· 107 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2010.
Websites
· 255 million – The number of websites as of December 2010.
· 21.4 million – Added websites in 2010.
Social media
· 152 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
· 25 billion – Number of sent tweets on Twitter in 2010
· 100 million – New accounts added on Twitter in 2010
· 175 million – People on Twitter as of September 2010
· 7.7 million – People following @ladygaga (Lady Gaga, Twitter’s most followed user).
· 600 million – People on Facebook at the end of 2010.
· 250 million – New people on Facebook in 2010.
· 30 billion – Pieces of content (links, notes, photos, etc.) shared on Facebook per month.
· 70% – Share of Facebook’s user base located outside the United States.
· 20 million – The number of Facebook apps installed each day.
According to a recent study conducted by Google India, more than 57 percent of SMEs use their website as a sales channel and to get direct business leads. While accessing email is the number one purpose for using the Internet, a majority of SMEs (71 percent) also use the Internet to search for vendors and suppliers. About 40 percent of them use the Internet to create online listings and advertise online. In terms of mediums used to advertise, traditional media like newspaper and outdoor ads still lead the advertising spends for SMEs, but Internet is emerging as one of the fastest growing medium for advertising with 58 percent of SMEs with websites using the Internet to generate business leads.
The Internet offers new opportunities for small businesses:
• 57 percent of small firms use the Internet, 61 percent of those have a website.
A website gives entrepreneurs access to markets at low cost:
• 67 percent gained new customers.
• 62 percent improved their competitive position.
• 56 percent increased total sales.
• 56 percent attracted new types of customers.
65 percent of firms make a profit or cover their website costs.
The expense to set up and maintain a small business website is minimal and can be covered by revenues.
Small businesses that market through the Internet sell primarily to consumers. The smallest firms (with fewer than 10 employees) benefit the most from being online: 35 percent gain 10 to 99 percent of current sales directly or indirectly from their websites.
Small business owners are seizing the new opportunities the Internet offers:
• 35 percent sell through a website.
• 61 percent purchase goods and services.
• 80 percent gather information.
• 83 percent use e-mail.