I uploaded my current to-do list I am working on. I thought some of you might be curious on what actually is on my to-do list. I usually have a good idea of what I need to complete in my head, but all of my random tasks that I need done I write in an email and then email it to myself so I can print it off whenever and start working on it. If you can read some of the tasks you can see that I am currently just making updates to my websites, mostly updating bad code or content or updating some feature to be more efficient.

The “P” mean that I sent that off for my writer to re do. Most articles of mine are written by me and then my content writer edits them, and adds lots more content, I just send her a basic outline of what the article needs done. Also, BTW I know my handwriting is horrible haha.

I should have all of the shit done this week, remeber that I do the below while still doing customer support, marketing, and inventory. Busy busy.

This is a blog post to remind all of you that don’t currently have a error log page set up to do so ASAP! My error log is the first thing I check in the mornings, when I first wake up I check my error logs (all 10 of them) and see if there has been any new errors, if there are errors I fix them.

Correcting your errors is very important to keep your website well maintained and on the right track for success (duh). If you have multiple websites like I do I highly suggest setting up some kinda of way to track your errors. I have it set up so all my errors go into one logs folder were I have like 25 different txt files with the errors in them, you can use the code below on your .htaccess file.

# enable PHP error logging

php_value error_log /home/your_folder/public_html/logs/your_website_errors.log

Again, if you have multiple websites and you are not currently tracking your errors then I highly suggest you spend the 10 minutes it will take you to set it up, it will be well worth it in the long run.

Latley I have been adding a ton of updates to the main website I use to link all my projects together (e-com and leads) to one place to better keep track of stats including keywords, conversion rates, adwords spending, product earnings, plus much much more.

Well today I added a feature so I can easily add and track my expenses. Last week I paid someone to build me a efficient script to check my earnings using arrays. After he finished the script I modded it so I can view all of my products and projects by any custom date (you can see the chart in the image below). Now I have a way to track all of my expense in any custom date range I set, which will help me cut costs and keep profit margins up (the profit margin is what I focus my attention on).

I have been using this website and all of these scripts to help me increase my earnings and efficiency, so far it has been working great. Within the last month I have increased my main profit margin (all projects combined) 5% by cutting costs and talking with drop shippers and freelancers to cut costs somehow.

I highly suggest you to make something like this. But I am curious on how everyone else is tracking all of this critical data?

(click image to view full size one silly)

Let me know if you have any suggestions, I’m always down for criticism.

I have a small tip for some of you that has been useful for me. If you run an e-commerce site or even a community you should be collecting them email address (how many times have I said this before). To be frank, return customers and email marketing is a huge part of my e-commerce revenues. I helped automate the process by creating a simply email that will be sent out on certain time frames.

On my own projects I have a few different emails being sent out, depending your niche it varies. I send out the following emails:

Right after ordering = Email sent with receipt and discount codes

1 day after orders = A Thank you email with customers receipt and more discount codes

5 days after order = I send an email saying thanks again for the order and it has been shipped (or hasn’t) depending on what my database says. The emails are ‘dynamic’ to look customized for the customer.

When order is completed or order sent out = Once an order is sent out the customers get another email.

15 days after ordering = 15 days after the customer first makes there order I send the final email asking for a review of the website.

All of those emails have a professionally written sales letter to try to push more products to the customer. The emails are set up to help create a relationship between me and the customer, since I sent them so many emails then my website will feel more legit (and more trustworthy to buy from). A lot of company’s do this, and I love it.

Its very easy to create these emails, simply go to digitalpoint or sitepoint and hire a content writer to write you up a converting sales letter (a different one for each email) and then have you host set you up a cron page that will send these emails out.

Even if the above method could only make you an extra $100 dollars… well then thats an easy $100 dollars a month, its a set and forget thing (just dont forget to update your sales letters).

I wanted to make a small blog post about some of the important things that are missed on websites. The below were on my mind at the time of writing this.

1. Term/Privacy Policy Pages
I have a good story about this one, I actually had a product that was being kicked from adwords on a weekly basis for some random reason, well I added the terms and privacy policy page along with updating my footer on some of the websites basics terms and I haven’t been kicked since.

It appears to me that adwords requires the terms/contact us/privacy pages along with the footer info on certain niches, I am thinking that they look for these pages also for seo websites. A “terms” or “privacy policy” is always a must when creating a website, not only does it look better for google (looks like a complete trustworthy website) but also for your customer. Dont forget it.

2. Contact Us & Sitemap Pages
A lot of people forget these pages, especially on content websites. However these pages are very important. Having a contact page makes your website look more professional for anyone who looks at it. A sitemap is great for SEO. Don’t forget these pages the next time you set up your niche wordpress site with some basic niche articles. You will regret it.

3. Titles In Da Links
<a href=”" title=”dont forget this, a plus for seo”>
Use the title in your links, like the example above, it helps.

4. Fresh Content
Are you too lazy to set up a content writing schedule were you should write a certain amount of articles a month? Oh wait you are? Well then go to sitepoint.com and/or digitalpoint.com and find yourself a content writer and set up a deal were he or she will write a 250 word article for you every week for a certain website.

So if you have 8 content website that means that you will order 8x 250 word articles every week, which gives your content sites fresh content. I use this method, I just have it automated at developerhut.com (the same feature is available to you, just create a monthly link package and only order content articles).

5. Source Of Revenue
I am not sure if this belongs in here, but screw it… its going in.

I know from experience that you can wonder off and start building a website that will never make money. It might have been a good idea at the time, but I have learned that if I just sit back and think on how I will make money later on, then I wont build so many worthless content websites. Now I focus on making websites on niches at which I can sell something in. I suggest that you take one step back and think about were the revenue will be coming from BEFORE you build the website… not after like I have done a few times.

6. Dont Use “Links”
Having a “links page” is sooo 1998 AD. They are now called “Resources” or “partners” or “sponsors”… get the point? Google does not like link exchanges, that is called “helping your websites placement in google”, and they dont like that. So use different names when naming your link exchange page, because using them is still a good idea.

7. Only Link Related Websites
I have never proven if google de-ranked sites based on in-links. However I do know from experience that they de-rank sites based on links within the website. So having links only related to your websites niche is a must, and also be careful for bad websites such as myspace sites, video sites, funny sites, or any other website that is a dime a dozen.

8. Get Them Emails!
Its simple… if you have a website, you should be collecting email address for it somehow. I prefer to use tools *cough free ping tool. But you can use a simple “enter your email” textbox. Its no big deal as long as you grab that email.

Ehlo mates! Sorry about the lack of updates but boy have I been busy. Lately I have been updating and adding on upgrades to my current scripts to make business go smoother. I have learned in my short time of doing e-commerce (since 2006) that efficiency is what makes you the money, the more efficient you can create sales and ship off orders, the more money you will make. Since last August I have been focuses on creating a system were I can manage all of web projects accurately so I can use those statistics for something useful.

I didn’t know php that well back then so I had to start from scratch basically, I first worked on developerhut.com making managing orders very easy for the customers, writers, and me. During that time I have added a TON of add-on’s which include a very detailed statistics page, a integrated support ticket and support note system, added Google Checkout and Credit Cards, and even have about 20 crons running every night that manage all of the orders and accounting. That website is just now starting to look like it will be getting done soon, but I still have a lot more work to do on it.

Since I leaned most of the basics of php from coding developerhut.com backend I have working my way up by making a whole e-commerce website in my own code. That includes the order system and order managing system, automated customer notifications, and even some automated marketing scripts. I want to use this set up for all of my other e-commerce websites and all of my future e-commerce websites, since I would only need to make one backend system and make it link into one main website (which I will get to later) and then I can easily make more niche e-commerce websites decently easy. Right now I am still finishing off the code so I can start the backend system on another website soon (like in the next day or two), the only big thing I am working on now is the PCI compliant tests (surprise surprise I didnt pass, need to fix my code).

Now on to my favourite project… the last 2-3 month I have been working on a main website that links all of web projects together. I made the site so that all of my drop shippers and private lead offer people can easily login and do there shit. I then added a system that shows me all of my stats for all of my web projects. This website has already been extremely valuable because of the information it has given me so I can tweak marketing campaigns. At this time I only have 3 of my projects linked on that website, but someday I will have them all linked up and that will make things very easy to manage, but there is a lot of work ahead of my to get there.

Lately I have been finishing up the e-commerce backend along with updating a lot of bad code on developerhut.com. I have also just barley started a private lead offer, and I am using my own affiliate backend for that, I created a backend that tracks all of the basic info you need for adwords campaigns, it tracks the keywords, ip, and refer page. I can view all of that info on the main website thingy I was talking about. Lately I can add on more shit as I get better at php, but this new system gives me a good platform to work on and improve for later projects. In about a week I hope to have this system on the only 2 lead offers I am running, and then after that move it on to my e-commerce websites. Since I dont make my money from my lead offers I can test it out on them haha.

For some reason I love building systems to make things easier, too much Civilization 3 maybe? But anyways, here is another small blog update with horrible grammar, thanks for reading

Optimizing a website so it’s found in the search engines is a challenging task. For most website owners, it’s useful to look into hiring SEO specialists to help your site get indexed quickly. Provided your site converts into sales or advertising revenues, the cost of an SEO company will pay for itself when your site starts receiving some traffic. If you’re more of the do-it-yourself type, however, there are a number of ways to use online content to improve your site’s positioning in the search engines.

The key to using content for search engine optimization is to use the strategies consistently. They simply will not be effectively if you try them once or twice and then sit back and wait for traffic to come to your site (you’ll be waiting a really long time!) Instead, make it a point to incorporate these strategies into your routine in order to receive good results.

Let Other People Reprint Articles You Write

Have you heard of article directories? These are websites that allow people to submit their articles to be published on their “directory”; and that allow other website owners and newsletter publishers to browse the submitted articles for content they would like to reprint. If you run a website about starting a small business, you might write articles having to do with starting a business or business organization. People who browse the article directories where you submit the articles who also run websites on business topics may decide you wrote a great article and they may want to reprint it. When other websites reprint your articles, they are required to include your author byline – which you would create when you submit your articles to the directories, and include a link or two to your website.

Having a link on these articles that point to your main website offers a number of SEO advantages. First of all, most search engines consider the number of incoming links a website has in their formula for positioning sites in the search results. When you publish an article to an article directory – you receive your first incoming link for that article. Each time another website reprints the article online, you receive another incoming links.

The other benefit of incoming links from article directories and websites that reprint your content is that they are coming from websites that are catering to the same target market that you are. Only websites that are in the same industry would want to reprint your articles, and therefore you have an increased potential of readers clicking your link to visit your site and learn more about the topic.

Provide Content for Other Websites, Blogs, and Newsletters

Another method of getting your website link in front of the people most likely to click it and be interested in what you have to offer is to write articles for websites, blogs and newsletters that have readers in the same target market. Contact a few sites in your industry and offer to write an article on a topic you know their readers would be interested in, in exchange for a link back to your site in the author byline. You might be surprised how many people will jump at the chance for free, quality content and won’t mind giving you a link back.

Both of these strategies involve making use of online content to improve your search engine optimization. It won’t cost you anything other than your time (unless you outsource the writing to a freelance writer), but with consistent effort – the results are more than worth it!

Debbie Dragon is a freelance writer providing articles for Trace Media – an SEO New York company specializing in getting websites up, and making sure they perform to their full potential through the use of .

Elance is the one of the hottest spots on the internet where freelance professionals offer their skills and services for businesses to hire. These independent workers are experts in their fields. They work on projects in a timely and professional manner in order to deliver quality. As a business owner, all you have to do is search for the best talent that meets the needs of your company.

Hiring expert independent contractors and freelance workers is made easy with Elance. You can manage your employees and issue payments efficiently once they deliver results. Elance gives business managers the flexibility they need to get the job done in a cost-effective way. Marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, and information technology managers are some of the most popular Elance users looking for rock star employees. Professional service firms, web developers, and even non-profit organizations hire talented workers for various projects.

What Types of Services are offered At Elance?

Elance offers an extensive range of services that are tailored to various industries. Companies can simply browse through the services and find the best talents out there. These skillful service providers are competing for projects and to work with companies.

The services include:

* Web and Programming
* Design and Multimedia
* Writing and Translation
* Administrative Support
* Sales and Marketing
* Finance and Management
* Legal
* Engineering and Manufacturing

Hiring, Managing and Paying

To hire a qualified candidate for your project, you simply have to search through the services. You can choose a category and browse through the independent professionals. You can look at their skills and portfolios. You can find information on their earnings, feedback rate, read reviews and see their pay rates. Your company can also post jobs so that freelance workers can locate projects.

Once you find the candidate you like, you can contact them for hire and begin the project. To manage your providers, you can set up milestones for tracking work and review their status reports in order to approve their work. You can always communicate with your freelance worker and leave feedback.

Funding the work is made easy with a system called Escrow where you deposit the money and insure the worker that it is there. Once you get your results and approve the work, you can release the payment. This allows employers to review the work and determine whether they are satisfied or not. Should any employer end up dissatisfied, he can refuse to pay but Elance works very hard to monitor any disputes. The upside is that the independent worker is aware of this system and is motivated to deliver quality.

The Benefits of Using Elance for Your Business:

* Independent professionals can market their skills and expertise to clients in order to get hired and to start making money.
* The Elance work system allows freelance workers to work more productively at home or at the office.
* Business managers have the opportunity to hire for results as opposed to just billing for hours spent.
* Elance is effective for finding individuals to market your business whether it is through writing search engine optimized articles or being part of a marketing campaign.
* Employers can easily locate thousands of freelance professionals all in one place

Top Features of Elance

The Elance Work System: This feature of the site allows employers to manage the work online and convenient ways to connect and communicate as well as make payments. Communication is at the heart of this system so that both sides know what is required and expected. You can perform the following tasks:

* Post job descriptions to attract talented workers
* Take advantage of the workroom to collaborate and communicate
* Set milestones to achieve goals and use status reports to track progress
* Status reports can automatically become invoices

Elance Escrow: This feature makes exchanging payments safe and easy. Employers and service providers agree on milestones and money is placed into the Escrow. Once employers review the results and approve work, they can release the funds. This system avoids paying for work that does not deliver quality.

Elance is by far one of the most comprehensive centers providing businesses and firms an effective way of hiring experts.

You already know that your online business needs products and product pages. After all, the site’s products are the reason why customers even come to your site. Not only do you have to have well-designed product pages to display your items and their descriptions but you also have to build your brand and establish credibility via other pages.

The following 10 pages are critical for the success of any e-commerce website yet so many businesses are missing one or more of them. Once you go through each one, you may have to get in touch with your designer and add these 10 pages to your design plan.

#1 About Us

The About Us Page is crucial for an e-commerce site because you want customers to like you and to want to buy from you. In order to do this, they must first learn about you. The About Us page provides a background on the site including when it began what the vision of the company is. You can write about the site’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and describe the management team.

This page makes an impersonal venture into a personalized medium. You can include photos of yourself and the team. You basically want to add a face to your brand and have your customers feel connected. Everyone knows how many spam sites exist nowadays. The About Us page tells your readers that your site is a legitimate one, which grants you credibility.

#2 Privacy Policy

Legal information is downright boring but your site needs a privacy policy page without a doubt. This page outlines your companies policies regarding the information obtained from customers. Customers are purchasing from you and giving you very personal information. They want to feel secure that their information is in safe hands. The privacy policy should be understandable to the average consumer and avoid any hidden statements. You can add a link to your privacy policy in the footer of your site.

#3 Terms and Conditions

The last legal document your e-commerce site will have is a Terms and Conditions page which is an agreement between you and your customer. The Terms and Conditions page specifies restrictions for the use of your goods and services. It should be written in plain English for the average visitor to understand. This page protects you in case something goes wrong during the purchasing process.

#4 Contact Us

Customers need to be heard—it’s part of customer service. A contact page should be easy to find and should provide information so that customers can easily reach you. Shoppers want to know where you are located and how you can be reached. Not only does this help establish credibility, but it also adds a level of trust. Provide a phone number, email address as well as a physical address. Some sites offer availability times to avoid constant calls.

#5 Why Us

You are not the only e-commerce company on the web and chances are, you are not the only selling the product on your site. Customers know this and always want to know why they should buy from you. Tell visitors what sets you apart from others and offer compelling reasons that persuade people to buy from you. Do you price match? Do you offer free delivery or issue refunds? If you offer coupons and special deals, outline it in your Why Us page.

#6 Guarantee Page

By adding a Guarantee page on your site, you are eliminating any fears that a customer may have when it comes to making a purchase. The first question a customer will ask is “is it worth it?” You want visitors to reach the final buying stage and you will guarantee that they will be satisfied with their purchase. With a guarantee page, customers will not be inclined to think they are taking a risk. Instead, they will feel more comfortable buying the product thanks to the reasons you outline for them.

#7 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

With every e-commerce site comes a set of general questions customers may have. To save yourself some time, include a page with questions that you may receive on a regular basis and provide the answers. This way, customers will have their basic questions answered and they won’t have to contact you (except for those who think they are an exception to every rule).

#8 Site Map

A site map is critical for every e-commerce site in terms of search engine optimization as it links to all the important parts of your site. Crawlers need to be able to get to every part of your site in order to index each page. Providing a single page that allows the crawler to reach the rest of your site is an excellent step towards getting your entire site indexed

#9 Blog

If you go to e-commerce websites today, you will notice that most of them don’t have any blogs. Not only does this mean that they aren’t being indexed frequently, it also means there isn’t enough content on the site to attract those who are searching. With a blog, you will add fresh content to the site and you can begin to rank in search engines. You will also beat competition by being unique and offering informational and interesting content to your visitors. Another perk is that a blog will allow visitors to leave comments, thus creating a community on your site.

#10 Testimonials

Without any access to customer feedback, new shoppers will only have your word. A testimonials page proves to shoppers that their needs will be met and how they can benefit from your service and products, just like past customers. You can build trust between you and the shopper through feedback from others. Customer service is the lifeblood of any consumer-oriented business. By demonstrating your great service, you will get more customers.

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Pamela Abolian is a Guest Blogger at JonWaraas.com and a writer at Developer Hut, Inc. Upon completion of her bachelor’s degree at UCLA, Pamela dove right into the world of Online Marketing to satisfy her own curiosities in the industry. She combined her experience in writing and interest in Search Engine Optimization to start a full time career as an online freelance writer. She writes web copy, informative articles and blog posts in a variety of niches for numerous clients. Pamela is dedicated to producing quality content and sharing her knowledge to further educate the online community and help online businesses grow. She spends her spare time painting and developing her graphic design skills

Ever since busin3ss posted pics of his automated command center (update) I have wanted one of my own. Well I am half way done with what I looking for. Right now I have 14 crons that run daily at 3 am, they do my accounting work, send email to customers, move orders around, some automated seo stuff, etc. Those crons along with this command center help me work efficiently (another work for me wanting to be more lazy).

Let me know what you think, sorry I had to black some shit out. Also feel free to suggest any statistics that i am currently not tracking.

Below is the my home screen. It basically shows all the need to know info.

Below lists orders for developerhut.com and daily earnings for that site.

Below is how I can view my writers, there are 14 now.

Below is a website that displays info for my whole network. I just started on it but when its complete it will import adwords shit and do inventory daily for me. Then at the end of the month I will have all of my accounting done along with pretty charts for adwords, inventory, and other stats. Right now I only added 4 sites, but I still have 6 more to add.

Also, if your interested in setting up something like this then I suggest get clicky for your stats. I find that its better to track visitors with get clicky than google analytics.