How america searches election 08 update

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


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



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



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



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



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%).


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



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



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




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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



EXECUTIVE KAR SUMMARY TOTAL RANKINGS GOOGLE* YAHOO! AOL** MSN

Average Number of Rankings Found for Top 10 Domains 190 41 45 36 44



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



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



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



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



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



CITATION POLICY

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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



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



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



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

How america searches election 08 update

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