The Wardman Wire

A written question in the House of Commons reveals that the Department of Health spent 2.7 million UKP on Google adwords from February 2009 to January 2010:

For the period 1 February 2009 to 31 January 2010 the Department ran 21,939 active search terms, (including searches on specific campaigns and those used by NHS Choices).

The total spend on all these searches was: £2,720,457.11.

In relation to which Google keywords have been bought for use, such information is commercially sensitive; in particular the collection of the keywords the Department has paid for on NHS Choices is estimated to have taken approximately one year to complete.

The commercially competitive nature of the cost of Google Adword keywords means that putting specific information in the public domain on actual keywords used could put the Department at a future competitive disadvantage.

For me, the sheer range of search terms – 21, 939 of them – is the first most interesting point here. Someone has been working hard on niche-targetting of messages.

Simon Dixon has some more analysis (and a hat-tip from me for the original post).

The second interesting point is that the Conservatives asked a whole series of Parlamentary Questions to find this information, and it shows the importance of Parliamentary Questions – which in my opinion are now a key part of the nuts and bolts of the political process.

The Cabinet Office

Tessa Jowell (Minister of State, Cabinet Office; Dulwich & West Norwood, Labour)

The Department has paid under £200 for Google online advertising keywords in the last 12 months. This service was used as part of the initial launch of Building Britain’s Future website, and the keywords were based on “Building Britain’s Future”.

International Developent

Michael Foster (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development; Worcester, Labour)

The Department for International Development (DFID) has not paid for any Google Adword online advertising in the last 12 months. DFID is not responsible for any agencies.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Patrick McFadden (Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; Wolverhampton South East, Labour)

BIS has spent, via the Central Office for Information (COI), a total of £381,056.89 on Google keywords in 2009/10 to date for the following marketing campaigns:
Campaign £
Graduate Talent Pool 53,732.26
Vulnerable Workers and Agency Workers 29,591.83
National Minimum Wage 40,301.80
Business Link 252,397.90
i-Awards 539.30
Science: So What? So Everything 1,179.04
Employment Agency Standards 3,314.16
Total 381,056.29

This covers a combination of 4,400 keywords related to these campaigns. We have not provided the full list and the amounts paid for individual keywords as the release of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of our suppliers.

Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Chris Bryant (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Rhondda, Labour)

In the last 12 months the Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid for Google Adwords for two cross-government digital campaigns, and one consular campaign. We publicised the G20 London Summit

www.londonsummit.gov.uk

at a cost of £991; the Act on Copenhagen campaign www.actoncopenhagen.gov.uk at a cost of £492; and our Go Gap Year campaign

www.gogapyear.com

at a cost of £3,000.

I think what we need now is perhaps some highly public analysis of non-answers to Parliamentary Questions.

Wrapping Up

There’s an important question here about the overall cost of Government advertising. The Central Office of Information is just one more of a large number of areas which absorb budgets of several hundred million ukp per year, having increased their spending very significantly over many year which – in my view – need to be closely examined.

How much smaller would our national fiscal black hole be if the CoI budget, and other similar budgets, had been – say – 80% smaller over the last 5 years?