This product review takes a critical look at SBI and presents a valid evaluation of this well-known site building program. This is part one of the review where we use SBI to build an actual site. Part two of this review will come months later when we examine how well this SBI site has done.

* Reviewer

First, you should know this review is coming not from a newbie but from an online professional who is making a full time living from the web. I approached SBI from this angle, there was nothing in the whole site building process that was new to me. However, I wanted to take a closer look at the SBI system so I purchased it to build my next site. There is no substitute for first hand experience in evaluating a product. Here are my findings and comments on SBI.

Site Build It was founded by Ken Evoy, a Canadian doctor who formerly practiced and taught emergency medicine at McGill University located in Montreal, Canada. Montreal is still the home base for all SBI and SiteSell operations.

Ken Evoy's SBI is more than just a site building system, it's a complete Internet marketing business rolled into one neat (if over stuffed) package. It gives you all the tools and knowledge you need to start and run your own web business.

I mentioned over-stuffed because the first impression is one of total overwhelmment. I have been in web marketing for over 5 or 6 years and the amount of information/resources here were overwhelming for me; can't imagine what it would be like for someone starting from scratch.

* Thank Goodness for Videos!

All this information and presentation of the step-by-step instructions, I believe would be a minor hindrance if not for the videos. Listening and viewing the instructions from videos in the 10 Day process of building a website makes it much easier to understand. Granted, I did all the steps in a few days since all the material was very familiar ground. This system is meant to be taken slow, (Tortoise It!) and gradually absorbed as you work through each well-defined step.

But if you use the videos for instructions, pick the female voice - I found the male voice had a somewhat irritating accent and it was hard to pick out some of the words. I am very tolerant of accents as I come from a remote part of the globe where we are often teased for having funny sounding accents!

SBI not only gives you the tools to build a website but also gives you a sound education in how the whole Internet marketing process works from the ground up. It starts you off on the right foundation and gives you all the tools and knowledge you need to build a web business. It helps you discover your niche or site concept if you don't have one before you start building your site or rather web business. It's this emphasis on creating a web business rather than just building a website which separates SBI from all the other cheaper web hosts out there!

It uses a C-T-P-M (Content-Traffic-PreSell-Monetize) model which will be familiar to any successful online marketer. Most already have some version of this format on their content sites: basically you start with providing valuable 'in-demand' quality content which brings in targeted traffic/visitors to your site. Next you have to pre-sell to these visitors in ordet to get that all important click which will monetize your site or content. This click could be to an affiliate product, Google Adsense, or even your own product.

I found several of SBI's tools to be very effective, mainly the BrainStorm It keyword research software tool. BrainStorm It will help you find the right keywords for your site or online business; these keywords are the building blocks that you must get right or it's game over before you even start.

I normally use Brad Callen's excellent 'Keyword Elite' software to find my keywords but BrainStorm It is comparative and just as good. BrainStorm It has to be a major plus if you're trying to build a successful website. It will quickly give you your Master Keyword list that will be the foundation of your web business.

* Actual Site Building

You have several ways to build your actual site in SBI - you can use the Templates and customize your header, nav buttons, background and footer. SBI even gives you online graphical tools to customize your graphics and images. These are fairly straight-forward and easy to use even for someone with no online experience.

If you're a professional web designer or simply know what you're doing, you can upload your own site's html files and skip the online site builder altogether.

Unlike many web hosts and site building programs, SBI doesn't stop after you have designed your site. Included in your purchase price are what makes SBI somewhat unique, you get the tools and marketing resources to actually build your newly created site into a profitable online business!

You get SEO help: your site is submitted to all the major search engines, you get a Sitemap for Google and Yahoo, you get a Blog/RSS feed to attract visitors, you get a contact/list building system or ezine, you get visitor analysis tools to help you improve your site.

SBI also places an important emphasis on monetizing your site. After you have built a ongoing site, it helps you with ways to monetize your traffic or site. After all your main objective is not only to build a successful site but to build a successful web business.

Please, don't get the wrong picture, SBI is not perfect. It is not for everyone, it may be too structured and formatted for seasoned site builders. Too limiting in its design, I couldn't help but notice that I myself have many different site design models/layouts that work and operate perfectly well outside of the SBI's model.

SBI instructions and resources may be too overwhelming and confusing for a complete novice. Some may even come away scratching their heads and wondering what all this online stuff is about. I believe the videos help in solving this problem but a more streamlined presentation would prove to be more helpful for the complete beginner.

The main problem is that SBI over delivers with a whole gamut of resources and information that a beginner may find it hard to absorb all the information and get turned off in the process. However, even the complete novice, if they take the instructions slowly and work at their own pace, will be greatly rewarded with one of the best online web marketing educations available anywhere.

* Online Community

Perhaps, in my opinion, what makes SBI worth the price of admission is the online forum community. Ken Evoy has gathered and nurtured a whole army of like-minded webmasters and online marketers with his 'Pay-it-Forward' attitude that has resulted in one of the best online communities on the web.

A wealth of online helpful information and people just ready to guide you whether you're a complete newbie or a seasoned pro. The true strength and power of SBI can be found in this ever increasing community of like-minded webmasters and marketers.

Moreover, along with all the tools and resources, it is this online community that truly turns Ken Evoy's comprehensive SBI website building system into 'Ecommerce for the rest of us.'

Copyright (c) 2007 Titus Hoskins