There is a huge demand for web-based professional
services among small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), according
to a survey by the Yankee Group.
The research firm believes the boom is being driven by the fact
that most SMBs lack the time, technical expertise and internet
marketing skills to establish and maintain a professional-looking
web presence on their own.
Web-based services enable SMBs and mid-market enterprises to
capitalise on online marketing, advertising and e-commerce sales
tool benefits, resulting in greater return on investment for their
marketing strategies and increased leads and revenue.
Yankee Group predicts that within the US alone, web-hosting
market revenue will rise from $4.4bn in 2005 to $5.4bn by 2010; the
web-based services market will grow from $2.9bn in 2005 to $4.1bn
in 2010; and online marketing and advertising spending will grow
from $1.3bn in 2005 to $9.3bn in 2010.
The company adds that as SMBs become increasingly interactive
and e-commerce enabled, their adoption of online marketing tools to
advertise their businesses will also climb. Currently, says Yankee,
about 39% of US SMBs sell and conduct e-commerce on their websites,
which is a 5% increase from 2004.
However, as the search marketing area gets more complicated and
the online marketing and advertising stakes get higher, SMBs will
likely turn to specialists to outsource their online marketing
initiatives.
"The area of online and search marketing has become too
complicated for SMBs to tackle on their own," says Sanjeev
Aggarwal, Yankee Group SMB strategies senior analyst.
"SMBs and mid-market enterprises will rely on professional web
services companies that can help them test, learn, optimise,
maintain and enhance their online web presence, e-commerce and
online marketing, which generates a greater impact on their
business."