The site
Web development on WordPress, market research and content for a consumer product-recommendation website.
WordPress
WorkCase 01My e-commerce business
Case 01E-commerce
My e-commerce business
A consumer product-recommendation website I built from zero into a live business that earns. I own the web development, market research, content, SEO and monetization, and the SQL and Python pipelines that tell me what to build next.
- Role
- Founder and web developer
- Dates
- March 2023 to now
- Where
- Los Angeles, remote
- Status
- Live and earning
The business's name, traffic and revenue stay private. Where this page shows numbers, they come from public data, not my business.
How it worksThe loop
One loop: research, publish, earn, measure, decide.
06 · Decisions
The loop closes on a decision: what to build next starts with the data. Hover or focus a step.
- Keyword research
- Pages
- Partners
- Pipelines
- Dashboards
- Decisions
01Problem
Start from zero, and make it earn.
I needed income, and I have a genuine interest in e-commerce and entrepreneurship. So in March 2023 I started a consumer product-recommendation site. A site like that only earns when a reader finds the right page, trusts it, and clicks through to a retailer. Every link in that chain had to be built, and then measured.
- From zeroNo site, no search presence, no retail partners on day one.
- Earn through partnersRevenue comes from national and international retailers, through affiliate networks.
- Measure every pagePricing, search performance and conversion, across hundreds of pages.
02What I built
Four parts, all of them mine.
Search
Keyword research and on-page optimization. My SEO work grew the site's organic search traffic.
GA4 · Search Console · Ahrefs · Semrush
Partners
I source and manage partnerships with national and international retailers through Amazon Associates, Impact and other affiliate networks.
Amazon Associates · Impact
Data
SQL and Python pipelines tracking pricing, search performance and conversion across hundreds of pages, with Tableau and Looker Studio dashboards on top.
SQL · Python · Tableau · Looker Studio · Excel · Google Sheets
03Query, chart, decision
The pattern I use, shown on public data.
My own numbers stay private, so here is the same kind of question on a real online retailer: which products actually earn the money? Public data, not my business.
Question Which products earn the money, and how concentrated is it?
Representative SQL pattern. It runs on a public retail table, not on my own site.
loading the queryUCI Online Retail II · CC BY 4.0 · public data, not my business
78.5%of net revenue comes from the top 20% of products
Revenue concentration across products, 10 deciles by revenue · UCI Online Retail II, Dec 2009 to Dec 2011 · CC BY 4.0 · public data, not my business
Finding
The top 20% of products by revenue generate 78.5% of total net revenue.
Decision
Protect stock and marketing budget for the top revenue-driving decile first, and review the long tail for delisting.
On my own site I use the same kind of query, on pricing, search performance and conversion, to decide what to build next. Open the full e-commerce analysis in the dashboard
Finding and recommendation from the dashboard's e-commerce analysis · public data, not my business
04What I learned
What running it taught me.
Learn the skill the business needs.
I taught myself SQL, Python, WordPress, GA4 and SEO because the site needed each of them.
Measure before you build.
Tracking pricing, search performance and conversion across hundreds of pages means the next decision starts with the data.
Be honest about the trade.
I must admit the pay isn't always stable. I love the flexibility and the work of growing an online business, and I now want to bring that to a team.
05Tools
What it runs on.
- WordPressThe site itself: web development, content and on-page SEO.
- GA4 · Search Console · Ahrefs · SemrushKeyword research and search performance.
- Amazon Associates · ImpactPartnerships with national and international retailers, with other affiliate networks.
- SQL · PythonPipelines tracking pricing, search performance and conversion across hundreds of pages.
- Tableau · Looker StudioDashboards that track the business.
- Excel · Google SheetsAnalysis in the business.
06Contact
Want to talk through how I would run this for your store?
Open to e-commerce, data and operations roles. Los Angeles or remote.