Government SEO Is Broken

The federal government, under the leadership of President Obama and Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel, has launched a wide-ranging rethinking and consolidation of federal websites, domains, and databases. The goal: to broaden access to government information and services, incorporate mobile access, and reduce waste and overlap in websites and domains.

This is a pretty big initiative. One problem: there is a missing element that could hinder the effort - consideration for how users search for and find government service online – where's the search engine optimization (SEO)?

Search engines are often the first step in the user experience, the place people go to find a government form, plan a trip to a national park, or get informed at government issues. By including SEO - the set of best practices around helping web content appear in search results - government can insure their services, activities, and positions are issues are front and center in the everyday lives of the public...