In a talk at the National Association of Government Webmasters (NAGW), Jason Morrison answered a few of the questions its attendees had concerning the upkeep of government websites on Google's search engine. As sources of trusted, official information, on a national and local level, government websites are extremely important to citizens, and therefore Google takes great care to ensure these sites are up-to-date on all the ways to optimise their site and account for any changes. Many webmasters have the problem of changing out-of-date address or phone numbers in search and Google maps. The easiest solution, Morrison states, is to claim ownership of their Google+ local listing. Doing so allows you to have full control over the information given. Most Google Maps locations have a Google+ listing, detailing information such as contact numbers, opening hours, reviews, and photos. The easiest way for a government webmaster to claim their listing is to use a shared Google account with their .gov domain. Then rightful owners are validated by a phone call or postcard. If you have 10 or more listings or addresses, you can use Google's bulk upload option, using a spreadsheet system designed for multiple listing uploads. If you are moving from a .gov to a .com domain, there are a number of steps to take:
The old and new domain should be verified in Webmaster ToolsUse a 301 redirect on all of your pages. This informs search engines of your permanent move. Try to redirect old pages directly to the new corresponding page (or at least a very similar page), rather than all pages leading to the new homepage, as this improves navigation.Confirm that the new location can be crawled by Googlebots by using the 'Fetch as Google' feature in Webmaster Tools.Verify 'Change of Address' in Webmaster ToolsLook at the 'Links to your Site' in Webmaster Tools, and make sure you inform your linking sites of your new domain address.It's advisable not to conduct any other major changes at this transitional time, such as content, design, or navigation.Keep the old site and the redirects in place for a while after your move, to prevent people from not being able to find your site if they have an outdated link, for some reason or another. For webmasters who have created a wealth of titles, descriptions, and content, the best way to make sure it's crawled and indexed, is to submit an XML sitemap with the updates, and using 'Fetch as Google', you can submit it to be indexed. If you're interested in joining the YouTube government partner programit's been discontinued. However, YouTube's regular account allows features of the program, such as uploads of videos longer than 10 minutes. In addition, YouTube has been updated with the ability to stream live video via Hangouts on Air, which requires a Google+ account, and link your YouTube and Webmaster Tools account. We hope you'll find the information useful! Digital Clicks are one of the country's leading internet marketing experts, and provide a number of services, including PPC, social media, and SEO services in Cambridge.Post navigation
Let's create an amazing campaign for you! Clicks HQ +44 (0)1480 226378 hello@clickshq.com
CONNECT WITH US - FACEBOOK - X - Instagram © 2026 Clicks Marketing Ltd
