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The Omaha-based online seller of tools and accessories earned a spot in Internet Retailer's top 500 list of the largest e-retailers in the US.

Brian Mark of Toolbarn said persistence, tough business decisions, hard work, and lots of time have helped propel the tool selling site up in the online world.

We chatted over IM on how the search and advertising side have played a role in Toolbarn's growth.

"A lot of our success is due to shopping engines. Once those got set up, then we focused on organic rankings, and lastly topped it off with PPC," said Mark. "Using all available channels is very important in becoming among the largest."

He cited ShopZilla as doing very well for Toolbarn, but noted Froogle has been one of the company's largest sources. "Google is obviously a huge factor as well," he said.

Pay-per-click advertising has been part of the ToolBarn toolbox for about five years.

It's taken off for them over the past two, Mark said, as tracking tools have helped ToolBarn turn PPC into a profitable way to attract customers.

So what's the secret to ToolBbarn's growth to a place in the Top 500 US online retailers?

Mark noted how it's important to find a niche in the world of Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

"Our top items are always those hard-to-find items," he said. "Stuff that you can pick up at Wal-Mart or a big box store just doesn't do that well for us. Those items are just something to drive over and pick up. Anything unique has sold very well for us."

We closed up with a question about what has been a big seller for Toolbarn; Mark said powdered Gatorade has been one of those items. "We send a ton of that overseas to our troops," he said.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.