Several weeks ago, we made a small change to the Department of Administration website that has turned out to be a big hit. Actually, it’s been more than 10,000 hits.
On April 27, as part of an ongoing effort to improve our website, we added a Google custom search feature with the hope that it would make it easier for users to find the DOA information they seek. The no-cost resource seemed a natural step in enhancing access to our data and our people.
As of today, a total of 10,028 inquiries have been made through this search feature, including 9,271 distinct queries. Among the most commonly entered topics were education, jobs and internships, each of which have historic connections to divisions within our Department. We also heard from people who needed to obtain standardized tests for home school administration; folks who were looking for bargains among surplus state vehicles; and others who browsed a wide range of bid opportunities, including the new NC Preference, which provides a price-match opportunity for North Carolina vendors.
Another bit of evidence that the search feature is useful to our visitors is a drop in the volume of “Contact Us” general inquiries received since it was launched. We’ve not only seen fewer emails each month, but also note an ever bigger reduction comparing to the same time periods in 2009 and 2008.
Which is not to say we don’t want to hear for you. We encourage our web visitors to let us know how we can continue to improve to deliver the services they want and need.