The popularity of digital and online marketing has overtaken that of traditional advertising methods among small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) for the first time.

This is according to new figures from The Kelsey Group, which found that, in the US, the penetration of web-based media rose four per cent year-on-year in August to 77 per cent.

Meanwhile, traditional media usage fell from 74 per cent to 69 per cent in the same time period, something that may interest internet marketing consultants.

The study also revealed that the proportion of SMEs using the web to track and measure potential new business leads has increased, with 30 per cent of those carrying out this practice using the internet in 2009, up from 22 per cent the previous year.

Director of research at the Kelsey Group Steve Marshall said that the company has been tracking the trend of switching to internet-based marketing "for some time".

"The milestone of digital/online surpassing traditional media among SMEs is an indicator of the broad shift to online platforms," he remarked.

In related news, a recent study by eMarketer has found that the online video marketing sector will begin to even out in 2010 after growing in recent years.

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