Online ad sector 'well-positioned' to weather recession

The online marketing industry is in a good position to weather the wide-ranging effects of the global economic downturn, it has been suggested.

Rebecca Lieb, vice-president at Econsultancy, said in an interview with Chris Lake of the same company that the digital sector is better placed to withstand the recession than industries such as the automotive and financial services arenas.

"We're on the cusp of really going solidly mainstream. We're in a perfect storm of near-universal consumer adoption, coupled with the decline of print and broadcast media," she explained.

Looking at the biggest areas for US businesses with an online strategy, Ms Lieb said that search advertising and social media are still particularly important, noting that paid search is one channel that could eventually fund itself when done right - something that could bring a big boost to companies during the recession.

According to eMarketer, the US search marketing sector is likely to see a 14.9 per cent increase in spending this year.

This news story was brought to you by Bluhalo, a leading UK digital agency.