There is no denying that the United States and many parts of the world are having major financial difficulties. The recession is affecting retail sales across the country, and Internet marketing and the online marketplace will surely feel the effects as well. Some affiliate marketers are seeing significant decreases in sales, and while so far most of my sites are staying steady, some have seen a decline in sales.

This does not mean that this business is over, in fact, I truly believe that the Internet marketplace will become even more significant in these hard financial times because:

1. Its unique ability to provide below retail prices and major savings on products, just look at sites like eBay, Amazon and Overstock.

2. People seeking information on how to get through tough times and make extra or full time income while unemployed.

As always, the key to online success is to look for trends and the opportunities to exploit them and in hard times like these, the opportunities will focus around consumables and information.

Consumables:
Clothes
Pet supplies
Household items
Coupons
Baby items
Toys
Cheap home entertainment
Deal sites
Cheap anything sites
Health
Weight Loss
Free anything
…thousands more.

Valuable Information:
Making money
Work at home opportunities
Jobs and work
Schools and training for new careers
Career guides
Recession news
Saving money
Budgeting
How-to get cheap anything
Decreasing utility bills
Saving on car insurance
Health Care issues
Free anything
…and lots more.

Some of those make money, work at home niches and money blog sites are pretty competitive, but there are still long tail keywords that are viable and you can build a great website and make money. As always, make sure to research keywords for any subject matter you want to get into.

One of the most solid money making venues is still Google Adsense, and in hard financial times, Adsense is on top of the list, because you don’t need to make a sale, you get paid for the click, so information sites sprinkled with Adsense is a sure winner anytime and especially now!

Another solid money making opportunity is flipping websites, still one of the best ways to make money online with a wide open marketplace, here is the best how-to guide for doing this from Jason Pereira, a very successful blogger and website flipper at Flip Noobs.

Problogger wrote a good post about 13 Tips to Recession Proof Your Blog definitely worth a read.