How the Internet
Affects SMBs

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) say they are optimistic about their future and have confidence in the power of online marketing, according to the "SMB State of the Union" study released this week by AllBusiness.com and conducted by market research firm Frank N. Magid Associates. SMBs point to the internet as a primary driver of growth, with 83 percent strongly agreeing that the internet helps them run their companies and 61 percent saying it has opened up new markets for them. Moreover, more than one in five SMBs (22 percent) makes use of the internet for marketing.

Online Marketing
and SMBs

Specifically, they employ email marketing (62 percent); search engine optimization (56 percent); banner advertising (36 percent); and pay-per-click advertising (25 percent). Moreover, 74 percent of these SMBs plan to increase their investments in online marketing over the next six months.

Among all SMBs, an additional 43 percent say they intend to begin some sort of online marketing within the next six months. Additional charts and info are available here.