10. Get on the trendiest sharing
devices
To maximize linkage, tap into
whatever the most fervent internet users are on at the time. Right now
Twitter is big, but be careful to jump in with both feet. In a few
months, Facebook might roll out another major overhaul --- the site has
been making obviously Twitter-influenced changes of late --- or Digg
might blow up in popularity again. (Perhaps anticipating this, the Wall
Street Journal has added Digg buttons to all of its online content,
excluding all other sharing sites.) Just be flexible and dynamic when
deciding to which social media sites to cater.
9. Use Really Simple Syndication
They may be a peculiar bunch,
but they are out there. And you can tap into their dedication
to reading the internet to help you extend your reach. That's
right, people who religiously use RSS feeds can help generate buzz
for your site because they see updates, and share them, first. But they
have enough
on their hands.
If they find your site interesting, but you don't have an RSS option
for them to use, you will get left in the dust. There's just
too much to check and too little time.
8. Post user/reader questions
with answers
Not only will your agency look
better if you appear to be answering emails (one problem with Gov 2.0
is the perceived phenomenon of "emails to nowhere"), but the same
question you print from an email might be typed into a search box by
another curious person. Your site would likely be atop a results
page in this case.
7. Don't use creative euphemisms
or puns...
...no matter how fun they are. Condolences to old-school content editors, but when it comes to search
engines you have to use the words of the people. A classic case
from the news world often pointed to by search experts occurred in 2004
when the New York Times printed an article entitled "Asia's Deadly
Wave." The problem was nobody would ever enter "deadly wave"
into Google when seeking info about a widely discussed tsunami.
Not even kids have been tripped up by the silent "T" since the premier
of the Disney Channel classic "Johnny Tsunami." Moral of the
story is, it's good assume that most people know the prevailing nomenclature
for any story. Government sites can easily get left out of searches,
a la the Times, if they use the "official" terminology rather than
current terms. Buzz words are called buzz words because people
know them, and use them.
6. Do whatever this guy
says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qMe7Z3EYg
5. Publish user-friendly content
(because people hate reading)
Whether they know it or not,
everyone loves lists-and tables, and graphs, bold words, interesting
side notes, et cetera et cetera. Especially in the Internet age, people
tend to run screaming at the sight of a long, intimidating block of
text. And if those people bounce from your site in fear they are not
sharing it, linking to it, or coming back tomorrow. So if you have good
content, make sure it's dressed up fly. Lots of headings, bold
keywords, links in the text, additional content scattered in shaded
boxes like a textbook or Time magazine-all are good things.
4. Be relevant
Another great way to get visitors
bouncing out of your site is by not giving them exactly what they are
looking for. Search engine users usually have a pretty good idea
of what they are looking for in a site, and if you cater exactly to
their needs you are golden. But if your page doesn't exactly
fit a given searcher's needs, which most of the time it won't, the
key is to grab them with something topical. Search Engine Land
uses a hypothetical example of a fruit juice site that comes up in a
search for "soft drinks." The good SEO practice given that situation,
says Daniel Waisberg, would be for the juice guys to guide people who
arrived at their site via the "soft drinks" search to a page showing
comparisons between soda and juice-something relating to juice that
might still pique the reader's interest even though he or she may
have been looking for specific, soda related info.
3. Show the progression
In
addition to general relevance, make sure there's a transparent line of
progression between a search term, the informative bit that goes along
with the search result, and the page that it leads to. If that
information sample on your site's search result does not indicate that
you have what the searcher is looking for, it will not get clicked
first; and say the bit of info does draw a surfer in, but your page
doesn't readily display what was promised, the viewer is very likely to
bounce right back to his or her search results page and look elsewhere
for answers.
2. Run with new tech
Besides the more popular social
media sites, the technology that the private sector uses for marketing
must be used by government sites if they are going to extend reach. APIs make mash-ups of technology that have been used
successfully by government sites already (see: sexual predator maps,
FBI most wanted iPhone apps) and should be used more. As the hyper-energetic
CDNet exec says in the video linked above, 2.5 "mashups" are created
a day, and it will soon become 10. Don't let gov get left behind!
1. Remember that "Content is King"
Government sites have the advantage
of being the "official" place to go for a lot of information, so
you already have a leg up on Wikipedia. Don't squander it! Have awesome content, and the people will find you. Really, they
will
Also Interesting:
Get our Newsletter!
Click here to sign up and stay informed
