Everybody loves a holiday but have you noticed how difficult it is to get back into the swing of things? The problem with that, of course, is that businesses who want to succeed in 2010 are revving up their marketing activity right now. If you wait to slowly get things moving you run the risk of falling behind. Online marketing can be a relatively simple way of getting things moving in the right direction and quickly!  

Instead of bemoaning being back at your desk use the break to remind yourself of the potential rewards for success. Coming back from a long holiday is the best time to take some initiative. Now that you've fully rested, you should have plenty of energy to invest in promoting your business. Here are several online marketing ideas to help you achieve your goals in 2010. And best of all, you can implement them yourself.

1. Try Google Merchant - Also known as Google Basehttp://www.google.com.au/base/. This free service from Google allows businesses to list products or services on its first page results. In most cases these will appear just below the paid results and will include an image, title, price and direct link to the product or service. It's free and it only takes couple of minutes to set up so is certainly worth the effort.

2. Try selling your product on eBay - eBay has consistently high levels of quality traffic and listing products is now easier and faster than ever. A key goal for 2010 for all business should be to find as many cost effective ways as you can to reach many potential clients. To achieve this goal you must consider selling on eBay to reach as much of your target market as possible. Start with one product and see if it works for you.

3. Optimise your site for search - The most cost effective online marketing channel is the natural traffic channel also known as organic traffic. By optimising your site in accordance with the search engine guidelines you will notice that with time organic traffic will find its way to your site. If you're new to search engine optimisation, Google has a fantastic guide which is a good start. The guide can be found at: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/11/googles-seo-starter-guide.html

4. Turn customers into sales agents - A happy customer is a good customer. Now you can take this idea a step forward and help your customers help you. Social recommendations, the kind that a friend or family member will tell another will likely result in a sale or lead. To get on the right track, consider using tools such as Linked In to www.linkedin.com to secure recommendations.

5. Keep your content dynamic - One of the most important factors for online marketing success is your site's level, quality and freshness of its content. Great content can open doors to prospects that you may have not considered and can help persuade users to make a purchase. Explaining how to optimise the use of your product/service is also key to success. After all there are few people in the world who don't like feeling like they have been let in on a secret! Developing strong how-to guides is a great way to offer quality content which is both relevant and easy to put together.

6. Start a newsletter campaign - Newsletters are a fantastic cost effective marketing channel to communicate new offers and promotions. You don't have to send many, just make sure you're communicating relevant information and keep it timely. For example once a month is generally fine, twice a week may be too much.

Starting the New Year right with online marketing need not be expensive or difficult. The key is to read a lot about what your peers are doing and find the solution that fits best for your business needs. The world of the internet need not just be for the big players. The web provides the perfect vehicle for companies of all sizes to compete on an even playing field. All it is waiting for is you.