The average price that advertisers bid for search keywords fell in the second quarter, continuing an ongoing trend, according to Fathom Online's Keyword Price Index.

The average keyword price dropped to $1.27 in the second quarter - down 8.6 percent from $1.39 at the end of March, and down 11.1 percent from $1.43 at the end of 2005, Fathom Online reported (via MediaPost). At the end of 2Q05, the average keyword price was $1.72. Fathom does not include proper names and brand names in its index.

"The search advertising market continues to expand in robust fashion, but individual keyword's bids fluctuate each day," said Matt McMahon, VP of marketing services at Fathom. "Advertisers are now using marketing analytics tools to make smarter advertising spending decisions."

In some categories, keyword bids spiked dramatically, including the following: "career training" increased 286%; consumer electronics keywords "mp3 players" and "camcorders" increased as much as 225%; words such as "DSL," "ISP" and "security" increased 50-80%; "student loan consolidation" increased 40%.

Previous coverage:

- Keyword Prices Fall in Q1
- Keyword Declines Persist
- Keyword Prices Keep Tumbling
- Keyword Prices Continue Year-to-Year Decline
- Keyword Prices Trend Downward as Search Booms