Presidential Candidates Slow To Use Search Ads

Less than half of the 2008 presidential candidates are using paid search advertising as part of their online campaign strategies, according to a new study.

Despite the widespread use of search by voters, candidates haven't yet responded with significant search advertising efforts, says the Rimm-Kaufman Group, an online marketing agency. Research findings released Tuesday reveal that candidates lack sophistication about basic search techniques, including tracking conversations, optimizing bids and testing copy.

Republicans are catching on more quickly to search, with five of the eight major candidates running paid search ads, compared to only two of the eight Democratic candidates. Overall, Republicans have run more than three times as many search ads as Democrats.

Underscoring its growing role in online politics, YouTube was the most prevalent advertiser on political search queries, with ads for the video-sharing site appearing on 11.5% of queries.

Search and online marketing specialists concurred with the Rimm-Kaufmann findings. "I don't think the presidential candidates are giving search its due," says David Honig, vice president of media services at search engine marketing firm Didit. While search accounts for an estimated 40% of online advertising, Honig figures it makes up well under 10% of online spending by candidates more focused on building out their sites.

Anton Konikoff, chief executive of search marketing firm Acronym Media, says candidates should be buying keywords tied directly to their campaigns and political issues on which they have positions. "To me, just associating a candidate's name with specific issues that are of great concern to voters creates a connection," says Konikoff, whose firm has handled search campaigns for advocacy groups.

Candidates' reluctance to embrace search boils down to maintaining control of their message, according to Joshua Levy, associate editor of techPresident.com and Personal Democracy Forum, sites that cover the intersection of technology and politics. Search advertising and contextual ad networks, such as Google AdSense, represent a potential risk to carefully crafted images.

"Candidates overly concerned with controlling their message--which is pretty much all of them--fear the unintended associations made using online advertising networks," Levy says. "For example, Mitt Romney's ads recently showed up on Gay.com--not exactly the kind of site his campaign would like to be associated with."

On a positive note, search has so far been virtually free of negative ads, with less than 1% falling into that category.

The Rimm-Kaufman study was based on an analysis of search ads placed by presidential campaigns on more than 25,000 Google and Yahoo searches since February 2007.

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