Choosing which products to sell is one of the fundamental decisions you can make as a website owner. There are so many options out there, it can seem overwhelming at first. So how do you know what are the best things to sell online?

How do you focus on products that have a higher potential of earning revenue, and weed out the ones that will perform poorly?

While there’s no one magic formula, here are some things to consider when you’re making your product choices:

Is it a High Quality Product?

The most important thing to consider is by far the quality of the product. You should only promote products that you think are worthwhile, and that you have either used or could easily see yourself using.

Most consumers naturally have strong filters for how they process and weed out information online. If a product looks spammy or leaves any impression that it might be a scam, your users are unlikely to buy the product, and you will lose credibility in their eyes, losing out on an opportunity for future sales.

Is the Product a Trend or Fad?

A lot of internet marketers confuse Google keyword trends and fads, and it’s important to understand the difference between the two.

Fads are short-term upticks in keyword searches, usually due to news or popular culture. Trends on the other hand represent long-term shifts in consumer sentiment.

From an affiliate standpoint, it is difficult to make the investment in selling fads pay off, whereas trends have the possibility to pay you dividends for years to come.

What Does the Sales Cycle Look Like?

It doesn’t matter how amazing the product is, if there’s a long and complicated sales cycle, it might not be worth selling on your website.

Think about the types of products you normally buy online, and compare them to those that you buy offline. Most products naturally lend themselves to one medium or the other, so try to put yourself in your audience’s position.

For example, if you’re buying a new car, you probably go online to research various options, but you end up making the purchase by walking into a dealership. On the other hand, when it comes time to buy the insurance on that car, you’re likely to register online.

Is There a Possibility of Having Recurring Revenue?

Some of the best products out there are those where you can make a customer referral and the customer makes multiple purchases over time.

The most common example of these types of products are subscription services. Many business services and individual classes or programs are subscription based. If the product sells well and sells consistently, you will continue to earn revenue over time.

Test Test Test!

I can’t say this enough: there is no one perfect product. The key to being a part of a top paying affiliate program is to pick the products that feel right for your site. With a little bit of testing, your users will point you in the right direction, so can pick winning products every time!