Retail keyword prices went up 10% as Q4 progressed, Fathom Index reports
Average keyword prices in search engines increased 10% as the Q4 shopping season progressed, reaching 51 cents in December from 46 cents in October, search engine marketing company Fathom Online reports. Fathom has been tracking average keyword prices for 16 months.
Retail keywords are one of the bargains in search engine marketing, Fathom reports, with the average keyword across all industries costing $1.43, virtually unchanged throughout the quarter.
The average keyword for consumer service providers was 89 cents in December compared to 86 cents in October. Automotive keywords were $1.52 vs. $1.30; and travel, 99 cents vs. 97 cents.
“As the keyword and phrase inventory continues to expand, average prices stabilize, and we see both advertisers and consumers learning to refine their search keywords for more relevant results,” said Gregg Stewart, senior vice president, channel management and marketing.
Interestingly, prices for retail words shot up the week after Christmas, Fathom reports. “The days with the highest price fluctuations were post-Christmas when bargain shoppers were out in force,” Fathom said. “Within those averages, many hot button keywords like ‘diamond earrings’ and ‘Hi Def television’ brought prices of $2 to $3.”
Average prices have dropped 16% from a year ago, when the average price for all eight categories in the Fathom index was $1.70, partially attributable to a $4.79 average keyword price in the Finance-Mortgage category. The December 2005 price for that category was $3.30, “confirming reports of a gradual slow down in the housing boom,” Fathom says.
The list of keywords that Fathom Online tracks consists of 500 generic keywords in each of eight categories for the top five ranked positions on selected search engines.
Back...
