That could -- and should -- be changing, according to the experts here. However, a big part of the problem is that online advertising isn't as easy as it should be for small business owners.

In the "Local Search Ads" session, Brad Geddes of LocalLaunch noted, "The typical small business owner's advertising effort usually involves just a few phone calls or conversations a year."

And in the session before that, Jupiter analyst Barry Parr observed that in local advertising, sales and service are a huge part of that business. "Creating an Adwords account and placing an ad on Google is not all that easy for someone who's used to placing ads in the yellow pages. Ad sales and service is the big missing link in online ads."

Seems to me that there's room for a smart entrepreneur to start serving the small business advertiser market more effectively. The big portals simply aren't cutting it. Either that, or (as Geddes recommended) the portals need to start offering more data and tools to agencies that are willing to offer the sort of support, guidance, and assistances that small businesses need in order to want to advertise online.