Internet Marketing Thriving... In This Economy

Believe it or not, there is one Industry that is booming right now. And that Industry is the "Internet Marketing" Industry. Yes, I did say booming...Even in this economy. With stock values slip-sliding-away daily and all of this talk about a global recession, you would think that people's fears would eventually slip into the online world. Fortunately though, most savvy marketers and business owners know that marketing during a downturn is the best way to grow your business and increase your market share. Even those companies that aren't necessarily marketing for those two reasons realize that they need to keep getting leads in order to survive.

Not to say that marketers/companies aren't feeling the effects of our financial crisis (Because they are). According to a recent online report, "60% of large companies are cutting marketing budgets in response to the economic crisis." However, and this is the primary reason why Internet marketing is still booming, most of the money that isn’t being cut is being shifted from "branding" initiatives to proven, ROI-based, "direct marketing" programs such as pay per click marketing.

This is not to say that people aren't being scared-off by the crisis. We've, in fact, seen several long-term clients "take a break" from their online marketing activities over the past few weeks. Still, the majority of our clients are starting to spend more in our programs since they've seen their competitors cutting back or bowing out completely…and they smell the opportunity for increased market share.

Because everything is measurable, Internet marketing in a sense provides the best type of investment companies can make for their businesses. For every dollar spent, companies know exactly what type of return they'll get. And isn’t being more accountable exactly the type of due diligence that is required in times of uncertainty?

I imagine the growth in Online Advertising will continue on into the next century before it eventually gives way to ...Mobile advertising.

Ron Weber is President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Interactive Agency.
www.sdinteractive.com