• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, March 1, 2013

When it comes to targeting and retargeting words, the cost for clicks varies.

The cost per click (CPC) delivered through search engine marketing becomes more costly compared with search retargeting, especially in high-value verticals like personal finance. CPCs for search marketing on finance savings came in at $5.24 vs. search retargeting at $2.03; loan rates, $5.30 vs. $2.65; investing, $6.62 vs. $1.87; mortgage lenders, $7.77 vs. $2.46; and retirement planning, $18 vs. $2.13, respectively.

A study by Simpli.fi laid out a side-by-side comparison of the cost per click of keywords in high demand among search marketing and search retargeting by industry.

The differences in the cost for search engine marketing and search retargeting were enormous, with car donation at $80.32 vs. $2.48; car donations, $78.11 vs. $2.70; donations, $7.38 vs. $1.11; donate, $12.84 vs. $1.23; and donate auto, $85.61 vs. $5.81, respectively.

Some of the other high-priced keywords for search engine marketing vs. search retargeting were Mesothelioma, where the search marketing keyword click cost $80.66 vs. $0.78 for search retargeting.

While the data doesn't include cost per conversion, Frost Prioleau, CEO at Simpli.fi, which supports retargeing, said the numbers give search marketing insight into costs for search retargeting vs. paid-search ads. "It leverages their expertise in keywords," he said. "We find the cost per conversion for search retargeting typically among the lowest, not including site retargeting."

Some believe that content will become the media for retargeting supported by search data. It could cannibalize budgets that marketing spend on banner and display ads -- especially in social media, as Facebook builds out an ad network supported by Atlas, the ad-serving platform the company said Thursday it would acquire from Microsoft.