| About 18 months ago Carnacki started this group blog. The first incarnation of West Virginia Blue was mainly about helping organize the local activism of West Virginia readers of DailyKos. About a year ago, with help from BlogPAC (and wvblueguy), we moved to a SoapBox site with its own domain here at WVaBlue.com.
In that time, I've tried to learn what I can about how to build website traffic. Come to think of it, in the past 4+ years of almost daily blog reading, I couldn't help but pick up a thing or two. For the already web-savvy, this will all sound like common sense.
One thing I've learned is that consultants earn thousands of dollars a day to implement tips like these. Another thing I've learned is that getting the basics right -- like so many other things related to political campaigns -- just takes a lot of hard work and consistent attention to detail.
Ten Tips to Build Democratic Candidate Website Traffic
So, you're a Democratic candidate running for office. You've created a website (right?!). Now you're wondering how to get people to visit it. The good news is, there's some really simple things you can do.
The first, most important, thing to do is to make sure people find your website when they search for your name. When I run for county dog catcher, I want someone who searches on "Clem Guttata for dog catcher" to find my website on their first try. This is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Search Engine Optimization: control what you can can control
There are whole books on the topic of search engine optimization. You're a candidate for office, you don't have time to read the books or master the dark arts of search engine optimization. Instead, just make sure you get the basics right.
#1 -- Put your name in your domain name. When a search engine indexes a page, it factors in not just the page content but also the URL for the page and the page title. "ClemGuttata4DogCatcher.com" and "VoteClemGuttata" are both much better than "CGIsforTheDogs.com". Include your full name in your page titles. You can easily tell what a page title is because it shows up in the title bar on a web browser. (For example, you'll see that "West Virginia Blue" is the title of this blog.)
#2 -- Use Google webmaster tools and get your meta tags right. This is my most technical tip. Whoever builds your website should know what this means. Have your webmaster register your site and make sure your meta tags look good. These steps help Google interact with your site more effectively.
#3 -- Update your site frequently. Search engines like current information. The more recently a page has changed, the fresher the search engine will assume the information on it is.
#4 -- Cultivate links. The bulk of this diary will speak to influencing who and how other sites link to your site. Much of this is outside of your control. But, some links are within your control.
When you receive a candidate questionnaire, fill it out and include your website. Is your race tracked at Wikipedia, Congresspedia, 2008 Racetracker, or any other open-authored website? Make sure your candidate website is listed there.
There are numerous free website directories -- adding your website can't hurt (don't bother paying for a listing, only use free ones).
You can also drive traffic to your site through link recommendation services like digg.com and reddit.com.
Search engine optimization: Influence what you can influence
#5 -- Reach out to netroots. Do you know where many of the most dedicated activists are today? Right here, online, reading sites like this. :-) Many candidates have posted diaries at sites like DailyKos.com, OpenLeft, MyDD and SwingState. Congressional candidates on the BlueMajority PAC and BlueAmerica PAC lists enjoy both fund-raising support as well as significant free netroots advertising. Candidates at any level listed with Democracy for America also receive significant free advertising.
Other places that candidates and their supporters can post candidate-related content include Democratic Underground forums, newspaper-affiliated bulletin-boards, and craigslist local politics categories.
Here's the important part. When you write about your candidacy, refer multiple times to your website by its title. A link reading visit West Virginia Blue means more to a search engine a link saying visit this site. Search engines care not just where a link comes from but also how what text links to a page.
The more different places that link to your site the better. Best of all is a link to your site anchored by your website title.
#6 -- Fight for what you believe in. Nothing generates links back to your website like a strong statement in support of something. A written press release is good, an accompanying photo is better, a short punchy YouTube video is the very best. (Don't worry about "production values", it's the strength of the message that matters.)
Today's hot Netroots issues are "no torture", FISA updates without telco immunity, and endorsement of the responsible plan for Iraq withdrawal. An issue of recurring interest is support for net neutrality. A predictable future issue will be boycotting the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Anything tied to the presidential campaign (pro-Obama, pro-Clinton, or anti-McCain) will also draw interest.
#7 -- Go where people are. Do you know what the most popular websites are? Sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr are all near the top of the list. All three are great places to get the word out about your campaign.
Advertise your site.
#8 -- Advertise. There are several cost-effective ways to advertise your website. An advertisement on a site like West Virginia Blue will pay for itself with just a few donations. If you place an ad through Google or Facebook you can limit the advertisement to a specific geography. The most effective blogads tie into specific issues to build mailing lists.
Track your traffic
This is critical. Track your website traffic and track who is linking to you. Watch where your referrals come from and you'll know where to invest more of your time and resources to build future traffic.
#9 -- Track who visits your site. Two free web tracking services that are easy to use are: Sitemeter and Google Analytics.
#10 -- Track who links to your site. A free link tracking services that is easy to use is: Technorati. Finally, another service that provides high level traffic and link tracking is Alexa.
One of the great advantages the progressive movement has over right-wing conservatives is people drawn to creative endeavors generally share progressive values. Just like campaigns seek volunteers to help with so many other aspects of a campaign, there are volunteers with professional web skills they may be willing to donate time to a campaign.
Many successful campaigns hire full time net out-reach coordinators. Although these tips only cover the very basics of website promotion and outreach, they are a solid starting point for directing scarce campaign resources. |
