The downturn in the economy has accelerated the pace of online advertising for local advertisers. This has been captured by The Kelsey Group, a consultancy.
For the first time since 1999, when The Kelsey Group began tracking the advertising behaviors of small and medium-sized businesses through their Local Commerce Monitor study, the penetration of digital/online media has exceeded that of traditional media among Small to Medium-size Business advertisers.
The percentage of SMBs using digital/online media increased from 73 percent in August 2008 to 77 percent in August 2009, while that of traditional media decreased from 74 percent to 69 percent. Compare today’s digital/online penetration with LCM’s findings in 1999, when only 17 percent of Small to Medium-size Businesses were using the Web to advertise or promote their businesses
