Guides: Marketing Research Guide: Web Sites

Marketing Web Sites

American Community Survey Briefs (U.S.)
These are brief, recent updates from Census on poverty, income, health insurance coverage and more.
American Factfinder
Census tables and pdf's any geographical area or industry code. Data derives from censuses of population, housing, economic activity, etc. Also the American Community Survey offers social characteristics data on cities over 20,000.
American Time Use Survey (U.S.)
How do Americans 15 and over use their time? The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the numbers in news releases and tables, sorted by gender.
Bplans.com: Business Plans
Elegant site for any entrepreneur, this provides free business advice, offers sample business plans, and helps design a marketing plan.
BRASS Best of the Best Advertising & Marketing Websites
A selective list of good public websites and advertising and marketing.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S.)
The B.E.A. reports GDP; local employment and earnings; consumer spending; corporate profits; balance of payments; trade in goods and services; and foreign direct investment.
Business.com
A Yahoo-like directory devoted entirely to business matters: accounting, finance, H.R., management, I.T., international business, legal affairs, research, industries, and sales and marketing.
BusinessWeek Online
Selected articles from the popular weekly newsmagazine, as well as daily headlines and ratings of the best business schools.
CNN Business
Articles addressing careers, marketing, e-commerce, finance, management, and more.
Colorado Business Resource Guide
Sources for marketing information are provided, as well as advice on planning and financing a business in Colorado, licenses, and taxes.
Colorado Economic, Demographic Information System
Use CEDIS to search for data and forecasts of Colorado population, ethnicity, employment, housing, county tax base, and personal income.
Consumer Expenditure Survey
Household expenditures for food, housing, utilities, apparel, transportation, insurance, medical services, personal care, entertainment, education, and contributions as gathered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
County Business Patterns
County and Zip Code Economic Census information is here, searchable by place and industry code. Data includes number of establishments, of employees, and payroll.
Doing Business (World Bank)
This World Bank site is an essential guide to business regulations and their enforcement in 185 countries. See Data for a snapshot of the economy and rankings of each country on ease of doing business.
Economic Census Data
The Economic Census is conducted every 5 years and uses the American Factfinder search engine. This data provides the foundation for start-ups and existing establishments to make decisions on locations, marketing, business plans, and the cost of benefits. Nonprofits are included in the census.
Export.gov
The U.S. Government's export portal provides export basics, answers to tariff and logistic questions, trade data and analysis, and market research.
Federal Digital System
FDsys contains federal government bills, acts, Congressional committee hearings, GAO reports, Economic Indicators, the Economic Report of the President, the U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and the U.S. Budget.
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This resource is the successor to GPO Access.
Fortune 500
Fortune Magazine's 500 largest U.S. public corporations, their background and recent revenues.
GPO – Government Printing Office
The Federal Digital Library system searches the content of many legislative and executive documents including the Congressional Record, bills, reports, hearings, the Federal Register, and presidential documents such as speeches and the Economic Report of the President.
Mapping America - Every City, Every Block
This site maps every zip code and block by race, housing, income, and education levels, using Census sampling from 2005-2009.
Market Research Library - Business USA
Contains more than 100,000 industry and country-specific market reports, including the Country Commercial Guides, authored by U.S. Commercial Service specialists working in overseas posts.
PwC's WorldwideTax Summaries Online
Pricewaterhouse Coopers provides essential information about the corporate and individual tax rates in 152 countries.

Evaluating Internet Resources

Some things to consider:

Authority: Who is the author? Does the person have credentials in this area or a record of research?

Source: Does the page come from a reputable institution, agency, or organization?

Currency: Can you tell when it was published? Is this a topic that's likely to change often?

Research: Does the web page cite other studies?

Objectivity: Is this just an opinion piece, or does it rely on documentable evidence?