The teal deal: independents spark greater interest and online engagement than opposing Libs

Many more people are accessing the websites of teal independent candidates than they are the websites of their Liberal counterparts, according to new data. 

Web traffic measurement platform Similarweb has analysed traffic to the websites of independents running in Kooyong, Wentworth, Goldstein, North Sydney, and Mackellar.  

Overall, the independents are receiving far more visitors than the incumbents — particularly in April, which saw a surge in web traffic to the independents’ websites. The election was called on April 14. 

The data analysis shows that in April the website of Wentworth independent candidate Allegra Spender had received more than three times the traffic of her opponent, Liberal MP Dave Sharma (28,636 visits v 9367). 

Kooyong was much closer, with Dr Monique Ryan attracting only a few thousand more visits than Josh Frydenberg in April (37,288 v 33,670). Zoe Daniel in Goldstein reported 28,601 visits, far more than Tim Wilson, for whom the figure is less than 5000 (the software doesn’t report any number less than 5000). 

In North Sydney, Kylea Tink’s website is receiving much more traffic than Trent Zimmerman (21,453 v less than 5000); in Mackellar the gap is also very large, with Dr Sophie Scamps’ website receiving 14,365 visitors as opposed to Jason Falinski’s 6056. 

Unfortunately, there are no accurate figures for the website of controversial Warringah candidate Katherine Deves, as her site is a sub-domain on the NSW Liberal site (rather than its own website).

Political marketing expert Dr Andrew Hughes said that the figures on website traffic were broadly indicative of support for the teals because “actions speak louder than words.” 

“We give our time and attention to things we consider more relevant and find more interesting,” he said. 

Hughes, from ANU’s Research School of Management, is an expert in how digital and social media is used in political campaigns. 

This time on websites would indicate that someone could be considering changing their vote or reinforcing an existing decision on how they had already decided to vote, he said.   

Because the teal candidates do not belong to one of the major parties, their political advertising is more local and therefore restricted to social media, particularly Facebook. Their ads are universally positive, unlike those of Labor and Liberals, many of which are negative. 

Hughes said that the independent candidates are running “micro-targetting” campaigns, aimed at reaching hundreds of voters, as opposed to the major parties’ television campaigns which are designed to reach millions. 

The cost of ads on social media, especially Facebook and Google is very low — often hundreds of dollars rather than thousands. “They’re very affordable,” said Hughes. 

The teal candidates are also using interesting merchandise, such as earrings and dog bandannas as “conversation starters” designed to get people talking about the candidate, he said. 

Website Traffic April (to April 23, 2022)
Kooyong	M. Ryan: 37,288	J. Frydenberg: 33,670
Wentworth	A. Spender: 28,636	D. Sharma: 9,367
Goldstein	Z. Daniel: 28,601	T. Wilson: <5,000
North Sydney	K. Tink: 21,453	T. Zimmerman: <5,000
Mackellar	S. Scamps: 14,365	J. Falinksi: 6,056

Similarweb also analysed six months of traffic between October 2021 and March 2022 to understand the longer-term trend. During this period, Frydenberg received slightly more traffic than Ryan (19,146 vs 17,800). Otherwise, the independents running in each seat attracted more traffic than the incumbents. 

Average Monthly Traffic (October 2021 – March 2022)
Kooyong	M. Ryan: 17,800	J. Frydenberg: 19,146
Wentworth	A. Spender: 7,214	D. Sharma:  <5,000
Goldstein	Z. Daniel: 16,381	T. Wilson: <5,000
Nth Sydney	K. Tink: 11,513	T. Zimmerman: <5,000
Mackellar	S. Scamps: 7,851	J. Falinksi: <5,000

This Similarweb data would seem to vindicate the decision by all the teal candidates to spend up big on digital advertising. 

According to an analysis from Guardian Australia published last month, this group of independents were vastly outspending the Liberals, who appeared to be saving campaign funds for expensive television advertising which reaches a national audience. The analysis looked at ad spending from last December for Google and January 16 for Facebook. 

In Wentworth, Spender and Climate 200 had spent about $140,000 on ads on Facebook, Google and YouTube, double that of Sharma. In Mackellar, Falinski had spent $13,000 while Scamps and Climate 200 had spent about $100,000. 

The problem with political advertising is that there is no legal compulsion to tell the truth, so anyone can say anything they like about their opponents. 

As George Orwell wrote: “Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”