Verisign released the results of a  global survey today that was conducted by Merrill Research of 1,050 small businesses (SMB) with an online presence, to get a better understanding of SMB’s sentiment around the benefits, barriers, and preferences for creating an online presence.

The results of the survey found that in the U.S., 9 out of 10 small businesses with an online presence prefer a .com domain name for their company website.

Globally, that number is 61%.

Small businesses that choose to have an online presence most often choose websites over social media to represent their company:

Globally, 72% of participants reported having a website as their primary online presence to represent their businesses, followed by social media 13%.

Small businesses believe websites make their business look more credible and are critical for success

Globally, two-thirds 65% of small businesses with an online presence said they elected to create a company website because it makes their company look more credible, and 60% said that a website is critical for a small company’s success.

Overall, 82% of small businesses with an online presence would recommend investment in a website to other small companies in their industry.

The preferred domain extension for small business is .com:

Small businesses have not caught up with the mobile trend: Globally, only 21 percent of small businesses with a website have a mobile version of their website.

Perceived and actual barriers to creating a small business website often don’t match: Half of the global small business respondents thought technical know-how would hinder the creation of a small business website, but only 27 percent reported that as an actual barrier.

Small businesses are missing out on inexpensive opportunities to claim their brand online: Overall, two-thirds of respondents said their small businesses are using a branded email address.

Nine out of ten (92%) of these small businesses say they feel that branded email makes their business look more credible, yet the 63 percent without branded email didn’t know it was an option for their company even if they do not have a website.

Of course Verisign is the registry operator for .com domain names (.net, .tv and .cc as well)

Here is an Infographic:

Infographic-SmallBusOnline-September2013