As a merchant starting an online business, the online market can seem daunting. Every article and book available in the real world and the virtual world emphasizes on the importance of different online marketing techniques such as SEO, Social Networking etc. The sheer number of techniques can leave anyone quite bewildered on which technique will actually help. To clear the confusion and get you started, we have compiled a list of popular and highly effective techniques with short descriptions on what they do and how they can enhance your business.

SEO
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing your website using keywords and phrases to increase your ranking on search engine result pages and attract quality traffic.

Think of optimizing your website as giving directions to a friend visiting your home for the first time. You need to provide him with landmarks (keywords) that will guide him straight to your home (website). Search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. use algorithms in order to rank websites when people look for content, you can ensure that you rank high on the result pages by optimizing your website's design and content with keywords and phrases relevant to the products or services that you offer. This is important as the higher a website ranks in the results of a search page, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user.

In short, by optimizing your website, you make it easier for search engines and thereby, your prospective customers to locate your business on the internet.

Banner Advertisements
Banner Ads are posted on affiliate web pages. Typically, they are horizontal or vertical bars that contain an animated advertisement and uses click-through to transfer interested prospects from the banner to your own website. It is an effective direct marketing tool that can increase brand awareness and traffic if they are creative and include a call-to-action.

Tip: To ensure maximum traffic advertise on websites that your customers are known to visit. For example, if you sell car accessories, you should consider advertising on car magazine sites.

Email Marketing
Email Marketing is a form of direct marketing using electronic mail as a means of communicating messages to an audience. It is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today as it allows you to communicate a variety of information regularly within a tight marketing budget.

Email Marketing is extremely cost-effective and when used properly, it can boost sales to a whole new level. Moreover, it is easy, affordable, direct, actionable and highly effective.

Social Networking
One of the latest ways to market is through social networking websites. There are numerous social networking sites online such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. that millions visit by daily to stay connected to friends and family.

By signing up on a social networking website, you can stay in touch with existing customers, build awareness about your website and products and generate leads.

Video Marketing
If you choose to Video Market, you need to create short, interesting, funny videos that highlight your website or your products key features.

This is form of online marketing is quite interesting and though new, is gaining popularity. You can upload funny, intriguing video pertaining to your product or a demonstration of how it works on sites such as that allow such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and capture the attention of your audience.