I read an article back in January entitled The Search Gap Between Consumers And Small Business Advertisers. I’ve been in internet marketing world for years, but the information provided in the article still managed to surprise me. According to the underlying study that the article was based off of, 56% of small businesses don’t currently have a website. Troubling, I know, bare with me,  it gets worse. In the same study, 4000 internet users were asked how they most commonly find information on local businesses. The results were as follows:

82% Search engines

57% Print yellow pages

53% Local newspapers

49% Internet yellow pages

49% Television

38% Direct mail

32% White pages directories

Now connect all of the dots. Eighty-two percent of internet users are using search engines to find local businesses, yet only 44% of small businesses have a website. What a missed opportunity for those small businesses who have yet to build a presence online for themselves.

In my opinion nearly every small business needs a presence online. But just having a presence isn’t going to make transform your business. You need to get your products and services in front of the right people. This means that you need to rank well in the search engines for the keywords your potential customers searching. At the very least, include your company profile in the Google, Yahoo, and Bing local business directories. Then sit back and see what a little internet advertising can do for your business.