Government Sites Reach 40 Percent of Americans but Lag Behind Overall Internet Growth

Gov Sites Reach 40% of Americans, but Lag Internet Growth

RESTON, VA, September 12, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an analysis of traffic to federal Government sites, which showed a decline over the past year despite attempts to make the government more digital-friendly. In July 2011, 87.6 million Americans visited a government site, representing 40.7 percent of the total U.S. online population. Although today’s audience represents an 11-percent increase in visitors vs. five years ago, this number is significantly lower than the 24-percent growth in the total U.S. Internet population over the same period of time.

“In recent years, the U.S. government sector has taken significant steps to expand its digital presence to align itself more closely with the routine behaviors of its citizens,” said comScore Senior Director Gillian Heltai. “However, comScore data show that many government sites still struggle to sustain citizen visitation and engagement levels in an increasingly fragmented digital world. Despite current efforts to improve their online offerings, government agencies have been unable to keep pace with rapidly-changing consumer expectations and distinguish themselves through their use of technology. The challenge for the government sector moving forward will be to determine the best ways to creatively leverage their resources to stay ahead of the digital curve.”

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Gov Sites Reach 40% of Americans, but Lag Internet Growth