News Outlets Bid Up Search Word Prices

"Virgina Tech Shooting" peaked at $5 before dropping to six cents
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2007 8:24 AM CDT
News Outlets Bid Up Search Word Prices
Mourners gather around a makeshift memorial in front of Burruss Hall at Virginia Tech for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Friday, April 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)   (Associated Press)

Online news outlets, usually the ones selling sponsored links to advertisers, are also buying them, to compete for traffic, especially during major news events like the Virginia Tech massacre. From CNN to Fox to the New York Times, news organizations are bidding on Internet keywords at auction from search engines, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Stations are paying an average of 39 cents a click for sponsored links that appear next to ongoing stories like the Iraq War. But breaking news can prompt a price war in keywords: "Virgina Tech Shooting" peaked at five dollars before dropping to six cents. (More internet stories.)

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