Government websites 'could benefit from search optimisation'

02/09/2008

The government needs to engage in search engine optimisation for its network of websites in order to see success on the online platform.

This is according to minister for transformational government Tom Watson, who told .net magazine in an interview that he believed taxpayers receive "decent value for money" when it comes to public sector websites.

He cited estimates suggesting that the government is in charge of the biggest UK websites in terms of number of transactions, with about 250,000 buying a tax disc online every week.

However, Mr Watson conceded that there is still work to be done, stating: "We've also got to optimise our sites for search and make sure our content is relevant and up to the minute. A lot of work is also being done to sort out accessibility."

The official site of the prime minister, Number10.gov.uk, was relaunched with a new social media-focused website design last month.