Through the current recession, few industries have been able to thrive as many companies cut costs. But a new survey finds online marketing is one of the few "bright spots."

Although the industry is being affected by the economic crisis, online marketing is still expected to grow for the next five years based on a number of recent studies.

In an outlook released today eMarketer predicts that online ad spending will increase 4.5 percent this year, reaching $24.5 billion. For the following four years, the internet analyst forecasts increases of 9.4 percent or more, resulting in $37.2 billion by 2013.

These numbers are down compared to previous estimates from the company, but still reflect one of the few industries that is expected to see growth in 2009.

eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey said much of the growth comes from marketers shifting funds from traditional forms of marketing to online outlets.

"Now that we’ve entered into the depths of the current recession, the internet is emerging as one of the only bright spots in an otherwise decimated media landscape," he said. "It is true that the growth rate for interactive has slowed over the past 12 months, but marketers are continuing to migrate a greater percentage of their precious ad dollars toward the digital channel."

On Monday, the 2008 Internet Advertising Revenue Report, released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP found that online advertising revenue for 2008 reached a record level of $23.4 billion – the fifth year in a row of record revenue.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.