Search marketing is "recession-resistant"

15:00 6th January 2009

Search marketing will survive the ongoing economic downturn relatively unscathed, according to one expert.

David Hallerman, the eMarketer senior analyst who penned the new report 'Search Ad Spending: Reactions to a Recession', says that of all forms of advertising hit by faltering economies, search marketing could be the least affected.

Mr Hallerman was speaking in the wake of the publication of figures which project the growth of online search ad spend for every year up until 2012.

He commented: "Search ad spending may not be recession-proof, but it is proving to be recession-resistant.

"While some online ad spending is relatively flat or dropping and when other traditional media are showing annual spending downturns the search market starts to look pretty good."

Meanwhile, Gary Reid of .net magazine has urged search marketers not to rush ahead with keyword lists before researching the best methods of optimisation.