According to the report, citizens who are satisfied with government Web sites are 84 percent more likely to use the Web as a primary resource for information or to execute transactions. Satisfied citizens are also 82 percent more likely to recommend the Web site and 56 percent more likely to return to the site than dissatisfied citizens.
"E-government has stopped the bleeding for now, in terms of citizen satisfaction. But it remains to be seen if this is a blip or the beginning of a positive trend," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results and author of the report. "What is evidently clear, however, is that improving online satisfaction can drive traffic to the Web channel. Investment in the online channel will pay itself off and result in increased efficiency and happy citizens."
In aggregate, 45 percent of the Web sites rated in the Index increased their scores from last quarter and 23 sites had superior scores of 80 or higher. The highest-scoring federal Web site continues to be Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs, which scored 88. The site has been at the top of the Index in each quarterly report for an unprecedented two years.
Some government agencies are including online customer satisfaction in their vendor evaluation programs as an incentive for contractors to produce user-friendly Web sites. Recreation.gov, the National Park Service's Web site for recreational reservations and information, had the biggest score increase of the Index since last quarter (+13 percent to 72). By tying vendor performance to citizen satisfaction, Recreation.gov ensures that everyone involved in the site -- both internal and external -- shares a commitment to meeting the needs of citizens.
Search, navigation and functionality continue to be areas that have the most impact on satisfaction, and therefore top priorities for improvement.
In the functional categories, e-commerce and transactional sites (up +1.7 percent from last quarter to 77) satisfy online users more than career and recruitment sites (-0.6 percent to 76.7) and portals and department main sites (+2.5 percent to 73.7). News and information sites (71.7) remain the lowest-scoring category.
Despite the increase in the overall Index, satisfaction with e-government Web sites still lags private sector e-commerce (81.6) and e-business (75.2) Web sites.
Government Web sites have much in common with private sector e-business and e-commerce Web sites in that they are online resources of information or convenient transaction channels. However, e-government usually has fewer resources at its disposal.
"Whereas private-sector Web sites are accountable to shareholders, e-government is accountable to the citizens who use the Web sites and to all taxpayers," said Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI at the University of Michigan. "Government has a responsibility to get the most bang for the taxpayer buck."
