Government bodies spend £6m to appear on search engines

Four government bodies spent £6m on paid search fees in the past two years

Four government departments have spent almost £6m over the past two years ensuring their web sites were displayed in internet search engine results.

The Department of Health spent £4.4m of taxpayers’ money in “paid search fees”, according to newly released figures published by the BBC.

Simon Burns, Conservative minister of state for health, admitted that NHS Choices used paid search activity to reach the widest possible audience so that users can easily find health information and access government services.

He said that paid search activity was a key component of several major campaigns for the department in 2009-10, including its anti-smoking and pandemic flu campaigns. However, he said the department has now cut its spending on paid searches entirely.

The Department for Communities and Local Government was the second biggest spender on search fees, paying more than £700,000 to promote campaigns for eco towns and energy performance certification.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Energy and Climate Change were the third and fourth biggest spenders respectively, paying £500,000 and £309,000.