According to the Fathom Online Keyword Price Index, the prices that advertisers paid to buy search engine keywords increased on average 11 percent from April 1-30. The data indicates that online auction of keywords is attracting more advertisers who are learning how to maximize their ROIs by taking advantage of seasonal opportunities when consumers come online with a strong intent to buy.
"Advertisers monitoring the marketplace for buys in the travel and automotive categories found some good values for their clients," said Chris Churchill, Fathom Online CEO. "While price is important, advertisers must understand that conversion rates continue to be the governing factor in how much marketers decide to pay, and that conversions can be seasonal as well."
Fathom Online Keyword Price Index | ||
| September 2004 | April 2005 |
Automotive | $1.54 | 1.40 |
Consumer Retail | 0.32 | 0.52 |
Consumer Services | 0.54 | 1.13 |
Consumer Travel/Hospitality | 0.64 | 0.92 |
Finance-Investing | 1.76 | 2.03 |
Finance-Mortgage | 3.17 | 6.49 |
Telecom-Broadband | 1.89 | 2.09 |
Telecom-Wireless | 1.09 | 1.01 |
Average of Tracked Industries | 1.37 | 1.95 |
Source: Raymond Lee, Fathom Online analyst, May 2005 |
Read more including the complete data chart.