• December 6, 2005

Keyword prices last month averaged $1.46 per click, reflecting an 11 percent drop from the $1.64 average cost per click paid in November of 2004, according to the latest keyword price index from search engine marketing agency Fathom Online.

November marked the second consecutive month of year-to-year declines in average keyword cost. In October, the price fell to $1.45 a click--a 6 percent drop from $1.55 in October of 2004. In the last two months, keyword prices have increased just 1 percent, according to the Fathom Online index. Last year, by contrast, the average cost per click rose 29 percent from September through November, as marketers geared up for the holidays. Fathom compiles the list based on prices of generic keywords--but not brand names or proper names.

--Wendy Davis