SYDNEY: Climate change is the most popular search engine query election issue, followed by education then immigration, according to Experian Hitwise.
The research found that economics, work choices and health are of minimal interest to the online Australian public, despite being labelled by the two major parties as major factors in the election.
The findings revealed that Labor leader Julia Gillard is searched for more frequently than Coalition leader Tony Abbott The research tracked online searches about election issues and political leaders between 8 May and 14 August.
"Immigration is one of the top election issues being championed by Labor and the Coalition, yet the Australian public's priorities are climate change and education when it comes to online searches," Experian Hitwise research director in the Asia Pacific region, Alan Long, said.
"Climate change accounts for three and a half times the share of searches than immigration. This highlights a level of disparity between what the major political parties believe will win votes and the issues that are of greatest interest to the Australian public."
Separately, a Nielsen study has found that Julia Gillard is edging out Tony Abbott in the popularity stakes on social networks for the upcoming election.
"With many saying the race is neck-and-neck between Gillard and Abbott, the difference could be the influence social media has on voters who are yet to make up their minds," Nielsen's online insights director Mark Higginson said.
The report notes that Gillard tweets regularly while Abbott has not tweeted since 17 July; that Gillard's YouTube videos are more popular among the online viewing public; and that Gillard has nearly 63,000 Facebook fans while Abbott has just under 11,500 fans.
Higginson said: "Gillard's use of social media over the past four
and a half weeks is a great example of how to use the medium to your
advantage. She and her party have embraced social media and leveraged
it to its fullest while, in comparison, Abbott has been content to sit
on the sidelines."
Read the AdNews report on how the major political parties are failing to use search engine marketing effectively.
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