New Delhi: At a time when both print and electronic mediums are seeing a dip in advertisement revenues, search engine major Google said money is still flowing into online marketing initiatives, as advertisers are now looking at cost-effective mediums to reach the target audience.

“Usage of the online medium as an advertising platform is increasing in the economically turbulent times. One of the reasons is that the medium offers the advertisers the flexibility to reach the right kind of users,” Google business head-technology Parminder Singh said.

He further said that the slowdown in the economy had forced advertisers to creatively use the medium to their advantage. “Advertisers are using this medium more for creating brand awareness, to lead the generation,” he added.

For electronic products, it makes more sense for advertisers to have an online presence, he said.

The search engine major had conducted a study to get an insight into the consumer’s buying behaviour, which suggested that consumer electronics, technology and telecom products were usually researched online but purchased offline.

For technology products, 56% are researched online but purchased in retail stores, and 26% are researched and purchased online. For consumer electronics, 53% are researched online but purchased in retail stores, and 28% are researched and purchased online.

About 59% telecommunication products are researched online but purchased in retail stores and 23% are researched and purchased online, according to the study.

Singh said that about 6.1 million mobile-related searches were made on Google in India every month. Nearly, 700,000 laptop-related searches and 300,000 digital camera-related searches were made every month on online medium every month, he added.