Paid search listings
Although still a small fraction of the overall online advertising market [subscription required], pay-for-placement advertising is one of the few bright spots in the slumping online advertising segment these days. In 2001, keyword searches accounted for 4% of the $7.2 billion in online advertising revenue, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau, an industry trade group -- but that number is likely growing. In July, Overture reported second-quarter net income of $17.5 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $2.9 million. Revenue more than doubled to $152.5 million, from $62.5 million the year earlier.
But it's not always obvious which terms will bring in the big bucks. Ms. Morita says that some advertisers have paid up to $16 to $18 a click to be listed prominently on the results page for "data recovery," one of the highest-bidded terms. Other words that fetch a premium: "Viagra," which currently costs $7.27 a click; "Flowers," which costs $4.26; and "Mortgage," which costs $6. The company has put a $50 ceiling on bids to guard against inadvertently high bids.