Study: 40% research politics online

Forget the nightly news or attending political rallies, more people are relying on the Internet for their political information. According to a study from DoubleClick, about 4 in every 10 adults research political information online.

by Kristina Knight

More than 1,000 U.S. adults were surveyed with 42% saying they will use the Internet to make decisions about the upcoming 2008 election. Primarily, these voters are between 18-34, and 88% say they also use the Internet for news. Only about 25% of those over 65 say they use the web for politics and news information.

Where are these voters looking for their information? About 60% research using television or news magazine sites, 45% use "other" online news sites and about 42% use search engines. Another 36% utilize online newspapers while 18% actually visit candidate websites. PAC and issue-based websites gain 11% of the attention, consumer groups 9% and blogs garner about 5% of voters attention.

For the different parties, this information could be used to recruit new voters before the election. By putting the election message out earlier, more voters could be swayed to vote according to party lines.

Online marketers can also use this information to boost revenue over the coming months. As the American election draws near, more and more users will begin surfing through news and informational websites to make their decisions. Correctly targeting display or video ads on politically based websites could boost revenue.

Tags: 18-34 age group, 65+, online newspapers, political advertising, search advertising, vote