Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008    Text size: 

Mainstream companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook and MySpace all saw the growth of their ad sales slow dramatically during the first half of 2008, according to a report in the New York Times.

Online ad sales grew about 15 percent during the first half of 2008, compared to 27 percent during the same time in 2007 and 37 percent in the first half of 2006. Among these major companies, Google's flagship product, search-related ads, remains untouchable, as it now accounts for 44 percent of the Internet giant's ad sales, compared to 41 percent in 2007.

Despite the slowdown, Internet experts aren't worried. The Interactive Advertising Bureau, which actively supports online, interactive advertising campaigns, said that a 15 percent growth in online sales is still strong, especially against the backdrop of a tanking economy.

But tech writer Juan Carlos Perez of IDG News Service said that a slowdown in online ad sales might have an adverse affect on Web 2.0 services, which have thrived during times of sales.

"[T]he considerable deceleration in online ad spending growth might be cause for concern, considering the online advertising boom of the past five years has led to a lot of innovation and investment in Web services and technology," he said.

In the adult industry, an informal survey of ad representatives and industry members showed a less gloomy picture.

One industry member who spoke on condition of anonymity told XBIZ that ad sales for his company were down, and that he suspected the same across the industry, though he had no hard evidence. Another ad representative noted a similar drop in his company's ad sales. He blamed the faltering economy and the advent of video-sharing sites on the decrease.

But elsewhere in the industry, ad representatives said that their sales were coming in at about the same rate as before, and in some cases, their sales had jumped significantly in 2008.

Matrix Content President Stephen Bugbee, who said his company's ad sales have been up in 2008, offered his thoughts on how to weather rough economic times.

"It's all about getting a lot more aggressive in the affiliate marketplace, finding a [return on investment] on a product is not as easy as it used to be," he said. "And that's great for those who get it, and a struggle for those who do not."