“Ultimately, knowing what drives us puts us in the driver’s seat.” – Susan M. Schneider

The Social and Behavioral Science Team (SBST) is a small, but mighty group of leading behavioral scientists and innovators from across the country. Housed within the Office of Evaluation Sciences at GSA, the SBST realizes that “seemingly small barriers to engagement...can prevent programs from effectively reaching the people they are intended to serve” and that “an effective and efficient government must, therefore, reflect our best understanding of human behavior.”

As part of USAGov’s efforts to assess and improve Kids.gov, we reviewed a variety of metrics to get a clearer understanding of how visitors have been using the site. This data--in combination with the qualitative research--is helping to guide our recommendations for the website.

The data was pulled from Google Analytics, DigitalGov Search, Google’s Webmaster Tools, Facebook, Twitter, and our email service provider.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the quantitative data we reviewed and what we took from it:

We’ve discussed our rebranding efforts over a series of blog posts — from the initial research, to choosing our name, to creating a logo. This final installment talks about where we go from here.

A rebrand doesn’t end once the new name is in place. Even after we chose the name USAGov and designed a new logo, there was still plenty of work to be done.

What do the people want? A simple question with no simple answer.

In order to provide greater insight into the minds of our customers, we plan to develop a blog series that will regularly share search terms and other analytics. This first installment highlights last month's most popular search terms, provided by Amber Van Amburg from USAGov's Customer Experience division.

At USAGov, we’re taking a close look at Kids.gov -- a long-standing site focused on providing information and resources to parents, teachers, and kids. Our cross-functional team has joined forces to “reenvision” the site’s content and presentation to be sure that we’re doing our best to meet the needs of our current audience.