Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Presidential Candidate Sites Lack Search Engine Optimization Basics

by

Although long months of campaigning remain, the presidential race is already fiercely intense – and each strategy, message and maneuver is highly scrutinized. Traditional campaign tactics still dominate, but it’s clear the Internet will have an unprecedented role.

As candidates strengthen their online presence, it seems obvious their sites would be highly-optimized for search engines, filled with relevant content and primed for online marketing. According to Search Engine Watch, however, most candidate sites deserve failing marks for search engine optimization.

Some of the worst offenses, according to their study:

• Many sites have generic, lengthy and ineffective title tags.
• Header tags (a key element for search engine rankings) are frequently written poorly and/or inconsistently.
• A few sites have splash pages, Javascript navigation and other techniques that look nice but hinder search engine indexing.
• Search engine-friendly site maps are rarely used.
• Content is poorly optimized for common hot-button issues (immigration, terrorism, etc.).

Fortunately for most candidates, their sites have tons of inbound links to boost their rankings. Unfortunately, this conceals many of the problems identified by Search Engine Watch. In this intense campaign environment, the lack of attention to search engine optimization is inexplicable.