• May 21, 2009

Online ad spending will grow by only 6.2% to $24.6 billion in 2009 after posting double-digit growth for the last five years, according to a new forecast by market research firm SNL Kagan.

Search advertising, which has proven resilient during the economic downturn because of its perceived efficiency, is expected to account for 45.3% of online ad dollars. Display advertising, by contrast, will slow from 11% to 4.6% growth in 2009, accounting for 20.8% of spending.

Classified will contribute 13.6%; rich media, 6.7%; online video, 4%; and "other" formats, 9.6%. While still a small portion of online advertising overall, video is projected as the fastest-growing, increasing at an annual rate of 26% from an estimated $978 million in 2009 to $9.9 billion in 2019.

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL, made up 57% of the online ad market in 2008, excluding payments made to partners. Of those four, Kagan expects Google -- and to a lesser extent, Yahoo -- to be best-positioned to weather the recession.