Obama ramps up search engine marketing efforts

When it comes to online search strategy, the presidential candidates have lately changed positions, according to a new study. Leading up to their Sept. 26 debate, Democratic nominee Barack Obama ramped up search engine marketing efforts while Republican rival John McCain scaled back, marking a shift for both. Search marketing firm SendTec found the Obama campaign capitalized on the Mississippi showdown with McCain by bidding on debate and issue-related keywords including "debate winner," "presidential debate," and "economic crisis." And ads and landing pages were designed to direct viewers to watch the debate. McCain, by contrast, didn't try to build a similar search campaign around the debate. Most polls immediately following the debate gave the win to Obama while many commentators declared it a wash.