The small business web presence: Extending the reach of the website

Abstract

It has been known for some time that small businesses have had access to third party websites to extend their web presence. However, little is known about the extent to which they use them and how the usage may differ across various types of small businesses. This paper addresses this by examining the third party website use of 50 Australian small businesses that have used the services of 139 third party websites. There are differences that can be attributed to different business categories. The majority of third party websites used were directory services, with more complex portal websites being used by the accommodation, café and restaurant; retail and personal services business categories. Most businesses used directories that were free to use or were free for basic listings with a fee for extended listings. However, some 30% of the third party website usage did involve some fee.