The number of Australian businesses getting online with a website is increasing, a new study shows.
The MYOB business monitor online special report highlights that Australian businesses with a website has increased to 39 per cent from 35 per cent in November 2010, with a further 22 per cent planning to create a website within the next 12 months.
CEO MYOB Tim Reed said he is pleased to see more Australian businesses getting online and it is even more so now that those businesses with a website are selling products and services online.
The MYOB report also reveals that businesses with a website are more successful – with more reporting a revenue increase in the past 12 months, more reporting increased sales in their pipeline in the next three months, and greater confidence that their revenues will increase in the coming 12 months than those without a website.
It also found that businesses with a website were more intent on growing their business in the next 12 months than those without.
State-by-state Western Australia has the highest percentage of businesses with a website at 43 per cent followed by NSW at 41 per cent. This is in comparison to South Australia at 34 per cent.
“These findings indicate there are still a large number of Aussie business owners who are not yet convinced of the benefits of getting online; and even if they are convinced a large number don’t intend to act on that knowledge. We encourage all businesses to think seriously about building an online presence,” Reed said.
One of the biggest challenges for Aussie businesses getting online appears to be having the skills and knowledge to take their business online. The report reveals one in three businesses believe they are behind the times in using the internet for business, 35 per cent believe they don’t use the internet well enough for marketing and 31 per cent believe they don’t use online search engines well enough to market their business.
“Aussie business owners told us they don’t feel they have the skills and don’t believe they are using online tools effectively. That’s why the Getting Aussie Business Online initiative is designed to make it as easy as possible for business owners to build a website. In just 15 minutes any business owner can build a professional website. To date, more than 18,000 businesses have signed up for a free website and domain name,” Reed said.