According to a recent PEW study, people generally turn to the Internet as a source of information more than any other source. The same study also suggested that most Americans expect to be able to obtain information about government services through the Internet. (Estabrook, Witt, Rainie) However, website owners continue to make mistakes that cause their websites to be virtually invisible. Unfortunately, simply posting information on the internet does not automatically connect consumers with content.
JUMP Technology Services is a pioneering company in public sector search engine optimizations. Working with the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative since 2002, JUMP has applied innovation to traditional SEO strategy to create an approach specifically for public outreach.
While government agencies are easily able to implement web technologies, they aren't immune to making errors when it comes to websites and Internet self-service applications. Unfortunately, for public programs, technical structure and 508 compliance are too frequently the primary concern in creating new web applications and content while ignoring the many search engine optimization design and review points that must be considered BEFORE the site is constructed.
The instincts driving program administrators towards web enabled self service technologies are good instincts. How much efficiency is gained by allowing consumers to access applications online? Using e-metrics, online marketing strategists can provide very good estimates using counts of keyword phrases actually typed by consumers in the search engines every day. Return on investment is easy to determine, but often a gap in the project strategy leads to an implementation that misses the mark in connecting with consumers so the anticipated ROI is never achieved. Where is the gap and how do we fill it? Quite frankly it's a gap seen in private sector web initiatives as well. The assumption that a web developer knows how to implement search engine optimizations is a faulty one. "Yeah, it's all just meta tags. I can put those in." The solution is to describe consumers in terms of how they will interact with the content on the website understanding that they will not all arrive at the home page. To do this requires adequate research and planning at the very outset of the project. Next, this research drives the technical structure of the site in planning for how each type of consumer will navigate through the site. Finally, this research will govern how the content is created for the website. As the most experienced public sector SEO consultants, JUMP Technology Services can provide many different avenues of assistance for government agencies. JUMP provides SEO consulting services, website audits, and SEO Workshops to assist agency staff. Workshops are held regularly in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Some workshops are offered on-site for a minimum number of participants.
