In a recent articles Google had this to say about Online Marketing

“Marketing is more important than ever. 94% of CMOs believe that ‘a tough economic period is precisely the time when marketing plays a key role.” (Epsilon, “Epsilon CMO Survey,” September, 2008)

“Consumers will look online more. This year has seen a 10% increase in people who research online before buying in the store (Vertis Communications, “Customer Focus 2008: Holiday Retail Study,” October 2008). Additionally, Compete Inc. reports a 21.8% growth online search queries from last year to this year.” (Compete Inc. “September 2008 Search Volume”. Additional Calculation based on data cited in Compete Data Hub, October 30, 2008)

“Search Advertising is particularly valuable now. 83% of search advertisers plan to maintain or increase their marketing spend in the next 12 months.” (JupiterResearch, “Large-scale Paid Search: Challenges and Opportunities” commissioned by Marin Software, October 2008 as cited by Search Engine Land, October 15, 2008)

“Online consumer spending will continue to grow. Retail spending is expected to increase by 1.5% by the end of this year (U.S. Department of Commerce and TNS Retail Forward as cited in Press releases, September 17, 2008), but online spending is expected to increase by 12%” (Forrester Research Inc. “Outlook For US Online Holiday Sales, 2008,” October, 2008)