A recent report by Experian highlights that SEO and Social Media, as expected for most companies aiming to build their brand online, are top priorities.
Unfortunately, in Australia this does not seem to the case. In fact, the statistics below show an alarming figure for Australian businesses:
- 51% of retailers do not have SEO included in the budget for the coming year.
- A lack of understanding in how social media can support overall business performance: 54% do not use Twitter, and 47% do not have a Facebook page for the business and have no intentions of creating one.
The below infographic shows some social media statistics for 2012 in Australia. One important thing to note is the significant difference in the use of social media between small and large businesses; 79% of large businesses are active on social media, compared to just 27% for small business owners.
This gap relays onto SEO spend as well. Only 15% of small businesses currently spend in SEO, creating a massive gap in the search results in Australia. Most large companies dominate the rankings even for keywords with little relevance, although below the statistics show the most potential with online is with large companies who seem to be hesitant to take action when it comes to SEO and other online marketing.
Given the growing number of users in Australia on social media, it is obvious that businesses need to focus a large amount of marketing with social media, especially with Facebook – the east coast of Australia makes up for 80% of the population and 100% of social media users have a Facebook account.
The alarming figure, though, in relation to search in Australia is that the executives support a move to online but they do not take action. 57% believe it is a priority, yet they do nothing about SEO and any online marketing. Along with this figure, 53% of retailers do not even have an online sales channel, showing why many of Australia’s largest companies are so far behind with SEO and online in comparison to other countries. The decision-makers at these organisations did not come from or grow up and experience the digital boom first hand, so it is forecast that this figure will remain the same unless some drastic changes are put in place with search and social media strategies in Australia.
Statistics provided by Smart Company at http://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/052078-australian-retailers-still-not-ready-for-internet-experian-report-shows-53-don-t-have-online-sales-channel.html
John Vlasakakis
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