Government Data is Useful in Marketing

Government organizations are under a different set of pressures than the private sector.  The movement toward transparency has caused many agencies to release vast amounts of data that was previous difficult to find.  Currently, 16 nations are involved in open data initiatives, and numerous private organizations are also publishing data sets.  This data is free and open to anyone who wants to use it.  The United States and the United Kingdom both encourage users to create user apps with their data: information can be found at http://data.gov.uk or http://www.data.gov on the awarding of authoritative links—a real coup for anyone who wants to build credibility with a website.

Orange County SEO can help you build a better website by using data obtained from government and private organizations to bolster your content.  Our copywriting and content development departments will help you use data correctly and earn respect and trust from your users.

Where Can I Find Public Data?

Governments, universities, and non-profit organizations all make their data available free of charge to the public.  The trick is knowing where to look to find the data you want.

If you are looking for international data, try the IMF and the World Bank.  These sites provide data portals that contain thousands of sets that can be accessed for any purpose.

If you are focusing on the United States, there are great sites that can help you find exactly what you are looking for.  You can conduct research at USA.gov, FedSats.gov, American Fact Finder and SeachSystem.net for free, and the data sets represent a wide variety of knowledge that can be useful to people in all types of fields.

The UK has also created a website that collates data from government departments.

Tableau Public provides a comprehensive list of hundreds of free datasets.  They offer rankings of the merits of data websites through data visualization software.

How Do I Use Public Data?

Most data is in raw form, which means it has little relevance or meaning to the public.  You have the opportunity to draw on this data for material to create unique content and snag inbound links to reputable sites.  You might want to:

• Create infographics
• Build dashboards
• Make maps
• Create apps, tools, or widgets
• Make a quiz
• Do mashups
• Create comparison calculators
• Create news feeds

The ideas are limited only by your imagination.  Try to think about what will appeal to your customers, and work with professional designers so your content and presentation look “official.”

How Can I Market My Ideas?

There are several effective methods for marketing your talents.  For example, you can use:

1. On-page coding.  Ask your developer to embed code beneath graphics and charts so that other sites can use your artwork with a link back to your site.
2. Notify your sources.  Contact the source and make them aware that you are using their data in the creation of a tool.  They will often provide inbound links for your creation.
3. Issue a PR.  Press releases are one easy way to get attention for your new site and the use of your data.  Press releases should be unique and contain relevant and interesting content to get you noticed.
4. Do blog outreach.  Contact blogs that have an interest in your theme and let them know that you are publishing a new piece of information that might be of use to them.

Orange County SEO can help you maximize your potential on the internet with online reputation management resources and a host of other services.  Contact us for information about how to get your web pages noticed, trusted, and referenced.