Based on years of advertising a wide range of products on Google and other ppc engines, I offer these basic concepts that can predict how successful an online business will be. Whether you already have an online store or not, this information will give you some good ideas to increase both sales and profitability. This is especially critical if you are or plan to be paying for traffic.

Any online store should consider these key points:

• Sufficient profitability built into what you sell
• Competitive pricing - you do not have to be the least expensive - just in the ball park
• Ample product selection - the more products you have the better the odds that a visitor will buy something
• Multiple items with a choice of price range to fit more buyer’s pocketbooks
• Products that are related to each other or appeal to the same basic buyer demographic

If you are buying traffic it is critical that your average profit per sale exceed your advertising cost per sale. Bearing this in mind when you’re deciding what to sell can reduce the length of time it will take to grow your business. Focusing on products with average prices around $60-$150 generates a higher likelihood of profit and a faster return on your advertising dollars. Advertising less expensive products may exceed the profits they generate. The more expensive the products you sell the longer the latency period between first visit and purchase and the more credibility you’ll need to establish.

If your site already has a large number of products, you can skew the odds in your favor by wisely selecting which products to advertise first. I not only avoid advertising products that are unlikely to generate profitable sales, I intentionally block my ads from being shown for specific inexpensive products and cheap versions of products - whether we sell them or not.

If you are not personally managing your pay-per-click advertising, specifically direct whoever does manage it not to advertise products that will cost more in advertising costs than they can possibly generate in profits. Remember to consider these variables when deciding which products to advertise:

• Products that are usually purchased in bulk or in a quantity that would be profitable to advertise
• Items that often lead to purchases of higher priced products
• Products that are likely to generate repeat purchases

Also consider avoiding or pausing advertising on products which:

• Can not be differentiated from other unrelated subjects through the use of negative keywords
• Have high breakage or are difficult to ship
• Generate negative customer feedback
• Are frequently out of stock or have inconsistent availability

If you intend to use pay-per-click advertising to get a new business growing, selecting a highly competitive niche or one that is likely to generate far more lookers than buyers can be an expensive mistake. The more sellers already advertising specific products the higher the cost per click will be. New advertisers must pay far more - possibly as much as two to three times higher per click - to get their ads into the same position. It is better to select products with less competition.

Even more important is to avoid advertising items that generate enormous numbers of searches and clicks and few buyers. Anything that a large number of Internet users want to look at but not buy is difficult to advertise economically. Items such as lingerie, swimsuits, photographs, and art are good examples.

The very best products to sell online are those that:

• Have an average profit per sale of at least $40-$60
• Are inexpensive to ship - shipping cost is the number one complaint of most online shoppers
• Are heavy and difficult to get home - this motivates buyers to pay for shipping
• Are widely searched for and difficult to find offline
• Are available locally (which increases interest) but the in-stock selection is severely limited
• Must be special ordered locally - especially if you can ship more quickly than the local stores can

Consider all of the above points when selecting products and keep your eyes open for items that fit the above criterion. If what you find has low online competition you may be on your way to greater profits.

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