Retail keywords ring in ad dollars

Ad pricing on retail keyword searches rose 9.4 percent in the weeks following Thanksgiving, helping to lift overall keyword pricing during the fourth quarter, according to a report released Monday by SG Cowen & Co.

The average cost per click based on keywords searched rose 5.8 percent overall since the Monday after Thanksgiving, according to the report. Sectors focused on automobiles, finance and travel contributed to the overall increase.

SG Cowen, which tracks the average cost per click for 3,300 popular keywords, found ad pricing based on automobile-related keywords rose 8.3 percent, while pricing based on finance and technology keywords climbed over 4 percent and pricing based on travel and telecom keywords increased by more than 3.5 percent.

Retail, however, posted the largest increase in keyword ad pricing during the period, which comes as online retailers report healthy double-digit sales gains during the holiday selling season.

"The Monday after Thanksgiving...is one of the busiest online shopping days of the holiday season," Jim Friedland, an SG Cowen analyst, said in his report.

While retail keyword ad pricing has gotten a boost during the period after Thanksgiving, the increase is largely on par with its performance since the start of the fourth quarter, in October, according to the report.

Tech and finance, however, have not fared as well. These industries are currently posting an overall decline in keyword ad pricing for the fourth quarter, despite gains made in the period after Thanksgiving.

Ad pricing for technology keywords is down 7 percent in the fourth quarter, while finance has dropped by 5 percent during the same period.