Search needs to be at the core of any marketing plan to move a business forward, according to Microsoft.

Duane Forrester, the organisation's senior programme manager of search engine optimisation, told B to B that online marketing is continuing to do well amid the economic downturn because it is fast in adapting to the marketplace and there is a market for everything.

He said the opportunities offered by pay-per-click marketing are endless, adding that e-marketers can actually fine tune their ads.

Changing just one word, he said, can result in a 30 per cent sales increase, claiming: "There's no limit when you get it right. Your limit is the volume of humans on the internet."

Referring directly to the current economic downturn, Mr Forrester conceded that a slight degradation of budgets for pay-per-click ads is inevitable but ultimately businesses that employ online marketing will be able to weather the storm.

In order to get the most out of internet marketing campaigns he advised businesses to zone in on blogs, forums and social spaces.

By doing this, he said, businesses gain credibility and once welcomed into a community they can start building an audience base, leading to sales that will naturally follow.

Similarly, marketing and advertising professionals have claimed that businesses that integrate their brand with social networking platforms see a greater return of investment on their marketing budgets.