Almost 40 percent of small business owners don’t put any money into internet marketingThis broad term includes everything from content marketing to display ads, PPC (pay per click) ads, social media marketing, directory listing work and online reputation management., up from 36 percent last year, according to a new survey from Newtek*, a business services firm based out of New York City.
In addition, 61 percent of business owners say they don’t think their website is ready for search engine visitors when they arrive.
The August 31 report may seem disheartening in our industry, but the good news for our clients is that spending any money at all on search engine optimization gives them a clear advantage in the marketplace.
Another recent survey of internet marketing professionals found that the top focuses were local search and organic search, and that these services deliver greater return on investment for business. Next in line were direct traffic and then Google AdwordsGoogle’s paid ads program for display and PPC (pay per click) advertising..
“These channels allow a business to put themselves in front of high intent users at a time when they’re looking for their business or services,” according to a post about the survey. This is the same result we saw in the 2014 survey, so there’s little change year on year.”
*Take these results with a grain of salt. Newtek uses the name “The Small Business Authority,” in what looks like an attempt to capture traffic intended for the Small Business Administration (SBA, a governmental body. Regardless, the results seem similar to what we’ve experienced with thousands of business owners here at Online Image®.