Clickz.com has been reporting on Obama and McCain’s search campaign trends. In a recent report it was noted that Obama has blanketed keywords, such as “Joe the Plumber” in every state mirroring his national TV ad campaign. McCain on the other hand has geo-targeted words like “Joe the Plumber” to only key battleground states. So I questioned, is McCain’s battleground state targeting a result of limited funds, or pure search marketing strategy?
The article speculates that Obama’s larger campaign fund has allowed him to pursue this “novel” and more expensive approach. McCain’s camp having a leaner cash flow may be forced to play more strategic as opposed to the “blanket” approach Obama has been taking.
Now wouldn’t this make for an interesting case study? Unfortunately, ClickZ has been criticized for drawing inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims. Apparently there is not enough comprehensive data out there about how the campaigns are using paid search. 
So I went digging. But all I could find on Google was a Search Engine Watch report on the 08’ election Internet wars. And according to Search Engine Watch’s score card McCain is winning in paid search, but Obama has won the campaign Online. For most this should be no shock – especially those on his campaign list!
Here is how each of the candidates scored:
Site Traffic Winner: Obama
Social Media: Obama
Paid Search: McCain
Organic Search: Tie
You Tube: Obama
Overall Internet: Obama
first!