Survey Results: Small Businesses and Online Discoverability

As part of the preparations to launch a new digital discoverability agency, our group conducted a market research survey that sought to better understand the challenges and priorities of small business owners regarding their online footprints. We got our answers and there’s no sense in holding on to our findings, so we’ve decided to publish a summary of survey results.

About Our Small Business Survey

The Discoverability Company conducted a survey of 550 small business operators across the United States. We defined “small business” according to the size standards set by the Small Business Administration, ensuring our sample represented this critical segment of the economy. The opt-in survey was conducted online in October 2024.

How Important is Digital Discovery for Your Small Business?

The first question in our survey asked, “How Important is Digital Discovery for Your Small Business?” We defined the term “digital discoverability” as something that encompassed search engines, maps products, social media, voice assistants, and artificial intelligence platforms. Respondents rated the importance of online discovery on a scale of 1–10, with 1 labeled “not at all important” and 10 labeled “the most important”

Overall, the average response was 8.4, indicating a strong consensus on the significance of digital visibility for small business success.

Notably, the responses showed no significant variation across geographical regions, and most small business categories aligned closely with the overall average. This high level of agreement is striking, particularly in a landscape that often shows substantial regional or sectoral differences.

Do You Feel Your Business is Adequately Represented Across Different Digital Platforms?

Our second question, “Do You Feel Your Business is Adequately Represented Across Different Digital Platforms?” sought to assess perceived adequacy of digital presence across a range of channels. This is something that we heard quite often in our qualitative conversations, so we wanted to put a number to the issue.

Only 38% of respondents felt their business was sufficiently represented on online platforms, underscoring a widespread concern among small business operators regarding their reach and discoverability.

This finding highlights a potential gap between the importance placed on digital discovery and the actual level of representation many small businesses currently believe they are achieving.

To better understand, we also asked “Do You Currently Work With an Outside Agency to Manage Digital Discovery?” and for those who did, we asked “Are You Happy With Your Outside Agency?” A minority of respondents said they’re engaged with a third-party (43%) but of those who indicated they do, only 24% reported satisfaction with their current provider, primarily citing a lack of reporting as the primary issue.

What Small Businesses Are Currently Doing, What They’re Worried About

Additional survey questions provided insights into the operational priorities and pain points of small business owners:

• How Many Hours Per Week Do You Spend on Digital Discoverability? Most respondents reported spending between 4–6 hours per week on tasks related to search, social media, and other digital discovery activities — almost one hour per day.
• Which Platforms Are You Currently Engaged In? The majority of respondents reported engagement primarily on social media platforms.
• Which Platforms Concern You the Most? Maps results were the leading concern among respondents, followed closely by search engine visibility.
• Do You Have a Plan for Your Small Business Visibility on AI Search Tools? 4% responded in the affirmative.

By the very fact that our group received these findings and elected to launch The Discoverability Company, you can tell how we interpreted them: that small business owners face a huge challenge in terms of digital discoverability, and they need help.

Our hope in releasing this information is that you’ll join us on our mission to democratize access to these marketing tools so businesses of all shapes and sizes can thrive across the full range of digital platforms that people use in their personal and professional lives today.

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