• Tech President, Wednesday, February 14, 2007 10:47 AM

The 2008 race for the White House is already being called the first YouTube or Googlection. Given that 17 politicians have already announced their candidacy, a Tech President blogger expects to see each begin buying keywords on Google and Yahoo. To his surprise, only six of the 17 had.

The Republicans have done a much better job of using search to reach voters. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who hasn't even formally announced his candidacy), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) are buying keywords.

The Republicans are even buying competitors' keywords. Of the Democrats, just Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico, and Tom Vilsack, the former Governor of Iowa, are using search marketing; surprisingly, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen.Barack Obama (D-IL), and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards have not.

Give the cost -- between $0.10 and $0.25 -- it would be worth it to candidates to ensure they're directing prospective voters to the correct Web site. After all, the slightest variation in a domain name could lead to an unofficial site, or worse, an angry blogger.

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