Great news! Small business owner confidence is on the rise, and by no small margin.

According to a recent blog published by Small Business Trends, “the Small Business Optimism Index shot up by almost 6 points, to its highest level so far in 2009.”

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has been the nation’s gauge for small business owner optimism for years and even though overall optimism is still at historic lows, a six-point jump is a considerable increase.

At the least, the increase raises some eyebrows. If the boost in confidence is for real and not just a temporary spike, then small business owner confidence has risen above December 2008 levels and close to marks recorded in October and November. Most impressively, a significant one-month increase the size of April’s spike over March has not been experienced in well over five years. Of course, disclaimers are always in order, as a jump in confidence could very well be temporary, but regaining positive ground in times of economic uncertainty is always enlightening for small businesses, especially those who have invested in technology and positioned themselves to sell online.

The big question remains — what does this increase mean for a small online business like yours? If the indicators are correct, it means it is time to increase inventory, fine tune your advertising campaigns and prepare your site for an increase in sales from the “pent up demand” consumers are feeling from buying less and hoarding trillions of dollars in personal savings accounts that are yielding dismal returns.

The tide could very well be turning. It’s never too early to fine tune your online business to ensure you are ready to capture the business generated from a significant increase in confidence.