Market Research
Market Research is essential to estimate the size of a market--the number of customers who may be interested in a type of product, the strength of the competition already selling a similar product to them and the total monetary value of such products.
There are many ways to conduct market research:
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A/B Testing...Competitor Analysis...Concept Testing...Customer Analysis...Experience Sampling...Focus Group...Observational Study...and so on...
For an overview of the many ways to research a market, check out this guide on simplicable.com.
Setting aside approaches that involve testing live subjects (interviews, observations, focus groups, etc.), digital market research involves using online databases and the live Internet to collect information on customer segments, competitors and industry statistics. This tutorial provides a guided walk-through of digital strategies and techniques.
Keyword Queries
This approach uses keywords entered into a search engine to find information online that is relevant to the search query.
Database Queries
Similar to Keyword Queries, this approach starts with a general content database (e.g., Google, Yahoo, Baidu, etc.) to find a specialized database of market information and statistics, then searches a specialized database using its proprietary tools.
Website Browsing
Starting with a live Website (usually a competitor or a market research firm) this approach uses browsing techniques to home in on market information.
Keyword Tips
While some search engines are getting better at understanding natural language, the most powerful search queries still use between 2 and 5 keywords. Nouns and numbers make the best keywords. Proper nouns are the best since they are unique and have fewer meanings. Verbs and other parts of speech are less effective since they have multiple meanings or occur frequently (articles, prepositions, etc.).
Put that tip to work as you search for information on the next page.