how america searches election 08 update
TRANSCRIPT
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATESURVEY CONDUCTED BY OPINION RESEARCH CORPORATION
APRIL 2008
ANALYSIS AND REPORT CREATED BY ICROSSING
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
2© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
KEY FINDINGS + The Internet’s infl uence on politics grows. The number of potential voters turning to the Internet for election information has increased by 31 percent since the original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report was published in July, 2007. The Internet, previously tied with newspapers as the second most popular channel, now leads newspapers 55 percent to 47 percent as an election information resource.
+ Issues still of top importance to searchers. Eighty-seven percent of potential voters search about election issues, and fi nding more information about a candidate’s position on a specifi c issue remains the leading reason they conduct candidate searches (85%).
+ The economy and health care join war in Iraq and gas prices, as top issues of interest online. Interest in global warming cools. Searches related to the economy have grown 29 percent and global warming has been knocked out of the top 10 issues searched online. The most popular issues are currently health care (49%), the economy (49%), war in Iraq (48%), and gas prices (44%).
+ Candidate search volumes are up. Obama holds lead nationally and in Pennsylvania. Candidate search volumes have increased greatly since the original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report, with Obama leading the number of voter searches by a wide margin. This margin over Clinton is also seen in searches conducted in Pennsylvania in the run-up to that state’s Democratic Primary.
+ Obama leads on natural search results for issues. All candidates are weak on paid search results for issues. Barack Obama leads on issues-related natural search visibility, with 60 percent share of market followed by Ron Paul (36%), Hillary Clinton (3%), and John McCain (1%). Paid search on issues-related keywords is much lower than that of candidate-related keywords; McCain and Obama are each estimated to spend one percent of total paid spend on issues-related keywords, while Clinton’s presence in issues-related paid search results is negligible.
+ More women turn to the Web to learn about candidates and issues. The original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report showed that men conducted election research online at much higher rates than women (47% vs. 38%). Currently, both genders rely on the Internet equally for election-related information; 56 percent of men and 54 percent of women.
APRIL 2008
3© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Nine months have passed since iCrossing published its original How America Searches: Election ’08 report in July, 2007. This research gauged the interests of potential voters toward the 2008 presidential campaign, exploring their attitudes and behaviors with respect to researching candidates and issues online. It also measured the visibility of presidential candidates in both natural and paid search results, to determine what voters were actually fi nding when they conducted Internet searches. This update to iCrossing’s original report both uncovers fresh insights and reconfi rms several key fi ndings, as it revisits the infl uence of new media on American politics.
The report fi rst explores voters’ choices of online and offl ine channels for seeking election-related information; and uncovers disproportionate growth in Internet use compared with many traditional channels. It then focuses more narrowly on the online channel, revealing there has been little change overall in the types of Web sites potential voters visit to learn about candidates and issues. The role that search plays for voters is next examined - illuminating changing attitudes toward the importance of top election issues, as well as re-establishing voter levels of interest in the various presidential candidates. Just as important as what individuals are searching on, is what they are fi nding when they do seek information online; the latter part of the Election ’08 Update report gauges the effectiveness of each candidate’s natural and paid search visibility, for both candidate- and issues-related keywords. Lastly, new content has been added to examine search volume on the Democratic candidates, going into the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary.
INTRODUCTION
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
4© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
The Internet is more essential to politics than ever before. In fact, its importance has grown compared to nine months ago when the original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report was published. As the election draws nearer, increasing numbers of potential voters are looking for information about issues and candidates online; use of the Internet for this research has grown by 31 percent. Most traditional channels showed weaker growth; TV increased 23 percent, radio increased 16 percent, and newspapers increased 12 percent. Though newspapers used to be tied with the Internet as voters’ number two source of information (behind number one, TV), the Internet has unseated its traditional counterpart. Notably, men and women now rely equally upon the Internet for information on candidates and issues (M56% vs. W54%), whereas previously men conducted online research at much higher rates (M47% vs. W38%).
CHOICE OF CHANNELS
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
76%
62%
55%
42%
47%
33%
23%
29%
25%
21% 21%
12%
23%
42%
80%
TV NewspaperInternet RadioWord-of-Mouth News Magazines Too early, not looking for information
Which, if any, of the following channels do you use to find out information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election? Please select all that apply.Base: All respondents (March 2008 = 1,088; May 2007= 1,094)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
USE OF DIFFERENT CHANNELS TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT ISSUES AND CANDIDATES, 2008 VS. 2007
Survey conducted in May 2007Survey conducted in March 2008
APRIL 2008
5© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Overall, potential voters continue to visit the same types of Web sites for election-related research today as they did nine months ago. News sites like The New York Times and CNN are still most popular, attracting 86 percent of survey respondents. Online social media (blogs, social-networking sites, YouTube-like sites and Wikipedia-like sites) continue to play an infl uential role for 41 percent of potential voters. Use of candidate Web sites has also remained unchanged overall, at 31 percent. Interestingly, Republicans outpace Democrats in their use of news sites, while Democrats exhibit a greater use of candidate and social media sites than Republicans.
TYPES OF WEB SITES VISITED
News Sites Social Media Sites (net)* Candidate Web Sites
You indicated that you use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Which, if any, of the following types of sites do you typically visit for information about issues and candidates? Please select all that apply.Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about candidates and issues in the 2008 presidential election (Dn=238; Rn=159; In=106)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
0%
20%
40%
60%
80
81%90% 92%92%
46%
32%
40% 38%
24%27%
%
100%
TYPES OF WEB SITES VISITED TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT ISSUES AND CANDIDATES,BY POLITICAL AFFILIATION
Democrat*Includes blogs,social networking sites,YouTube-like sites andWikipedia-like site
IndependentRepublican
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
6© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
Search engine use among those who use the Internet to fi nd information about candidates and issues has decreased slightly to 88 percent since the original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report was published. Updated survey results indicate this decrease is a function of people needing search less – as opposed to any dissatisfaction with search; potential voters increasingly know what they want (47% vs. 34%), or already have a trusted source that they turn to regularly. Survey respondents who identify themselves as either Democrats or Independents place more trust in election-related search results than those who state they are Republicans.
USE OF SEARCH
You indicated that you use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Do you use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to conduct research online about issues and candidates?
Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about candidates and issues in the 2008 presidential election (n=549)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
Use search engines to conduct online research about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential electionUse search engines but NOT to conduct online research about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential electionDo not use search engines at all
USE OF SEARCH ENGINES TO FIND INFORMATION ONLINE ABOUT ISSUES AND CANDIDATES
42%46%
12%
APRIL 2008
7© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Among those using search engines to fi nd election information online, a notable increase in visits to candidate Web sites is taking place. Whereas potential voters’ propensity to visit such sites has stayed near-constant overall, searchers’ use of candidate sites has jumped dramatically to 50 percent. Additionally, survey respondents who use search engines are more likely to visit social media sites than survey respondents overall (57% vs. 41%).
Survey conducted in May 2007Survey conducted in March 2008
You indicated that you do NOT use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to conduct research about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential campaign. Which of the following statements describe your reasons for NOT using search engines to find information on issues and candidates? Pease select all that apply.
Base: Use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election but do not use search engines to conduct this research (n=255)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
REASONS FOR NOT USING SEARCH ENGINES TO FIND INFORMATION ON ISSUES ANDCANDIDATES, 2008 VS. 2007
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%47%
34%
41%
36%
22%
19%
11%
16%
5%
14%
4%5%
Already knew what I wanted
Already have a trusted source for
information
Not interested in learning more about
issues and candidates
Don’t trust the search results
Previous search results have not
been relevant
Some other reason
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
8© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
You indicated that you use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Which, if any, of the following types of sites do you typically visit for information about issues and candidates? Please select all that apply.Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about candidates and issues in the 2008 presidential election (n=549) and respondents who use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election and use search engines to conduct this research (n=229)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
Total Those using search engines to conduct research about issues and candidates in 2008 election
TYPES OF WEB SITES VISITED TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT ISSUES AND CANDIDATES,TOTAL VS. SEARCHERS
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 8
86%
41%
31%
8%
7%
50%
57%
86%
0% 90% 100%
News Sites (e.g.CNN, New York Times,
ABC/CBS/NBC etc.)
Social Media Sites (net)*
Candidate Sites
Other
*Includes Blogs, Social Networking Sites, YouTube-like Sites and Wikipedia-like Sites
APRIL 2008
9© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Survey respondents’ top election concerns (as indicated by issues searched) have shifted signifi cantly during the past nine months. The economy has grown in importance by 29 percent, global warming has shifted in the opposite direction by the same amount (-29%), and searches related to the war on terror have decreased by 25 percent. Healthcare and the economy now tie for the number one issue in importance to potential voters, having overtaken the previous leading topic of war in Iraq.
When analyzing election issue searches by respondents’ political affi liation, health care is the most popular topic for Democrats with 55 percent of searches. The economy and immigration are tied at number one for Republicans, each capturing a 58 percent share of search. The war in Iraq remains the top issue for Independents, with 57 percent of search volume. Men’s and women’s focus on election issues differs in fi ve key areas; health care, economy, war in Iraq, jobs, and war on terror.
TOP ELECTION ISSUES
You mentioned that you use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Which, if any, of the following issues have you searched for? Please select all that apply.Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election and use search engines to conduct this research (n=229)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
49%46%
49%
38%
48%
52%
44%
48%
37% 38% 37%39%
35%38%
35% 36%
30%
40%
30%28%
War in Iraq Gas PricesHealth Care EnvironmentWar onTerror
SocialSecurity
JobsImmigrationEconomy Education
TOP 10 ISSUES SEARCHED FOR IN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Survey conducted in May 2007Survey conducted in March 2008
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
10© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
Male Female
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60
43%
56% 56%
41%
54%
41%
45% 44%
40%
34%
38%36%
40%
29%33%
36% 36%
23%
27%
33%
%
War in Iraq Gas PricesHealth Care EnvironmentWar onTerror
SocialSecurity
JobsImmigrationEconomy Education
You mentioned that you use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Which, if any, of the following issues have you searched for? Please select all that apply.Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election and use search engines to conduct this research (n=229)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
TOP 10 ISSUES SEARCHED FOR IN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, BY GENDER
APRIL 2008
11© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Survey responses indicate Barack Obama leads all candidate searches and Hillary Clinton is the second-most searched on candidate (capturing 71 percent and 62 percent share of search, respectively). John McCain leads Republican candidate searches with 46 percent penetration to Ron Paul’s 17 percent. Eight percent of Internet searches on 2008 election candidates are for Ralph Nader. Interestingly, survey respondents who identify themselves as Independents conduct nearly 50 percent more searches on Democrat candidates than they do on Republican candidates.
CANDIDATE INTEREST
You mentioned that you use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo!, etc.) to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Which, if any, of the following declared and potential candidates have you searched for? Please select all that apply.Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election and use search engines to conduct this research (n=229)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
Total Democrat Republican Independent
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
71%81%
57%73%
62%69%
57%53%
46%29%
81%47%
17%10%
28%14%
8%6%
10%5%
80% 90% 100%
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
John McCain
Ron Paul
Ralph Nader
CANDIDATES SEARCHED FOR IN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, BY POLITICAL AFFILIATION
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
12© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
85% 82%89%
48% 49% 47% 44%51%
36% 33%37%
29%
Find more informationabout their positionon a specific issue
Find out abouttheir voting history
Learn more abouttheir personal
history and family
Learn about theirreligious beliefsand affiliation
Total Male Female
For what reasons do you conduct searches for presidential candidates for the 2008 election? Please select all that apply.Base: Respondents who use the Internet to find information about issues and candidates in the 2008 presidential election and use search engines to conduct this research (n=229)Source: iCrossing, March 2008
REASONS FOR CONDUCTING SEARCHES FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN 2008 ELECTION,BY GENDER
Even when searching on presidential candidate names, potential voters are still focused on election issues; trying to fi nd more information about a candidate’s position on a specifi c issue remains the leading reason survey respondents conduct candidate searches (85%). Since the original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report was published, men’s interest in candidates’ religious beliefs has grown almost 50 percent, while women’s interest in candidates’ personal history and family has increased by 27 percent.
APRIL 2008
13© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
According to Microsoft’s Live.com network, candidate-related keyword search volume has increased recently and Barack Obama is generating the most search activity. Obama again displayed the largest search spike among presidential candidates, with estimated volume in February 2008 that was roughly six times Obama’s original spike in October 2006. This contrast in search volume illustrates a large increase in people searching online for information about presidential candidates. Notably, Obama and Clinton have both surpassed McCain in estimated search volume, every month since November 2006.
TOP ESTIMATED MONTHLY SEARCH VOLUMES FOR CANDIDATES IN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, JUNE 2007 − FEBRUARY 2008
Source: Microsoft AdLabs Research Center KSP
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
John McCain
Ron Paul
Ralph Nader
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
14© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
Just as important as how many candidate searches are being conducted online, is what individuals are fi nding when they do seek information. For candidate-related keywords, all candidates show excellent position in natural search results and in most instances are included in fi rst-page rankings for their own names. Barack Obama is the only candidate showing in natural search results for a competitor’s keyword (Obama ranked 23rd on Ask.com for the keyword mccain).
Analysis of the paid search competitive landscape during the last two weeks of March indicates spending on candidate-related keywords has increased. John McCain continues to lead the candidates with an estimated 2.4 times the spend of Barack Obama, and four times that of Hillary Clinton. McCain is also the only candidate with paid coverage on competitors’ names in addition to his own, including candidate keywords hillary clinton, barack obama, obama, and clinton. Both Ron Paul’s and Ralph Nader’s paid search spend amounts appear to be negligible.
CANDIDATE-RELATED KEYWORD SEARCH RESULTS
Barack Obama
John McCain
Source: iCrossing, March 2008
60%
25%
Hillary Clinton15%
BREAKDOWN OF ESTIMATED CANDIDATE-RELATED KEYWORD PAID SEARCH SPEND
APRIL 2008
15© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Issues-related search results tell a different story; Barack Obama dominates natural search visibility for issues-related keywords, with 60% share of market followed by Ron Paul (36%), Hillary Clinton (3%), and John McCain (1%). Obama’s success is driven by high natural search position on high-volume keywords. Obama has natural visibility on immigration, healthcare, economy and energy. Clinton has natural visibility for war in iraq, veterans, family medical leave act, dnc, and middle class. McCain has natural visibility for veterans, national security, second amendment, government spending, and border security. Ron Paul has high natural search results position for social security, healthcare, and racism.
Barack Obama60%
Ron Paul36%
Hillary Clinton3%
John McCain1%
POLITICAL ISSUES SHARE OF NATURAL SEARCH VISIBILITY, BY CANDIDATESource: iCrossing, March 2008
ISSUES-RELATED KEYWORD SEARCH RESULTS
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
16© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
For the issues-related keywords, of the presidential candidates only John McCain and Barack Obama seem to be spending on paid search. Paid search estimates show that McCain and Obama are spending much less on issues-related keywords than they are on candidate-related keywords, approximately one percent, and that McCain is spending more than twice as much as Obama. Barack Obama’s spend seems to be focused on two keywords: democratic party and democratic nomination. McCain appears to be spending on 16 issues-related keywords, with the most coverage on republican nomination and special interests and highest spend on pro-life and abortion. Clinton does not appear to have a presence for issues-related paid search results.
Barack Obama
John McCain
Source: iCrossing, March 2008
70%
30%
BREAKDOWN OF ESTIMATED ISSUES-RELATED KEYWORD PAID SEARCH SPEND, BY CANDIDATE
APRIL 2008
17© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
Candidates’ Web sites are now ranking higher for issues-related keywords in natural search than at the time of the original How America Searches: Election ‘08 report - but news sites continue to dominate. The top most visible Web sites for issues-related keywords include Wikipedia, the Washington Post, MSNBC and CNN. Obama’s senate and campaign URLs are now showing in 56th and 91st position respectively, and Clinton now makes her fi rst appearance in the 114th position. Thus, candidate Web sites have become more visible, but news sites and information aggregators continue to show better position for issues-related keywords.
CANDIDATE PAID SEARCH CAMPAIGNS BY ISSUES-RELATED KEYWORD
Keywords found from the Issues KW ListMcCain Clinton Obama
07.07 03.08 07.07 03.08 07.07 03.08Abortion XBipartisan XBorder Security XCampaign Finance XCampaign Finance XCampaign Reform XCampaign Spending XDemocratic Nomination XDemocratic Party XDNC XElectoral Reform X XEthics Reform XGovernment Accountability XGovernment Reform XGovernment Spending XGreenhouse Gases XIraq XLobbyist XPro Life X XRepublican Nomination XRNC XSpecial Interests X XStem Cell Research XTerrorism XTort Reform XUnemployment Rate XUniversal Healthcare XWar in Iraq X
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
18© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
EXECUTIVE KAR SUMMARY TOTAL RANKINGS GOOGLE* YAHOO! AOL** MSN
Average Number of Rankings Found for Top 10 Domains 190 41 45 36 44
Average Number of Rankings Found for Top 25 Domains 103 23 24 20 22
Average Number of Rankings Found for Top 100 Domains 43 9 10 9 8
DOMAINS TOTAL RANKINGS GOOGLE* YAHOO! AOL** MSN
en.wikipedia.org 1,162 248 294 220 309
www.washingtonpost.com 140 38 33 35 3
www.cnn.com 124 28 35 21 10
www.whitehouse.gov 114 28 23 24 11
www.msnbc.msn.com 87 17 18 14 32
dictionary.reference.com 60 2 2 1 54
www.pbs.org 56 8 21 8 4
www.infoplease.com 56 12 7 11 10
news.bbc.co.uk 52 17 10 14 1
www.npr.org 52 14 11 15 9
www.state.gov 52 9 15 7 6
www.democrats.org 46 11 9 11 5
www.nytimes.com 46 12 10 11 NR
www.dol.gov 44 8 7 7 9
www.cato.org 43 6 15 6 2
www.law.cornell.edu 41 16 7 13 3
www.amazon.com 40 8 14 6 11
www.aclu.org 38 10 8 9 6
dir.yahoo.com 38 13 10 15 NR
www.religioustolerance.org 38 10 8 10 4
www.globalissues.org 37 8 9 9 7
www.eia.doe.gov 37 9 9 9 4
www.un.org 36 6 6 6 5
money.cnn.com 36 10 14 10 1
www.youtube.com 36 16 11 6 3
www.usatoday.com 35 11 8 10 NR
www.house.gov 35 8 7 6 5
www.sourcewatch.org 34 11 11 8 2
www.census.gov 33 7 9 7 5
www.foxnews.com 32 7 5 7 8
www.csmonitor.com 32 12 2 10 2
www.irs.gov 31 7 6 7 9
www.heritage.org 31 6 8 7 3
www.boston.com 30 4 14 3 1
www.cms.hhs.gov 29 5 6 5 5
www.wto.org 29 6 7 NR 6
topics.nytimes.com 29 7 13 6 NR
www.bls.gov 28 6 5 6 3
www.cia.gov 27 8 5 7 NR
www.nlm.nih.gov 27 6 5 5 3
www.ed.gov 25 5 4 5 4
plato.stanford.edu 24 6 8 5 2
www.forbes.com 24 6 3 7 5
www.fbi.gov 23 4 9 3 2
www.ontheissues.org 23 5 6 5 4
www.hrw.org 23 8 5 8 2
www.fueleconomy.gov 23 5 5 5 4
www.epa.gov 22 6 4 6 2
johnedwards.com 22 7 8 7 NR
www.hhs.gov 21 5 3 5 6
www.commoncause.org 20 3 9 3 3
TOP 100 MOST VISIBLE WEB SITES FOR ISSUES-RELATED KEYWORDS, MARCH 2008
APRIL 2008
19© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
DOMAINS TOTAL RANKINGS GOOGLE* YAHOO! AOL** MSN
www.hud.gov 20 6 2 6 2
www.rnc.org 20 3 4 3 5
lcweb2.loc.gov 20 6 2 6 1
www.time.com 19 7 NR 7 1
obama.senate.gov 19 1 7 NR 2
www.geocities.com 19 5 NR 4 1
www.gatt.org 18 3 5 NR 2
www.imdb.com 18 5 1 4 6
www.cbsnews.com 18 3 6 3 5
www.google.com 18 15 1 NR 2
travel.state.gov 17 2 5 2 4
www.publicagenda.org 16 5 4 5 1
www.energy.gov 16 2 3 2 6
www.cdc.gov 16 2 4 2 1
www.merriam-webster.com 16 5 7 3 1
www.ssa.gov 16 4 3 4 1
www.opensecrets.org 16 4 2 4 3
www.issues2000.org 16 1 6 NR NR
www.gao.gov 16 2 3 4 3
www.bankrate.com 16 3 5 3 3
abcnews.go.com 16 2 6 2 4
www.unep.org 16 5 2 5 1
www.legalethicsandreform.com 16 NR NR NR NR
www.fema.gov 16 3 3 3 3
www.federalreserve.gov 15 3 2 3 1
www.nea.org 15 3 3 2 2
www.webmd.com 15 2 2 2 NR
www.pollingreport.com 15 5 4 5 1
www.talkorigins.org 15 2 3 3 1
www.medicalnewstoday.com 15 1 NR 2 NR
www.microsoft.com 15 4 3 4 3
www.citizen.org 15 4 5 3 1
www.fas.org 14 3 4 3 1
www.iht.com 14 1 NR 1 1
www.anwr.org 14 3 3 3 2
www.latimes.com 14 5 3 5 1
www.dhs.gov 14 2 4 2 3
dir.salon.com 14 NR 12 NR 2
www.ers.usda.gov 14 4 3 4 1
www.barackobama.com 14 5 4 5 NR
www.epi.org 14 5 5 4 NR
www.nasa.gov 14 2 5 2 1
www.bidstrup.com 13 5 NR 4 1
www.usdoj.gov 13 4 NR 3 2
www.answers.com 13 NR 8 NR 4
www.britannica.com 13 3 6 2 2
www.medicare.gov 13 2 2 2 2
www.lp.org 13 2 3 2 2
www.lib.utexas.edu 13 2 2 2 1
Executed on March 25, 2008Results represent fi rst page rankings
for 225 non-branded keywords* Results provided by third party engine
** Contains results from GoogleNR - Not Ranked on the fi rst page
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
20© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
Barack Obama has been generating noticeably higher search volume than Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania over the last 30 days, according to data pulled from Google Trends on April 10. Going into the April 22 Democratic Primary, the two candidates have been trending similarly with a downturn in overall volume during the past week. The term obama is searched more often than barack obama and the decrease in search volume for obama appears to be more considerable than the decrease in search volume for clinton, which has higher volume than hillary clinton. This suggests that the gap in search volume between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may be narrowing, and overall candidate search volume may be decreasing going into the Primary.
PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
APRIL 2008
21© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
As the 2008 presidential election draws nearer, more Americans are looking for related candidate and issues information (88%) – and the Internet is increasingly shaping their opinions and preferences (31% growth). Notably, men and women now rely equally upon the Internet for election-related information, whereas previously men conducted online research at much higher rates. Overall, little has changed with regard to the Web sites potential voters visit (news sites followed by social media sites and then candidate Web sites); but behavior does differ across political party lines, as well as between searchers and non-searchers.
Americans’ top election concerns keep shifting and potential voters use search engines to discover a candidate’s position on a specifi c issue – but candidates continue to miss the mark on issues-related keyword search results: News sites and information aggregators continue to lead in position for issues-related keywords on natural search, and the candidates do not appear to be shifting paid search budget away from candidate-related keywords to issues-related keywords in order to improve campaign effectiveness. Where candidate-related keywords are concerned, all candidates show excellent position in natural search results and McCain continues to outspend his opponents in estimated paid search. Obama leads online candidate searches overall by a wide margin, and also leads Clinton in Pennsylvania searches conducted in the run-up to that state’s Democratic Primary.
CONCLUSIONS
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
22© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
METHODOLOGY
SurveyThis report presents the fi ndings of a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation among a sample of 1,088 adults comprising 520 men and 568 women 18 years of age and older. The online omnibus study is conducted twice a week among a U.S. sample of 1,000 adults 18 years of age and older using the Greenfi eld Online panel. Interviewing for this survey was completed on March 21, 2008.
Completed interviews were weighted by four variables: age, sex, geographic region and race, to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population 18 years of age and older. The raw data were weighted by a custom designed program that automatically develops a weighting factor for each respondent. Each respondent was assigned a single weight derived from the relationship between the actual proportion of the population based on U.S. Census data with its specifi c combination of age, sex, geographic characteristics and race and the proportion in the sample. Tabular results show both weighted and unweighted bases.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. The data have been weighted to refl ect the demographic composition of the population 18 years of age and older. Because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to multiple sources of error, including, but not limited to sampling error, coverage error, error associated with non-response, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.
Natural Search VisibilityThe methodology employed in this report to determine natural search visibility share of market is based on iCrossing’s unique tool - Industry Index - which combines iCrossing’s Position Analysis Report (PAR) and Keyword Analysis Report (KAR). The main purpose of using this tool is to demonstrate the natural search visibility of the fi ve remaining potential presidential candidates for the 2008 election, and compare them on the basis of natural search visibility. An appendix with a full list of keywords, candidates, and URLs considered follows below. For this report, iCrossing analyzes search engine position data from the following U.S. search engines: Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Ask and AOL.
Search Volume DataSearch volume data was obtained through Microsoft AdLabs Research Center’s Keyword Services Platform.
Paid Search SpendAnother iCrossing proprietary tool – Ad Spend Estimator – is used in this report to assess each candidate’s paid search spend on both candidate-related keywords and issue-related keywords. The analysis behind iCrossing’s Ad Spend Estimator aggregates data from several industry sources to provide an estimate of paid search spend share of market among the candidates. This recently updated tool includes AdGooroo and AdWords data regarding number of keywords targeted, average spend per keyword, keyword coverage, average ranking, cost per click, and search volume to estimate paid spend among candidates. Paid search data was collected from March 14 to March 31, 2008.
Google TrendsUsing the Google Trends tool, iCrossing takes a closer look at Google Trends data for the upcoming April 22 Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. Providing data since 2004, Google Trends shows relative search volume of one or many terms by region and varying time frame. In this case, it is used to view the trends in search volume for hillary clinton, clinton, barack obama, and obama during the last 30 days for the Pennsylvania region, with data pulled on April 10, 2008.
ENDNOTES
APRIL 2008
23© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
CITATION POLICY
The content and statistics contained in the body of this report may be used in publications and presentations provided there is attribution to: “iCrossing, a digital marketing company.”
CONTACT
For more information on this report, please contact us at [email protected]. For information regarding our market research or analytics services, please call 1.866.620.3780 or contact us at fi [email protected].
ABOUT ICROSSING
iCrossing is a global digital marketing company that combines talent and technology to help world-class brands fi nd and connect with their customers. The company blends best-in-class digital marketing services – including paid and natural search marketing, Web development, social media, research and analytics – to create integrated digital marketing programs that engage consumers and drive ROI. iCrossing’s client base includes such recognized brands as Epson America, Toyota, Travelocity and 40 Fortune 500 companies, including The Coca-Cola Company and Offi ce Depot. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company has 620 employees in 15 offi ces in the U.S. and Europe.
ABOUT OPINION RESEARCH CORPORATION
Opinion Research Corporation, founded in 1938, is a research and consulting fi rm that helps organizations worldwide – in both private and public sectors – make a defi nitive difference in their performance. By providing objective, fact-based decision support and implementation, grounded in rigorous research, we earn our clients’ confi dence with our fresh ideas and perspective. More information about Opinion Research Corporation may be obtained at www.opinionresearch.com.
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
24© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
Appendix A: Issues Keyword Phrases Considered (228) ....................................................................... 25
Appendix B: Candidate Keyword Phrases Considered (12) .................................................................. 27
Appendix C: Candidate URLs Considered (18) ...................................................................................... 27
APPENDIX
APRIL 2008
25© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
ISSUES KEYWORD PHRASES CONSIDERED (228)APPENDIX A
911 defense gay rights
abortion democratic party global warming
abu ghraib democratic nomination globalization
activist judges democratic national convention government accountability
affirmative action diplomacy government reform
afghanistan disabled rights government spending
agriculture dnc greenhouse gases
airport security drilling Alaska green party
aids drug war guantanamo
alternative energy drugs gun control
al-qaeda economic stimulus healthcare
anwr drilling economy health care
armed forces personnel education health effects of 9/11
balkans ethics reform homeland security
bipartisan electoral reform housing
border fence election reform human rights in china
border security energy illegal immigrants
budget economy energy independence immigration
campaign finance energy oil immunity
campaign issues environment infrastructure technology
campaign spending ethics interest rates
campaign reform ethics reform internet
children's health insurance evolution internet neutrality
china faa iran
christian faith based initiatives iran sanctions
christian fundamentalists faith based organizations iraq
christian right families children iraq war
citizenship path family medical leave act iraq withdrawal
civil liberties family values israel palestine
civil rights farm policy jobs
civil unions fbi judicial branch
civil war fema juvenile justice
climate change flat tax kickbacks
conservative foreclosures kosovo
constitution party foreign aid kyoto
constitutional rights foreign policy kyoto treaty
copyright foreign trade labor
corporate welfare free trade leadership
creationism fuel costs liberal
crime fundamentalism libertarian party
cuba gas prices lobby
darfur gatt lobbying reform
death penalty gay marriage lobbyist
APRIL 2008HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
26© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
medicaid rural america wto gatt
medicare russia weapons ban
middle class sales tax welfare
middle east same sex constitutional ban wiretapping
mideast same sex marriage women's rights
military complex school prayer worker rights
minimum wage increase sdi missile defense working americans
monetary policy second amendment wto
mortgages security wto gatt
nafta seniors
nato senior health care
nasa social conservative
national debt social security
national security sovereignty
no child left behind special interests
north korea stem cell research
nuclear energy supreme court
nuclear weapons tax
oil subsidies tax incentives
outsourcing tax rebate
partisan tax reform
passports taxes
patient rights terrorism
patriot act the pledge of allegiance
peace three strikes
pork barrel tobacco
poverty tort reform
principles values torture
privacy trade balance
privatization un
pro-life unemployment rate
racism unions
recession united nations
recruiting universal health care
reform party universal healthcare
religion urban issues
renewable energy values
republican party veterans
republican national convention veto
republican nomination vouchers
responsible spending war in Iraq
rnc war on terror
roe v. wade war peace
rollbacks weak dollar
APRIL 2008
27© COPYRIGHT 2008. ICROSSING, INC. | WWW.ICROSSING.COM
HOW AMERICA SEARCHES: ELECTION ‘08 UPDATE
CANDIDATE KEYWORDS PHRASES CONSIDERED (12)APPENDIX B
KEYWORD
barack
obama
barack obama
hillary
clinton
hillary clinton
john
mccain
john mccain
ralph
nader
ralph nader
APPENDIX C CANDIDATE URLS CONSIDERED (18)
CANDIDATE WEBSITE(S)
John McCain www.johnmccain.com
mccain.senate.gov
www.exploremccain.com
www.myspace.com/johnmccain
www.facebook.com/johnmccain
Hillary Clinton www.hillaryclinton.com
clinton.senate.gov
www.myspace.com/hillaryclinton
www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton
Barack Obama www.barackobama.com
obama.senate.gov
www.myspace.com/barackobama
www.facebook.com/barackobama
Ralph Nader www.nader.org
www.votenader.org
Ron Paul www.ronpaul2008.com
www.myspace.com/ronpaul2008
www.facebook.com/ronpaul