Councils match Tesco.com for web hits

Published	20 December 2007

Local authority websites attract nearly as many hits as major retailer Tesco.com, following a recent award-winning publicity campaign 'Connect to Your Council'.

Research published today (20 December) by the Central Office of Information also reveals that in-person visits to council offices have dropped by a quarter since the beginning of the advertising. In the same period, telephone queries are down by 16 per cent and letters by 15 per cent.

People can now access a wide range of council services online, from finding information on rubbish collection, to applying for school places, or paying bills.
Parmjit Dhanda, Minister for Local E-Government said:

"It is clear that residents welcome the chance to put themselves in charge of how, when and where they access their local council services. Our independent survey shows that, in a dramatically growing market, local authority websites are maintaining a consistent share of traffic. This is a marked achievement that confirms the potential of local e-government for delivering an efficient and responsive service culture that is centred on the needs of customers."

The 'Connect to your Council' campaign was launched in May 2006 and runs until March 2008. People visiting the Campaign website at www.direct.gov.uk/mycouncil (external link) just enter a post code, town or street name, to be directed to the relevant service page of their council's website.

Notes to editors

1. A copy of the COI's review of the 'Connect to your Council' Campaign can be downloaded at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/connecttocouncil.

2. Web traffic figures are taken from Hitwise (www.hitwise.co.uk - external link) in August 2007 and show the 0.25 per cent market share of UK web traffic for local government websites to be on a par with the number of visits to the Tesco website (0.26 per cent) for the period of Campaign activity.

3. National advertising activity for the 'Connect to your Council' Campaign was carried out between May-July 2006, with additional bursts of advertising activity taking place in Sept-Oct 2006 and June-July 2007. The Campaign is scheduled to run up to March 2008.

4. The Campaign press advert for 'dumped rubbish' was the monthly winner of the ANNA (Awards for National Newspaper Advertising) for May 2006, whilst the 'library book renewals' radio advert was the July 2006 winner of the Aerial Award for excellence in creative radio advertising. The online advertisements were also named by New Media Age magazine as the 'Campaign of the Month' in September 2006.