Led by drops in the cost of terms related to mortgages and consumer services, keyword prices fell to an average of $1.43 last month--a 16 percent drop from the $1.70 average paid by search marketers
in December 2004, according to the latest keyword price index from search engine marketing agency Fathom Online. In the fourth quarter, average keyword prices fell almost 1 percent, from $1.44 in
September to last month's $1.43. This downward trend stands in sharp contrast to last year, when keyword prices rose 24 percent in the fourth quarter. -- Wendy Davis
