Vital stats ... Search engine keyword prices

by Media Week, Media Week 21-Mar-06

Easter is traditionally one of the busiest periods in the house buying calendar, and this year looks like being no exception.

A recent survey from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
revealed a strengthening property market in the UK. This sentiment is
reflected in consumer search behaviour across Miva's UK

pay-for-performance ad search network.

Of the top-10 property-related keywords revealed through this analysis,
all but one have seen search volumes increase since this January.

The most marked increases are for keywords relating to remortgaging and
home improvement loans, all of which have seen search volumes increase
by more than 100% in the last three months.

The biggest single increase was for "poor credit remortgages",
suggesting that the motivation for freeing up equity in property is not
solely for home improvements, but also to help clear rising debts.

This theory is supported by analysis of debt-related keywords across
Miva's network, which in the UK comprises hundreds of websites, ranging
from major online publishers to more niche, sector specific sites, all
of which have seen significant search volumes over the first quarter of
the year.

The only keywords in this property related top-10 to see search volumes
decrease since January is "estate agents".

Looking back over the last 12 months, total search volumes for estate
agents have fallen by almost 80%. This trend indicates that it's now the
major property aggregating sites rather than the sites of individual
estate agents which are at the heart of the house buying journey online.