  |
|
|
View previous topic
::
View next topic
|
| Author |
Message |
Mattja
Joined:
23 Oct 2004
Posts:
4
|
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:44 am
Post subject: Dazed and Confused With Martell and SBI
|
 |
|
Hello All,
Well I have built my first SBI site. It is doing okay for the industry it is in. Mortgages. Traffic is slowly building every month as I add more content.
But I just bought Martells book. Great stuff. But I am confused as how I should be structuring my sites.
The way Martell says to structure the sites seems sooooo much easier than with SBI where you are building Tiered pages. There is only so much much room where I can squeeze in links on the tier one pages.
Plus as Martell mentions, as affiliate programs come and go you do not have to swap out links on hundreds of pages.
Should I restructure my SBI site to mimic Martell?
Or keep it the way it is, and just add a site map where I put all my new content instead of trying to figure out a way to stuff it into my tier 1 and 2 pages?
Or any other suggestions or ideas would be great!
Thank you so much! |
|
| Back to top |
  |
 |
Mike Long
Joined:
12 Sep 2003
Posts:
84
Location:
Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:04 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
Hi Mattja,
You ask a great question....
I have one SBI site, and am building a rash of Martell sites presently.
A lot depends on your ultimate goals for your SBI site. By structuring the site the way you mentioned, or by linking 7-8 pages to each Tier 1 page, you have room for about 100 pages without things getting too terribly cluttered.
(For example, 12 Tier 1 pages with 8-9 Tier 2 pages linked from each Tier 1 would give you room for 96-108 total pages.)
If your ultimate goal for that site is under 100 pages, I would leave it alone and build it the SBI way.
If you plan to have over 100 pages, then you might want to consider rebuilding the site in the Martell style, then using the option of using your own HTML within the SBI sitebuilder.
If you plan on building lots of Martell sites, I would focus on that, and come back to your SBI site when it outgrows its current structure.
Hope this helps!
~Mike |
|
| Back to top |
 |
|
John Lenaghan
Joined:
09 Nov 2003
Posts:
86
Location:
Langley, BC, Canada
|
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:59 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
I went through this same decision process a couple of months ago. I had an SBI site that I really hadn't given as much attention as I could have, but was still getting a small income stream from. I bought James Martell's book earlier this year and proceeded to set up a separate site with his methods.
I debated whether to leave my SBI site and start a totally separate site or convert from SBI to a Martell style site. I ultimately decided to change the SBI site to a Martell style, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I used Frontpage for the first Martell site I did and it is SO much easier and faster than uploading HTML through the SBI process. I think SBI has improved their bulk upload for existing pages since then, but the time I saved by using Frontpage was considerable. (I moved the site out of SBI completely).
By following Martell's methods, I felt that many of the SBI features were not as important to me because things like keyword density, titles, descriptions, etc were spelled out in detail in James' manual. These functions on SBI didn't justify the time for me.
The site had already built a small amount of Pagerank under SBI so it had a bit of a head-start in the search engines compared to starting a site from scratch, so that was another factor for me.
As far as the differences between the two methods go, I think you need to use whatever works best for you. My take on the SBI method is that it's more about building a single site that is constantly being updated with new content and new affiliate links. The affiliate links are spread throughout the site, more integrated into the content.
The Martell style is more about building a site then moving onto the next one. While the completed sites receive maintenance updates and maybe changes to the affiliate links, they do not necessarily get updated very often once the bulk of the content is posted. In this case, the central links to merchants are much easier to manage.
That's just my take on the two methods, of course - YMMV 
I still have an SBI site waiting for me to set it up, and I'm still debating whether or not to do it. I have a soft spot for the SBI system for some reason, so I'm constantly debating with myself whether to use it or just follow the Martell method with a different host. I'm beginning to think I might set it up as more of a hobby site that I'm not expecting a lot of income from. I promote SBI on some of my other sites, so I sort of feel like I should continue using it to stay on top of its features. For someone just starting out or wanting the simple methods offered by the SBI site builder, I don't think anything can beat SBI.
_________________
VREFlipping.com - Learn how to get the most for your site when you sell it, even if it's only making a few cents a day. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Charlie
Joined:
22 Aug 2003
Posts:
3305
Location:
UK
|
Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:06 pm
Post subject: Re: Dazed and Confused With Martell and SBI
|
|
|
Hello Folks.
| Mattja wrote: | | Or keep it the way it is, and just add a site map where I put all my new content instead of trying to figure out a way to stuff it into my tier 1 and 2 pages? |
For the confused - I think you might mean tier 2 and 3 instead of tier 1 and 2. Tier 1's the home page, in SBI terminology.
Secondly, the SBI method doesn't have a sitemap as such, but 15x15 doesn't seem too much of a restriction to me. And that's just a guide...
Remember to separate the concepts of SE-followable links and human attraction links. You quite probably want more of the former (via the TOC) and less of the latter (via the navbar), when it comes to the home page.
Think of it as a prioritised site map, if you like. Those tier 2 hubs are meant to be that way, for a reason. Hubs are one of the key concepts in Google SEO, many people believe. That's why it's suggested that you choose important terms for these. That's what I meant by prioritised sitemap.
Why is JM's method more suited to sites over 100 pages, Mike? I think the methods both work well with large sites.
Cheers,
Charlie.
_________________
"Before I speak, I have something important to say."
- Groucho Marx |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jeremy
Joined:
25 Oct 2003
Posts:
441
Location:
New York
|
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 7:24 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
Hi,
Because I had SBI when I got the manual,
I kept my SBI site and used James's style.
I copied and pasted my href links
and made my own footer.
I only use the header block and text
block. I use word pad to type my articles
in and add any href links because it is faster
to toggle back and forth between word
pad documents, then I just copy and paste
into SBI.
It's making good money. 
Jeremy
Last edited by Jeremy on Sat Dec 18, 2004 1:13 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
administrator
Site Admin
Joined:
02 Jul 2003
Posts:
1493
Location:
Maryborough Queensland Australia
|
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 9:47 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
Jeremy,
Please create a signature file for your URL - this is NOT the way to display it!
Keep the good info' coming.
Wally Morgan - Moderator |
|
| Back to top |
 |
|
Jeremy
Joined:
25 Oct 2003
Posts:
441
Location:
New York
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
gjansen
Joined:
16 Nov 2004
Posts:
11
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:42 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
I have always wanted to try an experiment...time and re$ource$ are preventing me at the moment.
I would take the same 100 keywords and write 100 articles. Then I would create 2 web sites with nearly identical domain names.
Then I would structure site A with SBI style and site B with James Martell style.
It would be very interesting which produced more traffic and revenue.
Has anyone ever tried this? Is anyone up for the challenge?
Glen.
_________________
You Can Work at Home and Earn an Extra Income with these Free Money Making Ideas.
Free e-book of Money Making Ideas. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
modestmouser
Joined:
10 Jan 2005
Posts:
150
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
speedguide
Joined:
19 Sep 2003
Posts:
467
Location:
Palm Coast, Florida
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:16 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
Tried it...
Personally once you understand what you are doing it doesn't matter the results for me have been about the same. But I have been doing this a while.
I have a tendency to test and use one as a labortory some which does affect results. My tip ---- focus on one site and just build it bigger. I'm actually doing that now for more testing and see that as a better solution.
Instead of 2 sites with 100 pages --- go one site with 1,500.
The one plus I do think helps is some possible inbound links you can get if your site does well in SBI's Showcase sites.
Charlie... I agree with you on the SBI over a 100 pages. Just using a site map takes care of that --- you could build into the 1000's if you want.
Mike... we still need to talk to get that program going PM me tomorrow.
All The Best,
_________________
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 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jeremy
Joined:
25 Oct 2003
Posts:
441
Location:
New York
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mike Long
Joined:
12 Sep 2003
Posts:
84
Location:
Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:53 am
Post subject:
|
|
|
Gary,
How'd you know I'd be reading this?!? LOL
You're right, we need to get together and figure that thing out. I'm just terrible with databases.
I'm still on the "site a week" diet. Working on #9 this week of 18 sites total. (Yes, I finally settled on a number.)
I agree with the concept of buidling deep instead of wide...to a point. For people just starting out, a tiny bit of diversification is probably good. They won't be quite as susceptible to the whims of the search engines that way.
For example, if I were planning 300 articles, instead of using them to build ten, 30 page sites or one, 300 page site. I would be more inclined to build four, 75 page sites.
IMHO, this creates a good balance between having so many sites, that you can't focus on any of them very well, and leaving yourself vulnerable by putting all of your eggs in one basket.
I also agree with Gary about SBI vs. Martell to the point that, once you have a good feel for what you are doing, both work equally well.
~Mike
_________________
Providing useful, helpful articles for 150 lucky people since October 2005
ArticleLightning.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
tux750
Joined:
23 Feb 2005
Posts:
6
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:24 pm
Post subject:
|
|
|
Sorry to change the subject.
Just refering to the one site a week tactic.
Boy that must be extremely tough?
I am considering purchasing James Martell's guide.
I take it by the fact that you are bashing out so many sites that you have had success from this method.
Is it realistic with hard (and of course smart) work to earn good money using the methods outlined in the book? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mike Long
Joined:
12 Sep 2003
Posts:
84
Location:
Las Vegas, NV, USA
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:55 pm
Post subject:
|
|
|
Hi there!
It is tough, but it's do-able, particularly if you have someone writing the articles for you. (In my case, I have 30 per week written for me.)
However, that still leaves me with niche research, keyword research, site building, and traffic generation. It's quite a workload, but in 9 more weeks, that load will lighten considerably, as I switch from creating new sites to simply increasing the size of the exisiting sites.
One big secret that has made a huge difference for me:
I'm not an overly motivated guy. I need a push to get things done sometimes.
My two writers view the amount I pay them each week as "grocery money".
What that means to me is that, in a sense, they depend on that money each week.
Taken a step further, that means that they depend on me to be able to eat!!
(Okay, I'm being a bit melodramatic, but it works for me....and this is why....)
I've had many weeks already, when I didn't want to do my research. I just wanted to take a break and skip a week.
But I can't.
I have people depending on me. I can't just tell them "Sorry, I don't feel like holding up my end of the deal this week, so I guess you can't buy groceries."
Is it really quite like that? Probably not. But I keep it in my mind that way for the purpose of staying on task.
Keep this one word in mind...
Obligation.
If you have motivation problems, time management problems, desire problems, they can all be solved by using obligation as a tool.
Without setting things up in this manner, I'd have absolutely no shot at building one new 30 page site per week for 18 straight weeks.
And yes, these Martell-style sites are profitable. So much so that the first seven that I have put online all turn a profit even though I'm currently paying for ALL of my traffic via PPC.
I can only imagine what they will do when some free traffic starts to kick in.
The idea is to simply decide what you would like to make per year, then set a goal for each site to earn per month, (mine is $500/month - realistic and attainable) then, assuming that each site will hit your monthly goal, determine how many sites it will take to reach your yearly income goal.
It sounds easy.
It isn't.
But these are some of the things I've learned to do over the years in order to stay on the path. It IS worth it. In April 2003 I earned $1.60 US in commissions. 20 months later, I started doing this full time.
I began with SBI sites, and moved on to Martell-style sites from there. Both methods work.
Stubbornness and determination are more important then desire and motivation. As I've learned, obligation can overcome a lack of the latter two traits mentioned above.
If you have a "refuse to lose" attitude, then you WILL make it. It may take time, but you'll get there.
Hope this helps!
~Mike
_________________
Providing useful, helpful articles for 150 lucky people since October 2005
ArticleLightning.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
speedguide
Joined:
19 Sep 2003
Posts:
467
Location:
Palm Coast, Florida
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:00 pm
Post subject:
|
|
|
This it!!!
Mike's the new poster boy for determination... way to go my friend!
Well written.
All the Best,
_________________
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 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
