targeting or sensitive data signals.
Apple’s Development of an AI ‘Doctor’ for Comprehensive Health Monitoring
Apple announced its work on a virtual health service aimed at enhancing health monitoring capabilities. This initiative includes the development of an AI health coach designed to provide personalised health recommendations by analysing data from Apple’s Health app. The AI, trained with input from both in-house and external medical professionals, aims to offer tailored advice on various health aspects, including nutrition and fitness. Additionally, Apple is working on integrating features such as glucose monitoring and blood pressure sensors into its devices, with the potential evolution into a service called Health+.
Final Thoughts from the Agency
At Absolutely Health, we specialise in health marketing that meets patients where they are—digitally and emotionally. Our SEO-optimised, plain-language content is designed to cut through complexity and support real understanding. We build structured, user-friendly landing pages that answer patient questions clearly and accurately, using proven techniques like questionnaires, FAQ sections, and medically reviewed copy. This approach not only increases visibility in search results, but more importantly, it empowers informed decision-making and builds lasting trust in your brand.
— Shaka Moody, Digital Marketing Executive, Absolutely Health
Sources
NHS delivers 10,000 virtual ward beds target, with hundreds of thousands of patients treated at home. NHS England [Internet]. NHS; 2023 Oct [cited 2025 Apr 1]. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/10/nhs-delivers-10000-virtual-ward-beds-target-with-hundreds-of-thousands-of-patients-treated-at-home/
Epilepsy Information Portal. EPIL [Internet]. EPIL; [cited 2025 Apr 1]. Available from: https://www.epil.uk/
Health literacy. NHS Digital Service Manual [Internet]. NHS; [cited 2025 Apr 1]. Available from: https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/health-literacy
Global first as NHS hospital uses AI for instant skin cancer checks. The Times [Internet]. The Times; 2025 Mar [cited 2025 Apr 1]. Available from: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/global-first-as-nhs-hospital-uses-ai-for-instant-skin-cancer-checks-3clspdmk0?utm_source=chatgpt.com
