The proportion of SMEs worried about hacking jumped from 69 per cent to 81 per cent this year, driving a fall in the number hosting their own website (down from 61 per cent to 52 per cent), according to the 2017 Sensis eBusiness Report.
Website ownership was down but the number of businesses with another form of internet presence soared from 28 per cent to 80 per cent in one year. Of those without a website, 70 per cent are listed in an online directory (up from 19 per cent) and 54 per cent have a social media presence (also up from 19 per cent).
Sensis Digital Manager, Alice Mentiplay said, “Nine in ten medium-sized businesses have a website but among small businesses the number dropped 10 points this year and now sits at 50 per cent. Across the board, only six per cent of businesses intend on adding a site this year, indicating that growth has stalled.
The 2017 study from digital expert Sensis surveyed 800 Australian consumers and 1002 SMEs and found that four in 10 business were using eCommerce, while 29 per cent intend to use it in the future.
“Hacking isn’t a reason to avoid hosting a website or using e-commerce. Business owners can take some very simple steps to protect their site and still enjoy the benefits of selling products online,” said Mentiplay.
“There is a growing disconnect between businesses and consumers online. While the smartphone (79 per cent) has overtaken the computer (71 per cent) as the most common device used by consumers to access the internet this year, only 35 per cent of businesses have mobile friendly sites, with six in 10 not planning to upgrade.
“Businesses should invest in mobile optimised websites to reflect customer preferences, consider adding an eCommerce function and improve their search engine optimisation.”
Conversely, there has been a rise in businesses engaging digital marketing tactics to reach their audiences with social media advertising up from 34 per cent to 48 per cent, digital display advertising up from 32 per cent to 45 per cent and Search Engine Optimisation up from 32 per cent to 45 per cent. There was a slight decline in Search Engine Marketing – down from 16 per cent to 15 per cent.
“We are seeing a shift in marketing tactics as small and medium businesses become increasingly digitally savvy and choose to spend more of their marketing budget online,” said Mentiplay.
“It’s clear from this year’s report that the online landscape is moving quickly. Only 16 per cent of businesses have a digital strategy. This should be the first place to start so that businesses don’t end up wasting money trying to do everything at once, when they may only need a few of the marketing tools at their disposal,” concluded Mentiplay.
