The political text chain was NOT HAPPY. It was mid-January, we were trying to pull up some quick info on the 2020 Democratic nominees, and Kirsten Gillibrand’s presidential campaign site didn’t even show up in the first page of Google results. Had she completely forgotten to account for good SEO? Was no one searching for her? Or did she not even have a website?
My friends preferred Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren anyway, so this was just one more strike against Gillibrand. Well, maybe no one else’s site would come up in the results either. After all, the more often people search for a topic, the more likely it is to rise in Google’s search results. Outside of my admittedly intensely engaged political circles, much of the country was probably focused on the government shutdown or Roger Stone indictment, not Googling one of the dozens of potential 2020 Democratic candidates for a race that’s still nearly two years away.
As a content strategist, I perform competitive audits for clients. First I’ll review various competitors’ sites to assess their quality, effectiveness, user journey, performance, and identify any gaps. Then I develop a list of insights and recommendations based on my findings. The more information I gather, the more insights rise to the surface.
Intrigued by the potential presented by so many similar sites bubbling up, I decided to do a competitive content audit to see how the candidates were presenting themselves at this early stage. It was partly selfish—many of the candidates appealed to me, but I was in no way informed enough to identify how they differed on the policy front. When the primaries got heated, I wanted to be able to make a thoughtful decision about my preference, so I figured I’d see how they were branding themselves online and gather information where I could.
What I found revealed little about the issues (with one notable exception) but showed me a LOT about how the candidates are branding themselves—or failing to—in these early days of the campaign.
As of January 27, 2019, when I started this audit, there were eight Democratic candidates who have officially declared they’re running for president in the 2020 race: Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang. I used the NYTimes “Who’s Running for President in 2020” interactive political graphic as a reference.
Often, my observations lead to more questions. For example:
Do candidates speak about themselves in the first or third person, and how does that choice reflect the way they define themselves?
Can you have too many family photos on your site?
Are you completely out of touch in 2019 if you don’t have a Spanish version of your website? (I say yes)
What do candidates’ suggested donation amounts say about them?
The original audit is based on notes I took the weekend of January 27-28. Any changes since then are noted as applicable.
Let’s take a closer look at Elizabeth Warren.
Elizabeth Warren
URL: https://elizabethwarren.com/
Discoverability in Google results (when searching for candidate's name): Ad: 1st result Search: 3rd result, after Wikipedia and her Senate page.
Does Google autopopulate "2020" when you enter candidate’s name? Yes, third result after name and net worth.
First impressions: Upon first load, you’re greeted with a video autoplay of her announcement. When you continue to the site, you see background b&w videos of Warren engaging with supporters.
Logo? No, just "Warren" (not highlighting "Elizabeth" until you meet her further down the page)
Slogan: Fighting for America’s Promise for All of Us
Color scheme: Mostly dark blue, with some white, black, light blue and red accents.
CTA: Unlike her fellow candidates, Warren actually acknowledges that not everyone who comes to her site is going to be a die-hard supporter. You can choose from these three options:
I'm All In: "Great! We'll Keep You Updated With The Latest News."
I'm Not Sure Yet: "What's Holding You Back?" (still asks for email, zip and cell so you’ll be on her list)
I'm Not, And Here's Why: "Please Tell Us More" Why aren't you in? (can check a box or submit other reasons). To her credit, she doesn’t push those who aren’t into her campaign to sign up for updates. Instead, you’re taken to a site that links to iwillvote.com so you can confirm that you’re registered.
Of note:
Uses the word “fight” three times on the homepage
Only candidate with a linked Flickr account
Read more about my findings and compare Warren to other candidates on the competitive content audit spreadsheet.