For many smaller companies, online marketing is  or should be -- a crucial component of their business. But online marketing, which involves SEO, e-mail marketing, and pay per click ads, takes time, some money, and increasingly, some expertise. Products designed for small and midsize businesses are finally entering the market.I got a chance to talk with Anita Campbell yesterday, the editor of Small Business Trends, a comprehensive site that explores trends in the small business market.

One of the topics we discussed was online marketing, specifically what smaller businesses should be doing. Campbell said that beyond the Web site  the centerpiece of a smaller business' online presence  are five basic things that will provide smaller businesses with a good return. They are:

These are what Campbell called "mainstream" strategies and if you are not doing at least four of these things, take Campbell's advice and start.

For many smaller businesses, though, attempting to do all or some of these on their own can be overwhelming, and hiring professionals gets expensive. I recently received a press release from Lyris, a company that develops Internet marketing products. The company has recently released Lyris HQ, an online marketing product for small and midsize businesses.

The company is positioning itself to be an affordable, viable alternative to larger companies  like Omniture  whose bread and butter are large enterprises. It's good news, at the very least, that smaller businesses are getting the attention of companies like Lyris.

Has anyone out there used a hosted marketing service like Lyris? What was your experience? Would you recommend it? Let us know in the comments.