Despite Recession Total U.S. Online Advertising Spending will increase in 2009

It looks like the Online Advertising Industry will escape a downturn in 2009. With Google stocks hoovering around $300.- (52-Wk High:12/27 $716.00. / 52-Wk Low:11/21 $247.30) and the whole Advertising Industry feeling the pinch, this is at least a glimmer of hope. We will know more when the 4th quater results of 2008 are announced. See the eMarketer's Predictions for 2009, below (click on link).


Total US Internet ad spending will increase to $25.7 billion in 2009, an 8.9% growth rate. That will be the lowest year-over-year increase for online advertising ever.
Yet it will still be a robust increase compared with nearly all other media.

Search marketing spending will grow by 14.9% in 2009, to $12.3 billion. Search marketing is not recession-proof, but it is recession-resistant. Two basic assumptions support this eMarketer projection. Search is highly measurable, so it will maintain its place in many budgets and increase in some others, as advertisers look for secure and effective methods to combat fear in an economic meltdown.
Also, consumers—who monetize search ads by deciding whether or not to click—will take money off the table by shopping less, and put money back on by searching for deals. Although search advertising will grow less in 2009 than in any previous year, its inherent strength will mean greater spending gains than for any other major form of advertising, whether online or offline.