A recent study by The Dieringer Research Group reported that 40 percent of Internet users in the US changed their opinions of brands due to information they gathered online. That means it's more important than ever to expand the presence of your business on the Web if you wish to influence discerning buyers. It's also just as important to build an effective Web site that educates and sells consumers on the products and services you offer.

eMarketer estimated that there were 152.8 million Internet users in the US in 2002. Multiplying 40 percent by 152.8 tells us that 61 million people in the US alone changed their minds regarding the products they wanted to purchase after conducting online research. That speaks volumes about the importance of every business having a great Web site that can be easily found by consumers doing product research.

Yahoo! priced $750 million in convertible bonds on May 1st despite having $1.5 billion in cash on hand. If you have that much cash on hand, why would you need another $750 million? This has led to speculation that the search giant may be planning a major acquisition soon. According to some analysts, the most likely target could be Overture. Overture's stock jumped 6% the following day after a long run of sagging stock values.