The New York Times and Washington Post bought keyword ads on Google for their Virginia Tech coverage, putting their stories in the prominent "sponsored links" section of search results. CNN and Fox News did the same with Yahoo. Though these ads are common practice, their use during a big story shows that even the most prominent newspapers can’t be sure that readers are going to turn to them for important coverage. When people hear of a tragic event, they turn to a search engine to find the most interesting, up-to-date coverage.

To Garner, this form of advertising is just the same as the billboards and commercials that news organizations already use.

“News organizations should have no reservations about buying terms on breaking news stories in search engines, regardless of whether the story is lighthearted or tragic, as long as they link to relevant and timely content,” says Garner.

He thinks the future of paid search news results will be “a crowded marketplace” of providers vying for top spots. For now, ad prices vary greatly depending on the content’s relevance what sponsors are willing to pay. However, the market may grow more competitive.

“In the future,” predicts Garner, “top-tier providers will aggressively seek our attention in the search engine results pages with relevant media (text, photos, audio, video), in a way that you, the searcher, can find it quickly at the highest point of interest.”

Source: SearchInsider through Ifra Executive News Service, San Jose Mercury News