There is an excellent thread over at WebmasterWorld that is not getting enough attention. The thread is named From an SEM Perspective: Local Search is just Hype, where moderator Chicago (the local, local expert at WebmasterWorld) plays devils advocate and says;
Given what WE know, and in this marketplace, there are much better things to be doing with our time than chasing, selling, and servicing SMEs.
His argument that, when it comes down to it, there is $250 a month per small business to spend in the online advertising world. Of course, as Chicago expected, there was a loud outcry of those who disagreed with this.
But as someone who really loves statistics and the numbers behind them, I find the whole thread great. In the statistics world, you can turn any number any which way you want. That is the beauty of statistics, it is a math like no other.