The majority (67%) of UK business owners admit they are concerned that how they appear online on personal networking sites could damage their business profile.

The poll found that 78% of business owners thought there was personal material related to them on the internet, while 43% were worried that information posted by friends or partners could damage their business.

One in five business owners regularly searches the internet for information on rival owners, the research discovered, while 48% said they thought personal information posted online was representative of the individual as a whole.

The majority (86%) of those questioned also believe there could be a link between unfavourable personal information appearing on the internet and a decrease in sales revenue. Almost half (48%) admit this could pose a ‘significant' risk to their business.

"Today, the issue of online identity is clearly a concern for the British businesses. With it now being commonplace to search online for individuals as well as companies, proprietors should take care to present their own personal online material carefully and keep an eye on their online image accordingly," said Mark Jeffries, chief technology officer at Fasthosts Internet, which carried out the poll.

But the research also suggested that business owners could use social networking sites and blogs to their advantage, with 76% saying the right balance could positively impact their business and 19% strongly believing this to be the case.

The survey suggested business owners felt more in control with a personal website than they did a social networking site, with 71% of business owners using a personal website with their own domain name.

"With the right approach, business owners can present their personal online material in a way that won't compromise their business activities," added Jeffries.

"Our research highlights that personal websites in particular appear to offer a high level of control over online image, and can allow this to be modified effectively."