The WSJ has a terrific article on how national news sites are increasingly buying search keywords that relate to topical stories. For example, on the day of the Virginia Tech shootings, phrases such as “Virginia Tech” and “Virginia Tech Shooting” jumped as high as $5 per click (they’re now down to .06-.08 a click). While organic search results can take hours before a news story is linked, buying search engine placement is a quick way to get a breaking news story in front of a new audience. “These are people who probably tend not to be Fox users. They are gravitating to a search engine to find a hot topic and are finding their way over to us,” said Bert Solivan, senior vice president digital media for Fox News. “It’s an ideal way to tap into a huge audience that may not look for us immediately but may get pushed over to us.” (Paid sub. req.)
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