Small businesses - of which there are nearly twenty-five million in the United States - form the backbone of the American economy. As more and more consumers turn to the Internet to find products and services, small business owners are faced with the challenge of making their presence known in the online marketplace.

A disparity exists, however, between consumer practice and small business response. While nearly 75% of U.S. consumers use the Internet when shopping for goods and services, less than 10% of advertising dollars are spent online, and nearly half of all small businesses don’t even have a website.

For years, many small business owners spent the bulk of their advertising dollars on traditional media such as print advertising in local newspapers or the yellow pages. (Some small businesses go so far as choosing outrageous names for the sole purpose of getting listed first!)

"In the online marketplace, small businesses often lag behind the competition due to lack of computer know-how and inability to adapt their messaging, resulting in a failure to be found online," says John Wall, CEO of Innuity, Inc., a Software as a Service (SaaS) company headquartered in Redmond, WA, that delivers online solutions specifically targeted to small businesses. "There are myriad ways for America’s small businesses to grow online, from targeted online advertising campaigns to enhanced search engine optimization."

Small businesses in need of some online marketing savvy in order to stay competitive in today’s plugged-in marketplace include everything from sole proprietors working from home, to local family doctors and dentists, to neighborhood restaurants, private law practices, and most everything in between.