It's well documented how Scott Brown used Google to win Kennedy's former seat in Boston. Now it looks like maybe the same tactics are being used by Sharron Angle's campaign to defeat Harry Reid. Despite Angle being WAY beyond wingnut in her issues - well, issues, shmissues - advertising where the eyeballs are with the right message can win this campaign.
And maybe it's working.
If I search for "Harry Reid" in Google, I get one sponsored link: "Harry Reid's Time Is Up - Help Remove Reid from office by electing Sharron Angle" I refreshed the Google search page a few times, and the same sponsored Google ad always came up, meaning there's no competition, meaning the Angle campaign is paying virtually nothing per click. What's more, they are only going to get clicks from people who don't like Reid in the first place - Reid supporters are unlikely to click the link unless they just want to cost the Angle campaign a few pennies. Here's a screenshot
Now on the other hand, if you search for "Sharron Angle" on Google, you get this "brand reinforcement"
Again, they seem to be the only bidders for the keyword "Sharron Angle", and they get to slip in a little advertisement - "She is a principled Conservative we can trust" - whether or not someone clicks on the link.
Maybe the Reid campaign is still gearing up - they did build a pretty good website highlighting Angle's most outlandish statements (which I hope to hell is properly SEO'd) - good enough in fact for Angle's campaign to threaten legal action. But I'd sure feel better if ads came up along the lines of "Do you REALLY know Sharron Angle?" or "The website Sharron Angle doesn't want you to see!" for the Harry Reid and Sharron Angle keywords on Google that promote said website.
I really hope the Reid campaign isn't asleep at the switch, overly confident or both. So far Angle seems to be leading in the polls, and complacency could lose this thing. If it comes down to a few counties and the Angle campaign is already all spun up and can do online micro-targeted blanketing of the key counties or towns that can swing the election - they could lose.