When starting out in internet marketing, it is very overwhelming.  You need to learn about search engine optimization, social media marketing, pay per click advertising, classified advertisements and article marketing.  There are many ways to go about making money online and many things to start marketing.  The first thing to do is find a profitable market.  Otherwise you are wasting your time. The thing that many people don't realize is that you can make almost any niche a profitable one if you understand who the consumer is and perform an adequate level of research on the niche.

To gauge the profitability of a niche, we need to find out what the consumer demand is.  You can do this many ways, but the best methods are to expand on higher level markets, create problem statements and follow forums and groups.  These three simple techniques will produce a plethora of ideas on profitable markets for you. 

The simplest way to expand on higher level niches is by using a keyword research tool, such as keyword elite 2.0 or the research tool in wealthy affiliate.  Select a higher-level niche.  In this example, we will choose "convertibles" instead of just "cars".  Cars is very broad, while convertibles narrows it down, but still leaves a lot of options.   You are going to want to find out if there are niches within this industry that receive traffic and you want to know what people are searching for.  Keyword Elite 2.0 and Wealthy Affiliate's keyword research tool both help expand your research and allow you to "dig" under certain search terms to reveal more targeted niches.  If people are searching for something online, it is highly likely it is because they are looking to buy it.  A keyword research tool will give you that information.   

Figuring out how to solve a common problem is one of the most profitable ways to make money online.  Think about some of the common problems that you face in your daily life.  What makes them easier?  Start promoting the products that you find helpful.  The Wealthy affiliate keyword tool has a problem statement search if you can't think of your own. This will often times reveal "niche markets". Some examples of problem statements are "cure, fix, repair, solve, get rid of, how to, etc." It is great to start with broad terms and problems, but start digging down and become specific.  There is less competition when the problem is specific.  Too often marketers make the mistake of a one size fits all website.  

Finally, take a look through forums and groups.  People use blogs, forums and groups to communicate their concerns and essentially they are looking for a solution to their problems.  When visiting a forum, look at the common questions people are asking "how do I fix my slow computer, how do I lose weight without dieting, where do I find a cheap wedding dress, etc." Research these niches and find out if you can make them profitable.  Using forums and groups will reveal many niches and you can literally take what people are talking about, and turn them into campaigns.  An easy way to find a forum is simply by doing a google search for them.