A GREATER?number of small and medium enterprises are switching to online advertising, according to a survey by consultancy firm AMAS.

The 2008 Irish Marketing Sentiment Survey was conducted among members of the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII) between July and August to assess the extent to which marketers are moving their budgets to online advertising.

It found that 53% of businesses employing 50 people or fewer use search engine marketing, compared with 38% of larger businesses - while 66% of SMEs use email marketing.

In these tough economic times, businesses are focused on maximising value for money. SMEs, who once considered advertising outside of their budget, have now adopted a DIY approach to online marketing, using free resources and tools available on the internet.

Only 14% of marketers don't use any online advertising or promotions. This time last year that figure was almost 30%. It seems habits have changed to respond to increased internet usage and the country's marketing decision-makers are moving their budgets online.

According to a report by ComReg, the total number of broadband subscribers at the end of June stood at 1.055 million.

Over half of the 268 marketers surveyed are committing over 10% of their overall marketing spend to online advertising and promotion, citing lower costs and measured responses as their main reasons.

Email campaigns are the most popular form of advertising, used by 64% of respondents, followed by search engine optimisation (SEO) at just under half, and banner advertising at 41%.

However, this move has been at the expense of other media. The survey supports evidence that press and direct mail have been among the hardest hit, with 47% of respondents revealing they had moved away from direct mail, while 44% had moved away from press.