2008 Election Articles by SEO Speedwagon

January 28, 2008

Barack VS. Hillary Above the Fold

What does first glance show the thousands of searchers looking for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each day?

The first thing a results obsessed searcher might note is the number of results. Hillary has more than twice as many relevant pages to her credit. Perhaps understandable, she has been around much longer than Barack.

The quick clicker might first note Barack's sponsored ad. That searcher would receive a warm welcome video and a call to action from Barack. No such sponsorship from Hillary.

Searchers with a blind eye to ads might first note News Results, which leave both Barack and Hillary at the mercy of Google (and/or their campaign's ability to constantly generate news). Actually, Barack receives some Google Book Search links above the News Results, a bonus opportunity to speak to potential voters In His Own Words.

The searcher only interested in natural results might first note the candiates' sites. If that searcher were a Link Builder, however, he or she might note an internal linking issue manifested in those first results. Hillary must be doing a good job of showing the search engines her most important internal links, as she receives 8 site links within her first result. Barack receives just one.

After that Link Builder regained composure, he or she might note an internal linking/duplicate content issue manifested in the second results. Hillary's second result should be her second most relevant page, not a duplicate version of her first page. As for Barack, he doesn't have a second result.

Wiki-obsessed searchers might first note Wikipedia, which lands just above the fold for both candidates. As for what they would see there, well, that's for another day . . .

I wonder what the chances are that either campaign has completed this exercise.

Barack VS. Hillary Above the Fold
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