• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, April 2, 2015

Nearly half of small businesses will allocate just 20% or less of their marketing budget to digital strategies in 2015, according to a survey from the D.C.-based research firm Clutch. While research firms like BIA/Kelsey estimates that more businesses will increase their digital marketing spend this year on paid-search engine marketing, Clutch suggests that a "significant" amount of small companies still lag in adoption.

About 71% of small businesses with search engine optimization strategies do not plan to increase the amount spent in 2015 compared with 2014, 14% report a "significant" increase and 10% report a decline, while the remainder are uncertain. For paid-search,the trend appears to be similar. Among survey respondents, 61% predict approximately flat spending compared with 23% who predict an increase and 10% who predict a decrease, and 6% who say they are uncertain.

The adoption of SEO appears to be more prevalent among small businesses compared with paid-search advertising.  About 37% began working with SEO vs. 20% for paid search in 2013 or earlier. Some 5% began using paid search compared with 9% in 2014, and about the same plan to use paid search and SEO this year.

Of the smallest businesses with 10 or fewer employees, 30% report actively working on their SEO beginning in 2014 or earlier, through blogging, link building, and keyword optimization. The percentage grows to 45% for companies with 11 to 500 employees. An additional 9% of small companies and 7% of larger companies plan to begin actively using SEO in 2015.

Approximately 38% of businesses with 10 or fewer employees stated that they are unlikely to do SEO in the future, with an additional 21% who are uncertain whether they are "neither likely nor unlikely." For companies with 11 to 500 employees, an equal proportion reported uncertainty.

Only 5% of small businesses plan to begin using paid online ads in 2015, compared with the 9% who plan to begin using SEO. Marketers at 42% of small businesses participating in the survey said they are unlikely to use online advertising such as Google AdWords in the future, compared with 25% who said they are unlikely to actively work on SEO.

The report also analyzes the measurement of SEO success, as well as satisfaction with SEO agencies and consultants. Clutch analyzed data from more than 350 survey responses from small business owners and managers distributed across the U.S. The report includes commentary from representatives of digital marketing agencies in addition to the survey data. The report is the first of four segments that the firm will publish in the coming weeks examining the results of the small business survey.