Government Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is like tending a field: preparation, nurturing, and continual care are essential for growth. Clearing obstacles that hinder progress—such as a poorly optimized website—lays the foundation for traffic that leads to memberships, conference registrations, and other critical goals. Just like planting seeds, search engine optimization (SEO) takes time to bear fruit. However, faster results can be achieved through strategic activities like acquiring backlinks and leveraging digital advertising. Once traffic flows in, robust analytics and reporting tools are essential to refine strategies and sow the seeds of success for future campaigns.

At Harvest, we specialize in helping government agencies thrive by providing the tools, strategies, and insights needed to flourish.

Analytics and Tracking

Learn more about Analytics & Tracking for Government

Setting up a strong foundation for your website starts with analytics and tracking. Here’s what you need to do:

  • Technical Review: Address any technical issues preventing access to your content, such as page speed, mobile usability, or barriers to search engine indexing. Properly set up tools like Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Search Console.

  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Ensure GA4 is set up correctly and linked to other Google platforms and that key events like form completions and file downloads.

  • Google Tag Manager (GTM): Use GTM to manage all tracking tags, including GA4.

  • Third-Party Platforms: Ensure GA4 or GTM codes are implemented across all third-party platforms to track user journeys from initial traffic to form completion.

  • Campaign Tracking: Link your email marketing platform to GA4 or use custom URLs to track email performance. Track ads in GA4 to see the effectiveness of each campaign, and (for example) distinguish between organic and paid Facebook traffic.

Invest in Analytics and Tracking Setup to prepare your website for success!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Learn more about SEO for Government

Optimizing content ensures your website appears in the right search results and engages visitors. Effective SEO strategies help website visitors understand who you are, how you can help, and what actions to take.

Key actions:

  • Content Optimization: Update pages to align with how people search for your services. Prioritize critical pages for users and search engines in the navigation and across the site.

  • Link Building: Encourage other websites to link to your priority pages to boost authority and visibility.

  • Goals: Measure the effectiveness of your SEO by completing key events - the things you want people to do on your website.

  • Google Business Profile: Include up-to-date information for your agency and offices.

Examples of government content to optimize:

Here are key examples of how government websites can better structure and optimize content for search engines to meet user needs effectively:

  • Informational Content: If a topic has sufficient search volume, create a dedicated page for it. Use clear, search-friendly titles that align with how people search. For instance, separate pages for topics like radon safety, asbestos hazards, or lead poisoning prevention can make the information easier to find.

  • Service Visibility: Clearly showcase the services your agency provides. Ensure the services people frequently search for are prominently featured, with detailed descriptions and easy navigation to relevant information.

  • Audience-Specific Pages: When services cater to different groups, create dedicated pages tailored to each audience's unique needs. For example, disability services could have specific pages for autism support, resources for the deaf and hard of hearing, or brain injury assistance.

  • Location-Based Content: If you offer services across various locations, provide dedicated pages for each major city or region. For example, a state agency might have a unique page for services available in Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs.

  • Encourage Engagement: To increase sign-ups for services like developmental screenings for concerned parents, create pages that directly address their potential questions and concerns. Use relatable language and answer queries they might type into a search engine.

  • Crisis Management: During emergencies such as floods or public safety incidents, ensure timely and accurate information by creating a central crisis page. Include updates, resources, and links to detailed guidance.

  • Behavioral Change: Address undesirable actions directly. For example, create informative content on the dangers of fireworks misuse or the impact of burning trash.

  • Local Support Resources: Develop pages linking to local nonprofits, community programs, or external organizations that complement your services. This demonstrates partnership and expands access to resources.

SEO Keyword Analysis Report: Uncover growth opportunities for SEO and advertising.

Digital Marketing Audit and Strategy: This comprehensive audit includes analytics and tracking setup, SEO keyword analysis, competitor analysis, website analytics review, and a detailed digital marketing strategy. Feedback from this audit guides actionable steps to enhance your website’s performance.

Our Work

  • State Department of Education

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  • State Website for Children With Disabilities

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  • State Consumer Protection Website

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Digital Advertising

Learn about Digital Advertising for Government

The widespread use of digital devices makes digital advertising an essential component of any government agency's communication strategy. Not only is digital advertising often more cost-effective than traditional methods, but it also offers the advantage of easily measurable results, allowing agencies to track and optimize their outreach efforts with precision.

Search Ads

Search ads are a powerful tool, particularly after optimizing your website for search engines. These ads can drive highly targeted traffic directly to your most relevant pages, which double as effective landing pages. To maximize success, focus on specific, low-competition keyword categories that align closely with your agency’s goals. Measure success not by clicks or impressions, but by form completions or any other desired action.

Display and Social Ads

Display and social ads are excellent for reaching a wider audience, building awareness, and re-engaging the public. However, success depends on careful targeting and cost management. Consider first achieving success with campaigns targeting people who have been on your website but have not taken the desired action.

The SEO Keyword Analysis Report reveals SEO and search advertising opportunities.

Performance Reporting

Learn about top-ten performance reports for government using Looker Studio

As your website generates traffic and form completions, it's crucial to evaluate what strategies are effective and identify areas for improvement. Google Looker Studio offers an affordable, interactive solution for performance reporting tailored to government needs. By integrating data from Google Analytics, other Google tools, third-party platforms like Facebook, and internal reports, Looker Studio consolidates your key performance indicators (KPIs) into a single, comprehensive dashboard. Below are some of the most valuable Google Looker Studio reports for government agencies:

A traffic source report provides a comprehensive overview of how users are arriving at your website and which sources are driving form completions. Understanding these sources allows you to optimize your strategy for greater impact. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most important types of reports:

  • Organic Search: Identify which landing pages generate the most traffic and key events from search engines like Google. Use the search query report from Google Search Console to discover the exact queries users search for when they find your site.

  • Referral Traffic: Explore which external websites link to yours and drive visitors. Pay attention to traffic from news outlets, local websites, companies, associations, and other government websites to identify valuable partnerships and outreach opportunities.

  • Social Traffic: Track the performance of social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and others in driving traffic to your site. Analyze which pages users land on and supplement these insights with reports from social media platforms to evaluate engagement metrics like likes, shares, and click-through rates.

  • Email Campaigns: Evaluate the effectiveness of each email campaign by tracking traffic and conversions in Google Analytics. Determine which emails successfully achieve your goals and refine future campaigns based on these insights.

  • Ad Campaigns: Measure the performance of your paid campaigns, including Google Ads and social media ads. Integrate additional ad reports from platforms like Facebook Ads to get a holistic view of your campaign’s ROI.

Other Key Reports

In addition to traffic sources, here are other important reports you can create and analyze to better understand your website’s performance and user behavior:

  • Top Pages: Identify the most frequently viewed pages on your website. This can highlight which content resonates most with your audience and guide updates or expansions of popular sections.

  • Location Data: Analyze where your visitors are located by city, region, state, or country. This can be useful for state agencies looking at traffic by large city.

  • Device Type: Discover whether users on mobile devices, desktops, or tablets encounter issues, such as difficulties navigating the site or completing forms.

  • Site Search: Review what users search for within your website’s search bar. This can reveal gaps in your content or opportunities to improve navigation and user experience.

  • File Downloads: Track the number of downloads for PDFs or other files on your site. This is particularly helpful for agencies offering resources, reports, or other downloadable materials.

  • Video Views: Monitor how often your videos are viewed and whether viewers are watching them all the way through or dropping off early. This can inform future video content strategies.

  • Third-Party Data Integration: Include reports from external platforms such as service registration portals.

  • Internal Reports: Import internal organizational data to merge operational insights with your website and campaign analytics. This allows you to see everything in one unified dashboard.

Invest in a Looker Studio Performance Dashboard for better insights.

Ongoing Services

Build on each campaign's success to shape future strategies. These services can start after SEO implementation or as part of an ongoing monthly budget.

Invest in Ongoing Digital Marketing Services

Harvest Can Help!

Contact us today to learn how digital marketing can help your organization!