Clinton: Bitter about Search Ads?

McCain remains the clear frontrunner in paid search, and Clinton isn’t spending much at all. While more Web users from all political persuasions searched for “Barack Obama” than “Hillary Clinton” or “John McCain,” McCain is still number one in paid search.

According to a new iCrossing report, McCain’s camp spent an estimated 60 percent of the total spent by the three top presidential candidates. Obama came in with 25 percent and Clinton an estimated 15 percent. Just how much that is in actual dollars is unclear.

“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,” notes the report, released today. I’m not sure how many years Web consultants have been telling political campaigns to buy their opponents’ names….

The presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign (i.e., mainly this guy) did the bulk of issue-based search ad spending among the three hopefuls. McCain spent an estimated 70 percent of dollars spent on issue-based keywords, including abortion, border security, campaign spending, Republican nomination, and universal healthcare, among others. Obama accounted for the remaining 30 percent, with paid links showing up in results for Democratic nomination and Democratic party.

The study follows up on a similar one conducted by the search firm last July. At the time, McCain’s campaign also led the way in paid search.