16 August 2005
A new report suggests that the Internet could be used to save councils a small fortune.
However, the Society of Information Technology Management (Sotcim) also warned that not enough councils are taking advantage of this.
A case study showed that councils can save money by encouraging citizens to use the council website rather than by directing them to call and speak to a council employee.
Yet data shows that councils are not promoting their websites to the public effectively enough, with 29 per cent of visitors to council sites coming via Google, 26 per cent because they worked for the council and 19 per cent by simply guessing the site URL.
Martin Greenwood, programme manager, commented: "We know from the e-citizen national project that there is a whole population out there ready to use council websites, and that getting them to do so will bring tangible benefits in terms of efficiency gains and increased satisfaction with the council.
"However, it seems that councils have to date invested little in promotion, concentrating perhaps on getting the website right as a facility to offer. Now is the time to change priorities."
And further information gleaned from the Sotcim survey would suggest he is right.
A fifth of web users across the UK visited local government websites over the course of July, in spite of a lack of promotional activity on the part of the councils themselves.
Should these sites be better promoted, the possibilities are vast indeed.© Adfero Ltd
Keep up to date with industry and Nomensa news by signing up to Nomensa newsletters.
