These days, America's eyes, as well as those of most of the world, are locked on one thing and one thing only: recession. It doesn't look like the nation has quite gotten to the point of building bunkers and storing canned goods, but it is safe to say that many in the business world are fearful. There is, however, a great difference between the terms many and everyone.

As it turns out, facing recession has reminded the business world that there are those industries that are virtually unaffected by economic withdrawal. Some of these have been around for a long time and were previously known to be resilient under poor economic conditions, but others, newer to the world's market, are only now being found to be recession-resistant. One of these new additions to the list of recession-resistant markets is the web marketing industry.

The Numbers Say it All

It has come as something of a shock to many business analysts, but numbers don't lie, and the number have been implying for some time that internet marketing is not susceptible to recession. And many organizations and magazines currently researching this unexpected trend agree.

Back in March, when rumors of recession were beginning to infiltrate the business realm, Wired Magazine ran a report on the apparent strength of online marketing as an industry. Talking with a handful of internet marketing executives of well known firms, the reporter seemed to get nothing but positive reflection on the growth of the industry to date and similar expectations for the future. Rich Kahn, CEO of search engine and advertising platform eZanga told the reporter that the very month in which the article was written, they had already doubled sales. And Kathy Sharpe, a long-time advertising vet and CEO of Sharpe Partners, commented, "I wouldn't expect a huge decline [for the year]. [The market] has been growing at 25% for the last five or six years. I don't know if we'll do that again, but I wouldn't expect it to fall below the double digit range." The positive sentiments were encouraging, but then, that was March, and the recession wasn't in full swing. The question was whether or not those predictions would hold out.

Later, in July, when recession was becoming reality, PRWeek Magazine, an increasingly strong source of news on the public relations and marketing world, published an article on a survey that had conducted, polling 252 top US marketing executives on their expectations for advertising in the face of approaching economic downturn. What they discovered was surprising. Online marketing, in the opinions of marketing professionals, was the advertising field that had the most hopeful outlook of all marketing methods. Of those polled, 75% expected spending on digital marketing programs to increase in the coming year, 21% said spending would remain the same, and only 4% expected any kind of decline. Comparatively, 33% expected advertising budgets to increase next year, while 48% expected a similar spending to this year, which is not nearly as impressive as the amount of promise expected from online marketing.

As strange as it may sound, everyone agrees that regardless of economic shifts and sways, using the internet as a marketing tool is not something that even businesses in decline are willing to sacrifice. First, marketing is essential to the survival of any business in any circumstances, and should always be the last cut in spending. And of all marketing tools, the internet has risen to a chief position, being the cheapest and most effective to use, because the vast majority of consumers today do everything from product research to actual purchasing all online. Being online puts a business where the customers are, and any marketing company that can make that happen will continue to have clients even in recession.

Remaining Industry Opportunities

The best part about knowing about the solidarity of internet marketing is understanding that there are still business opportunities available in the industry. If purchasing a business for sale in this sector sounds like the wise business move for you, here are two franchises that can get you into this strong line of work.

WSI Internet

One of the best online marketing companies in the industry today, WSI Internet has been Entrepreneur Magazine's hands-down favorite in the internet business world for six years running. As the face of internet marketing has changed over the years, WSI Internet has bobbed and weaved to stay ahead of the learning curve, remaining on top of client demands at every step along the way. And it has all paid off: wherever a WSI Internet home based business arises, clients are sure to follow.

Advertising Consultants

This 10-year-old home business is not specifically an internet marketing franchise, but it does provide franchisees with 20 different potential marketing avenues for clients, one of which is internet marketing. The focus of this study has been online marketing, but depending on client needs, the work at home owner of this franchise business can choose to use the advertising method that is best, which is a huge advantage when it comes to actually working in the field

Business opportunities may seem scarce as financial stability wavers, but in the end, there will always be industries that recession really can't touch, and at this point, internet marketing seems to be one of them. With so many businesses funneling all available finances into advertising, just to stay afloat while the economy is in decline, a good marketer is in high demand. Whether a new marketing franchisee decides to work from an office or work from home, the fact remains that internet marketing is undoubtedly the way to go during these economically troubling times.