Many small and midsize online retailers are diverting marketing budgets on search ads in favor of alternatives, reported Business Week.

These marketers are considering print, radio spots, and ads on MySpace, YouTube, blogs and niche shopping sites.

Search ads, which can reach more targeted customers, will bring in fewer actual buyers for these outfits because brand giants are stealing customers and driving up the price per click on them.

"We're out of business at this rate," said Jack Kiefer, chief executive of online baby products store BabyAge.com. He plans to cut back on search ads this year.

Big brands such as consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. and jewelry store Zale Co. are spending more marketing budgets on search ads. General Motors Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. start to shift branding budgets to search.

According to DoubleClick Inc., the price of per click on search ads is growing by 31 percent on average compared to the third quarter in the last year.

For search sites such as Google and Yahoo!, big brands' ad spending on search dwarf the cutbacks by smaller firms.

Last August, Google announced to become the exclusive text-based advertising provider for eBay outside the United States.

Even small companies with the right products and message can still trump big brands online, said Google and Yahoo.