Market research is essential no matter what type of business you are starting but will differ slightly when you do market research online as opposed to offline. In this Hub page I want to look at how you can do online market research to determine the viability of your online business idea.

Social networking has really taken off recently and many people are joining social networks online. This is therefore a great resource for online market research. Spend time on these websites and look at what people are talking about, ask questions, add a poll to your profile pages and ask questions related to the products you are thinking of selling.

Forums have been around for a number of years but they are still a great place to do online market research. Take a look at what topics are being discussed on forums relating to the products you are going to sell or the services you want to offer and see what people are saying. Ask questions in these forums to get more information.

Social network websites and forums are some of the best places to do your online market research but really wherever you can meet people online you can do market research. It is just important to be careful about marketing on these forums and see what is permitted and what is not.

 Once you get past the initial market research and keyword research there are a number of other important steps in starting a successful online business. Get The Complete Guide to Making Money Online to make your business a success.