More than two-thirds of the small and medium size businesses (SMBs) in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have not considered having a website and are missing the economic value of the Web, a report said.

Only 18 per cent of SMBs in the UAE are online, while small businesses in Saudi Arabia and Egypt register at 15 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, according to the research commissioned by Google recently to understand the online presence and advertising behaviour of privately-owned small companies (size of 250 employees or less) in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

When compared to global markets, online presence amongst SMBs in the core Mena countries surveyed is far below markets such as France which has 60 per cent penetration, the US at 40 per cent and Turkey at 37 per cent.

The research revealed that most SMBs do not find online advertising to be expensive nor complex; they simply don’t understand its benefits. A striking majority of respondents said they were unsure how being on the web can help them grow their business (92 per cent in UAE, 90 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 80 per cent in Egypt).

In fact more SMBs in the UAE have a social networking page (15 per cent) than a website (5 per cent). Businesses in Egypt and Saudi Arabia said the main reason they have a website is to advertise their company (87 per cent).

Two potential sectors expressed readiness to move online which are the travel and hospitality sectors in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and the professional services in the UAE. Two-thirds of Emirati SMBs said they were ready to move their businesses online.

Tarek Abdalla, head of Marketing at Google in Mena, said: “Small businesses in the region are missing a great economic opportunity by not embracing the web and reaching out to customers online. The internet and online advertising can provide small businesses with the same advantages that large companies have long had.”

By bringing small businesses online, the web opens these local business to global markets and customer opportunities. As more users are online, connected through smartphones and tablets, access to these customer opportunities is enormous. Users spend more time on the web than any other media including TV.

SMBs with small marketing budgets can be more cost-efficient by using online advertising, yet the bulk of their ad spend remains on traditional media like print (SMB average online spend is below 5 per cent). Those that do advertise online consider it to be cost-effective, easy and user friendly (62 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 61 per cent in Egypt).

Online advertising is currently at 6 per cent from the total advertising spend in Mena (Arab Media Outlook), while internet users in the region are expected to reach 141 million by end of 2013, representing more than 35 per cent of the total population size.

The Internet has made a significant economic impact globally, accounting for over 21 per cent of GDP growth and contributing to over 4 per cent of national GDPs in G-20 economies. – TradeArabia News Service