We all know the saying “you’ll never have a second chance at a first impression.”In the digital age, your website is like the face, voice, and hands of your organization, so it’s important that you invest the time into making that first impression count. As a government agency, your website plays a crucial role in driving your mission impact, and in order to effectively drive your citizens to action you need to have a website that keeps them coming back for more. But you can’t achieve ongoing engagement, of course, if no one knows how to get engaged in the first place.
If a website launches on the internet and there’s no one there to see it, does it have an impact? No need to get philosophical on this one, the answer is a solid no.
So, how do you drive traffic to your website and get your citizens engaged with your organization on an ongoing basis? Here are a few tips to get you started:
Get visualWe’ve mentioned time and time again how important it is to include visuals in your marketing and communications, and the same rule applies to your website. Not only do photos and videos help support and strengthen your message, they also provide welcome relief from the many lines of text that might otherwise take their place. High quality photos and videos make your website look better and work smarter, so don’t underestimate their power!
Get snappyJust as snappy email subject lines are essential for getting more opens, snappy headings and concise text are essential for driving traffic to your site. Government organizations have a lot of important information to share, and while it’s tempting to want to use your website to share all of it in it exhaustive detail, the truth is that people just aren’t going to take the time to read all of it no matter how important you think it is. Keep your text straight and to the point as much as possible. And if something a little more complicated requires extra explanation, break it up into smaller chunks so it’s easier for your stakeholders to digest.
Update oftenWhen it comes to optimizing your search engine rankings consistently, fresh content is king. A website is an ongoing commitment, and if you want your stakeholders to find it when they do a Google search you need to keep it from getting stale and stagnant. Get your organization on a regular updating schedule and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be everyday, but if you want to keep driving traffic to your website after the initial push, it has to be at least once a week.
For more information and our full list of tips for driving traffic to your site, check out this handy (and visual!) infographic and download our full Website Traffic guide.
