How To Build An Online Business - Comprehensive 4-step Guide

Step 1. Market Research

Maximize the use of available resources. Market research won't be truckloads of work for you if you're resourceful.

Prominent media corporations have groups of professionals working for them. These specialists have expertise in business market research, statistics, consumer behavior psychology, visual communications, socio politics, economics and other areas relevant to market research. They are responsible for:

1.1. Gathering relevant, updated data about current business trade news and global economic trends...
1.2. Implementing comparative analysis using present day socio political and consumer behavior indicators, and...
1.3. Publishing this data with their commentaries, observations, inferences, projections and analytical findings.

Questions to Ask Yourself After Market Research

1.1. Do you now know the most profitable main industries of 2011 and beyond?
1.2. Can you zone in on an industry where there are no household brand name corporate players?
1.3. Can you determine at this point a sub industry where consumers are expected to search for relevant content and purchase what they need on the Internet?
1.4. Can you identify consumer markets with the most immediate needs and problems relevant to that sub industry?

Answer those questions then move forward to step 2 below...

Step 2. Online Competition and Consumer Market Research

Again: This step begs for your resourcefulness. There are companies freely offering search applications for you to use when pinpointing online competition and consumer market behavior on the Internet.

2.1. Go to Google or any other popular search engine.
2.2. Search for certain keywords and keyphrases which you think would be natural for your target consumer markets to use when trying to find useful information about their relevant needs and problems.

2.3. Go to the top page results.
2.4. Carefully study the content of those top ranking pages. You can even view the source code of those pages. This will help you identify their target keywords and keyphrases among other things discussed later in this guide.

2.5. Go to the Google Keyword Tool or use any other keyword tool you prefer.
2.6. Enter the keywords you initially used along with the keywords targeted by the top ranking page results.
2.7. Set the tool to provide global exact match searches then have it process the information for you.
2.8. Take note of results provided by the tool.

Questions to Ask Yourself After Market Research

2.1. Which of those keywords are searched by people with the urge to act in a way that would be beneficial for a business?

2.1.1. Building a mailing list? Which keywords are used by people interested in downloading free content and getting updated information relevant to their needs and problems?
2.1.2. Selling your own products or services? Which of those keywords are used by people with the need to purchase products and services to satisfy their relevant needs and solve related problems?

2.1.3. Have ads on your site you want clicked or offers you need filled out? Which of those keywords are searched by people with the urge to purchase products or services as well as get freebies and rewards for their purchases?
2.1.4. Reviewing products or services of others for commissions per sale? Which of those keywords are used by people interested in learning more buyer reviews to make an informed buying decision?
2.1.5. Have offers your target consumers would most likely require follow up clarifications and additional information? Which of those keywords are searched by people interested in learning more details about offers relevant to their needs and problems?

2.9. Separate each group of consumers and the keywords they would most likely use.
2.10. Use those keywords on Google to pinpoint competing websites, product manufacturers and service providers.
2.11. Go to the websites of those competing manufacturers and providers.

2.12. Take note of what they're doing, the details of their products and services as well as the benefits they aim to provide your target consumers.
2.13. Take note of the online places they go to promote their products and services as well as the methods they do to promote and sell.
2.14. Develop products and services beneficial to those groups of consumers in terms of satisfying their relevant needs and solving related problems.
2.15. Otherwise: Find beneficial products and services of others being offered for commissions per sale.

2.16. Incorporate benefits not provided by your competitors into your products and services as well as into your methods of promoting and selling your products and services.

Step 3. Online Marketing

This is the simplest step out of others above. Your aim is to establish your business as a friendly expert source of useful and updated information, advice, content, products and services relevant to the needs and problems of your target consumers. Period.

3.1. Go to Google and use your target keywords.
3.2. Take note of the top ranking page results.
3.3. Determine which of those pages allow content contributions from their viewers and which ones don't.

3.4. Identify which of those page results have the largest viewer base of people interested in content relevant to your products and services.
3.5. Pinpoint which of those websites that do not accept content contributions can be contacted for solo ad placement and mailing list ad placement.
3.6. Contribute useful and updated content relevant to the needs and problems of your target consumers regularly going to the sites mentioned in 3.3.

3.7. Build a long term beneficial partnership with your target consumers. How? Regularly provide fresh content helpful in satisfying their relevant needs and solving related problems. Constantly improve your products and services. Provide excellent customer support services.

Step 4. Business Growth and Expansion

This is the easiest step among others mentioned above. Why? Repeat steps 1 to 3. Grow and expand your business to other profitable areas. That's it. You would know the right things to do since you may already have a successful online business at this point.