Small and medium-sized businesses that spend more rate search engine advertising and marketing (SEM, SEO, PPC) as an "extremely high" or "very high" priority" in the next 12 months according BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor (LCM 18), an ongoing study of the advertising behaviors of SMBs.
BIA/Kelsey define higher-spending SMB's, called SMB Plus Spenders in the report, as those that spend more than $25,000 annually on advertising and promotion. SMB Plus Spenders spend, on average, nearly $79,000 annually on advertising and promotion.
"The LCM findings indicate small businesses want to improve on the ability for consumers to discover them," said Steve Marshall, director of research, BIA/Kelsey. "SEM, SEO, and pay per click are fundamental to achieving this goal, particularly with the growth of mobile search."
Local search revenues are expected to reach $7.2 billion in 2015, according to BIA/Kelsey's U.S. Local Media Forecast 2015, up from $7.1 billion in 2014. The forecast also indicates local mobile search will account for more than half (51.1 percent) of mobile ad spending in 2015.
