Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 1165 Location: Maryborough Queensland Australia
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2003 8:29 pm Post subject: SBI - Summarize your actual experience(s) with it
I'd like to comment that this topic has been well and truly worked over. So far, many of you have told of your experiences with SBI in glowing or not-so-glowing terms and supported or criticized others.
Now I ask you to just summarize your own actual use of the product. Please do not criticize the summaries presented but leave them as an archive of sorts for reference.
I hope this will be of benefit to the inexperienced making decisions about using the product. It's currently a bit daunting to wade through all the existing posts.
My experience with SBI has been very positive. Even though I have been on the net for years and built well over 100 sites I started with SBI in a "new" area completely. I wanted to give it an honest try, without clouding the issue.
I tried to jump start the process but stopped and read the Action Guide completely before moving forward.
In 6 months have have been very pleased and it has performed much better than I expected. I will admit that I have went the HTML route because I wanted more ability to "design" as I wanted.
For the new person just starting out I think it is an excellent place to start. Take the time learn it and move forward.
Since purchasing my first SBI site in April I've purchased 4 more and working on the concepts of 3 more.
For me using the tool with HTML makes me much more productive that the block method. But I would still recommend anybody starting out to use that method and get comfortable with the system.
I think it is a good value for the money. _________________ Gary
- ONE is to small of a number to be a success!
Learn HOW TO create targeted, focused Content for your website!--> http://webcontenttips.com - Join Our Weekly Newsletter
I've been marketing online for about 5 years or so but with a short hiatus. For a couple years before that, I designed sites for friends and family. I've done my own html, marketing, SEO, newsletters, etc. during that time.
Having learned about SBI last year, I was one of those that thought to circumvent the system laid out by SBI, and within a short period of time asked for a refund because I was frustrated trying to do it "my way," and felt the SBI system wasn't for me.
I decided to give it another go, feeling I hadn't really given SBI a chance. So I went back and read the Guide, and followed it. I am very happy with the results from my site.
Following the Guide was essential for me, but the thing I like the best is the amount of time I save on the behind the scenes stuff. SEO, newsletter and opt-in list, are the features that really stand out and save me a lot of time. The autoresponder is another feature I can't wait to try out to save even more time.
For years I felt like I was running around in circles with never enough time to get everything done, SBI helped me to focus on what was important for me.
Debs _________________ Learn how to turn keyphrases into quality, well-targeted articles your visitors and SE's will love with Gary Antosh's new ebook "Web Content Made Easy!"
Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Posts: 1126 Location: London, England
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:03 pm Post subject:
The first thing that impressed me, straight out of the box, as it were, was the action guide (Make Your Content Pre-Sell)
This is not just a user manual, do this to do that etc. But a complete-in-itself course, not only about all that SBI does and how to do it, but also about building and growing your business.
This ebook gave me tremendous confidence in SBI, and also confidence that I personally would be able to obtain success if I put in the effort. I'm the sort that doesn't usually bother to read instructions, and hence I usually make a pigs ear of things.
Thank goodness that I actually spent the time in studying MYCPS.
Okay, on to all the goodies in SBI itself...
One of the things that SBI promises is that you can build your site without any knowledge of HTML, and you can. Now for a newbie, like me this is a boon, 'cause if you'd asked me a year ago what HTML was I'd have said it sounds like a STD
Now, although you can build your pages with SBI without knowing HTML, I soon found that I wanted to learn the simple stuff, and it wasn't too hard.
You have Site Build It Manager to research your theme and keywords, invaluable I'd say. I find that Brainstorming takes far too long (Yes folks, this is a criticism ), but then I am on dial-up, with a small modem. I had to disable my screensaver to solve a few problems.
I find using SiteBuilder very easy, the AnalyzeIt function must be worth the price of SBI in itself, and it is great to preview your page and check any links before you hit BuildIt. No worries about submitting to the SE's, SBI does all that for you, and will never oversubmit.
You are able to follow the progress of any page as it is spidered, listed and indexed. You get all the stats that you could possibly need.
I haven't used the mail-out feature yet.
So, how is my site doing? I'm currently getting an average of 300 + unique visitors a day, I keep adding pages, not all of which are indexed yet, when they are I should think my average will be higher. How does this compare with the big boys? Chicken feed, but for a newbie like me I'd say this is pretty good, no thanks to me (well, maybe a little), but truck loads of thanks to SBI.
And the money, honey?
Slow to start coming, but at last it is starting to trickle in, I'm seeing results
Am I happy with SBI? Knock me out, lock me up, cut off my arms, I still won't let you take SBI away from me!
The cost (currently) $300. plus patience, perseverance, and persistence. Just my opinion, but well worth it I'd say.
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2003 12:25 pm Post subject: SBI
I have three SBI sites. SBI's claim to fame is top Alexa ratings, but none of my sites have placed below 300,000. While I like the ease with which I can put up a new page, the brainstorming process is slow and tedious. Also, I find that the SBI Manager crashes on a regular basis. I just finished doing a brainstorm for a new site I'm developing and fortunately, I printed out the results because when I tried to load the Manager the day after I performed the brainstorm, the whole thing crashed. When the Manager crashes, I am unable able to recover the data--I have to trash it, reinstall the Manager and start again. I've also found that the support team is not as responsive as I'd like. For instance, the last time I sent in a support request, I received an email that someone would get back to me in 24 hours, but two days later, I hadn't received a reply. I had to email them to remind them I'd had a support request.
I think SBI is a good product it has it's limitations but those can be easily worked around or accepted.
I've built a number of sucessful sites with it.
It does concern me the trouble some people are having with the SBI Manager crashing. It never crashed for me, not even once and I'd have it running for days endlessing doing keyword research.
The program should work, it's not complicated software has SiteSell released any information on this problem? _________________ Rupert - AssociatePrograms.com
Joined: 05 Sep 2003 Posts: 17 Location: Temple Hills, MD.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2003 6:30 pm Post subject:
Call me what you will, but I tend to relate any long range endeavor of mine to self improvement (thus www.Higher-Self-Improvement-Pursuits.com ). And I find Site Build It just such an endeavor.
As I say (repeatedly) on my site and in my newsletter (also powered by SBI! ), the SBI! process practically demands that you do sufficiant "introspection" before you go too far.
If you follow the action guide (PLEASE follow the Action Guide), you'll find yourself doing several self "inventories" and examining what you love and aspire toward. Then you'll narrow that down or expand from that as the case may be.
Before you even register your domain name, you'll have a good idea what makes you tick (over and above "mere money").
Then the brainstorming for me was a revelation. I was sincerly hoping what "turns me on" would be profitable. So I held my breath as I pressed the "brain" button. And of all the possibilities, I eventually combined my passions (although for me, they were never "seperated") of "Higher Self" concepts and Personal Development topics. Best of all worlds for me.
The building process was a piece of cake from that point, except I had begun to "monetize" pages "prematurely" in my opinion. As I had no traffic yet and only a few pages, I wanted to be accepted by Zeal so I had to remove my affiliate links, add pages like crazy and then take the "editors" test before I could submit my site.
But boy, was it worth it. My first significant traffic began as a direct result my Zeal / Looksmart... thus MSN (at that time) submission.
(I recommend to anyone just getting started, cultivate patience and leave your site "virgin" for the time being... it makes acceptance by DMOZ alot faster too. The next thing you know, Google is feeding you traffic like you wont believe!)
So believe the "hype"! You may wake up one day and see that there is a new "instrument" to promote SBI! In my case it was the "Results" Site. Hey, noone gets you into the top 3% as effortlessly as SBI! (Unless some serious "introspection" causes you problems.)
Look closer and you might find... Hey!... That's MY Site! You'll be glowing for several weeks after that! (Not to mention all the additional traffic!)
Joined: 28 Sep 2003 Posts: 258 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2003 8:07 pm Post subject: It helps me focus on content
Hello all,
I've tried before to conceive a succesful site and failed. I was tinkering all the time with the looks of the site, time lost to put towards content. SBI! helps me focus on the content, although the page building proces is a little bit tedious at times.
No more WYSIWYG for me!
I'm very glad with the results so far , 3 months have gone since I ordered my site...
Bought it, did 2 brainstorming sessions that took over an hour each to complete, dumped it. Unacceptable for a tool that uses the results of only 1 search engine (Alta Vista).
Not a bad tool for a total newbie, but not for me.
Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 146 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:57 am Post subject:
I have had SBI for 3 months. I like everything about it except that it is so slow! Just adding a line break I have to wait 30 seconds.
I am planning to learn how to use html properly, rather than just the bits and pieces of code I currently use, so I can circumvent those little boxes by uploading a page all at once. Also this would give more freedom to include things like footers which you can't do on SBI alone.
One thing I really do not like that it forces me to submit every page to the search engines and to submit each time I edit. There are some pages I do not want in the SE's e.g. my contact page which seems to be the only one Google has listed!!
I am not sure that a high Alexa ranking is indicative of success. Google rankings would be a more useful and a more compelling reason to buy. I think my Alexa ranking is generated by me!
That said I do like it and think it very well worth the price. it does give lots of extras that i would have had to pay separately for without it- like the mailout manager, the manual, the web templates, the page analyser and the brainstormer to name but a few and I have bought another one. _________________ If you have trouble sleeping I have just what you need. Check out the Sleep Sound Insomnia Cure
The best thing for me is the guide. The approach works, whether you use SBI's "hosting and publishing" or not. I have used much of these techniques in other sites hosted conventionally.
Even though I have a slow PC and a 28k dial up connection, I was impressed with the Manager, over all, from the start. Yes, "brainstorming" is slow, and it's vital to cross check your supply figures with Google and your demand with Wordtracker (to eliminate problems with Overture's MatchDriver), but I find it gives a good overall, relative picture.
Also, if the connection fails, you can restart the process where you left off, from my experience. This is good.
When it comes to support, I have to say I have not been happy. The staff were fairly quick to respond, but rarely seemed able (or willing) to answer my questions. Yes, I ask hard ones, but I already know the answers to the easy ones myself.
Seriously, these problems persisted for over a year and Ken's help line was called on several occasions. He understands SBI much better than most of his staff, from my experience.
I eventually got a friend to buy a copy of SBI to see if I was being blacklisted in some way. The person in question is pretty much a newbie and his questions are more "how do I do this?" rather than my "why can't I do this?" and he's getting better answers as a result.
Anyway...
I found the lack of server side access and restrictions on page design and uploading so restrictive, that I haven't even registered a domain with that original account. The second account (which I have experimented with, but try not to interfere with too much) is up and running, though looks very basic. It is starting to get traffic, but nothing much is happening when they arrive.
My friend is a marketing newbie, remember.
Basically, the things I used to do simply with PHP and other server side routines are now impossible with SBI. Also, although you can now upload whole pages of HTML one at a time, I find the publishing method pretty painful, to put it mildly.
All in all, I think SBI is best suited to people who don't know what they can do with a website, and so won't know what they are missing. The research tools and content site philosophy are great, but at a price.
Often, people seem to be confusing "high traffic" with "successful", when it comes to websites. There's a little too much emphasis on getting traffic, and not enough attention being paid to what happens when it gets there. This is an area my newbie friend is already learning the hard way.
Secondly, although SBI is promoted as a solution for those who do not know nor want to know HTML, if you use the building block method you risk looking pretty much like everyone else's site, but with different content. The only real way out of this trap, is to learn some HTML and either build your own template, or modify someone else's.
Also, although all markets are different, my friend's site did not get traffic any more quickly than I would have expected by simple manual submission or linking schemes. The traffic philosophy is good, but certainly not original, just in case anyone was wondering.
Finally, I bought SBI on the promise of imminent ecommerce and affiliate modules last September. I am still waiting, and no-one will tell me how they will work. Bearing in mind the other restrictions, I am not too confident, but I've waited this long...
Just my experience,
Charlie. _________________ "Before I speak, I have something important to say."
- Groucho Marx
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). And I find Site Build It just such an endeavor.