Last week I posted this
comment about using Google ads to GOTV. Now that my quarantine period is over I've decided to expand on it as a series of diary entries.
The core
of the theory is that with very little money and effort we can help get out
the online vote by using Google's AdWords service. If 0.25% of Kos'
400,000 readers (1,000 people!) spend $20 we can get 400,000 clicks! if
we focus that on one or two places then it could have a serious effect!
I've already spent $200 on a register-to-vote drive so I've seen this
work. It's not only easy but pretty fun! I'm going to make 4 diary entries:
- Part I: This one, introduction and plan
- Part II: How & Tips to setup an account
- Part III: What not to do
- Part IV: Non-Google online ads, uses for local elections
More below da fold...
Read my original post
for a quick snapshot view of what I'll go into more detail about here..
A couple of weeks ago I stopped my Google ad campaign after I spent
$200. That $200 got me 1,310 clicks to voter registration pages in
the battle ground states, 1,470 clicks for Billionares For Bush
and about 1,000 more clicks on misc. other ads I served. On top
of that was 852,000 impressions of my ads. (details)
Right now I'm running ads in Florida for early registration and
Wisconsin/Iowa for voter registration. Both are targeted to
democratic-friendly areas and on kerry-friendly keywords. Just being online
alone targets our audience to Kerry over Bush to some limited degree.
The plan is this:
- Sign up for an account ($5 and about 5 minutes)
- Create a text ad. This is Google we're talking about, so it's very
easy.
- Set a daily price limit (I usually say $10 per day) and a max click
price (7 cents for me). The max click price is how much google will charge.
Google works like EBay and does it on an auction system. 99% of your ads
will cost the Google minimum: 5 cents. You only pay for clicks, not
impressions! So there is no risk.
- Setup the geographic locations (do your research - target Kerry friendly
areas of the battleground states)
- Monitor the ads. Google's stats are easy to read and updated about an
hour behind real-time.
After I finish these guides maybe we can coordinate a campaign somewhere
to really have a major impact. I'll also talk about informal, non-google ads
(specifically ads on webcomics!) and other ways we can have an effect.
Part 2 coming soon...
On a side note... here are links to some Florida
early registration location lists in democratic leaning areas. Send them
to your Florida friends and post them in blogs for those areas! I already
spread them to many of the Livejournal FL blogs..
Miami Dade
http://www.ocfelections.com/Early%20Voting%20Sites%20for%20the%20General%20Election%202004.htm
Tampa Bay/Hillsborough
http://election.tbo.com/
Orlando
http://www.local10.com/politics/3656739/detail.html
Broward County/Ft Lauderdale
http://earlyvoting.org/