DWP has spent £1m-plus on SEO

DWP revealed this week it had spent the sum on so-called 'search engine biasing' with the largest outlay - £956,000 – being spent in the last financial year.

 

That sum reflected a massive rise in a relatively short period of time, rising from £2,500 in 2006/07, £5,100 in 2007/08, then up to £176,000 in 2008/09.

 

The costs were outlined in a parliamentary written answer by work and pensions minister Chris Grayling.

 

Grayling says little in his answer as to the reasons for the massive uptick in investment, limiting himself to saying the figures represented the total cost of DWP search engine biasing work on 'pay per click' and 'paid for' search terms.

 

The SEO work was carried out by the DWP's own in-house communication teams.

 

Just why DWP felt it needed to make sure its name came up high in search results is a mystery. But in any case, such online marketing is now a thing of the past: "The current cross-government policy of freezing all paid for marketing and advertising has suspended spend on this type of paid for search term until further notice," he told MPs.

 

Changes in accounting rules also mean that from next April a standardised method for quantifying website costs across the DWP and associated bodies will come into operation, Grayling noted.