60% of SMB Home Pages Can’t Generate Phone Calls Because They
Lack a Business Phone Number, According to SMB DigitalScape
BIA/Kelsey and vSplash partner to deliver SMB DigitalScape in the
U.S.; latest data reveal fundamental challenges SMBs face with digital
commerce and marketing
CHANTILLY, Va., and LYNDHURST, N.J. (March 26, 2012) – vSplash and BIA/Kelsey today announced a strategic
partnership for the distribution of SMB
DigitalScape data in the U.S.
Developed by vSplash, SMB DigitalScape is a powerful data collection
and analysis engine that gauges the state of SMB digital media and
commerce. It has analyzed more than 1 million SMB websites around the
world in 14 countries, including 700,000 in the U.S.
The latest analysis from SMB DigitalScape indicates six out of 10
SMB websites in the U.S. are missing either a local or toll-free telephone
number on the home page* to contact the business.
“In an era when connecting and conducting business via the
Web and mobile devices is increasing, SMBs are failing to capitalize
on evolving consumer behavior trends and the vast digital commerce
opportunity,” said Umesh Tibrewal, CEO, vSplash. “We launched
SMB DigitalScape to bring to the forefront the challenges SMBs face
in leveraging the Web and trends in social, local and mobile connectivity
for driving their business success.”
“We believe local media companies in the U.S. can benefit greatly
by having access to SMB DigitalScape,” said Rick Ducey, managing
director, BIA/Kelsey. “It offers them a powerful tool to measure,
in aggregate, their customers’ digital presence and determine
strategic and tactical selling opportunities.”
“SMB DigitalScape offers SMB aggregators the market intelligence to
identify and monetize their best market opportunities,” said Anthony
Bratti, senior vice president, business development, vSplash. “We are
excited to be partnering with BIA/Kelsey, the leading experts on the local
media industry, to bring SMB DigitalScape data to SMB aggregators and digital
media companies in the U.S.”
Additional SMB DigitalScape findings suggest that many SMB websites are not
as technically sound from a search engine optimization perspective as they
should be in order to be found. Deficiencies include lack of meta titles, privacy
policies and keywords.
Other empirical data from SMB DigitalScape include:
74.7 percent of SMB websites lack an email link on their home page
for consumers to contact the business.
65.7 percent of SMB websites
lack a form-fill option to enable consumers to request information.
93.3
percent of SMB websites are not mobile compatible and will not render successfully
on mobile devices or smartphones.
Initial findings from the latest SMB DigitalScape analysis will be presented
by BIA/Kelsey at this week’s Interactive
Local Media East (ILM East)
conference, March 26-28, in Boston.
“The data coming out of the SMB DigitalScape engine certainly point
to considerable market opportunity for SMB marketers and aggregators, as many
SMB websites today are deficient across multiple dimensions,” said Steve
Marshall, director of research, BIA/Kelsey. “As you go through the data,
it becomes pretty clear that while the world is shifting to a social, local,
mobile — or SoLoMo — orientation, most SMBs are just not there
yet.”
BIA/Kelsey advises companies in the local media space through consulting and
valuation services, research, Continuous Advisory Services and conferences.
Since 1983 BIA/Kelsey has been a resource to the media, mobile advertising,
telecommunications, Yellow Pages and electronic directory markets, as well
as to government agencies, law firms and investment companies looking to understand
trends and revenue drivers. BIA/Kelsey’s annual conferences draw executives
from across industries seeking expert guidance on how companies are finding
innovative ways to grow. Additional information is available at http://www.biakelsey.com,
on the company’s Local
Media Watch blog and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BIAKelsey.
Based in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, vSplash is a leading global provider of digital
media and commerce solutions to SMB and local marketing aggregators. Using
its trusted market data and analytics, vSplash identifies actual SMB needs,
which represent real revenue opportunities for its partners. vSplash helps
its partners capitalize on market opportunities by delivering scalable Web-based
marketing, advertising, directory, commerce and fulfillment solutions for corporations,
educational institutions and governments worldwide. vSplash leverages global
resources and expertise deployed around the world to produce more than 10,000
forms of digital media each month. Follow vSplash on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vSplashTechlabs and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/vSplashTechlabs.
* Home page is defined as the first page of the website. Some websites have
phone numbers on later pages.
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Company Information
BIA Advisory Services (BAS) is doing business as (d/b/a) BIA/Kelsey. BAS is owned by BIA Financial Network. For more information on this parent company and for a list of affiliated companies, please click now.
