FW Romney is using SiteCatalyst Obama uses Google

campaign websites are a big part of a campaign.
Here is some info that I learned about from https://webspace.utexas.edu/btt59/webcampaign/campaignwebsites.html

Some candidates are learning to watch the digital footprints of those who visit their site by keeping track of their web analytics. While most candidates are using the free analytics of Google or other providers, Mitt Romney has decided to pay more for Site Catalyst to provide detailed information on his sites visitors. Information available to all candidates includes the specific IP addresses that have accessed their site, where they came from, where the leave the site, how long they spend on each page, what their click path is, etc. This information can help them to optimize their site for the best user experience and in the end, hopefully more votes.

Of the Candidates in the race now, below are the services they are currently using for Site Analytics:

John McCain: No pagetagging WA
Rudy Guiliani: Google Analytics
Mitt Romney: SiteCatalyst
Hillary Clinton: Google Analytics
Barack Obama: Google Analytics
John Edwards: Google Analytics
Dennis Kucinich: No pagetagging WA
Joe Biden: No pagetagging WA

While the candidates need this information to optimize their sites, they must also be careful about whom they use to provide analytics as the company that provides the analytics will also have access to all the information about their website as well (Johnson para. 1-3).

Targeting

Online marketers are awaiting the day when candidates decide to utilize the highly specialized targeting abilities of the web. Right now candidates have the ability to specialize their messages through geographic or behavioral targeting capabilities.

Through behavioral targeting, campaign websites can serve ads or display content on their site in a special order as a reaction to the clicks or digital footprints that a person takes on their site. For example, they can serve more information about immigration as a person clicks on sections of the site pertaining to immigration - even to the extent that they recognize that user again and prominently display their immigration stance on the front page when the user returns. They can also purchase ads on exterior sites and serve content in the ads specific to topics that a user has already researched.

Similarly, campaigns can change their content to serve the interests of specific georgraphical areas by targeting IP addresses. For example, a website might say "Welcome, Texans" when a Texan visits the site. This could be extended to serving campaign stance content relevant to certain areas more prominently.

While behavioral targeting and geographic targeting are not currently used (as far as we know), the potential impact of this could greatly help or hurt (if done in a deceitful manner) a politicians campaign (Batra para. 1-10).