A recent survey published by Microsoft's adCenter service in the US claims that small businesses who have built an online presence are failing to invest in search marketing. Apparently 73% of small business owners would rather do their tax returns than start a search marketing plan!

Of course, Microsoft is trying to promote their adCenter PPC service and therefore the survey results are not entirely surprising with an underlying movtive! The study of 400 small businesses in the US revealed that 59% of those with websites don’t currently use paid search marketing, and of those, 90% have never even attempted it.

The Microsoft press release for this survey says that 'despite the lack of investment in paid search marketing, the weakening economy and increased competition, nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) small-business owners surveyed felt that they could be missing opportunities to grow their business, while three in four believed prospective customers could be searching online for the type of service their business offers'. Of those companies that do use PPC advertising, most are very satisfied, as 72% reported an increase in sales enquiries and 68% consider their paid search marketing efforts successful.