MediaPost covers keyword pricing trends courtesy Fathom Online.
Search engine advertisers on average paid 24 percent more for keywords in the fourth quarter than they did at the end of September 2004, according to estimates being released today by Fathom Online. The price hike, one of the steepest since Fathom began publishing its so-called Keyword Price Index (KPI) earlier this year, may have been influenced by increased demand during the fourth quarter holiday marketing season, or it may have simply been organic price inflation as more advertisers enter the marketplace and increase their bids for top placements on search engines.