Web Site Diary
"Site Build It" On Test

I've kept this diary for three reasons. First, it spurs me on knowing that you may be reading this and expecting more web pages! Second, I wanted to share with you the experience of using Site Build It. Third, keeping a success journal like this is a great idea when you're working towards achieving a goal. You can reflect on what's working and what you need to do to improve.

8 SEPTEMBER 2005 Hello again! I've been off building other web sites and on other projects. When I look back now at this web site (my first), I can see that it's not that easy to find your way around. Apologies! I'm changing a few things to make it easier.

28 FEBRUARY 2005 February has been another record breaking month for visitor numbers. What's great about that for me is that I've spent very little time adding new content to this site as I've been busy building a new site. Again I've been using Site Build It for the new site. Like most things, it's even easier second time around. That's an important point with setting goals. They seem difficult at first but get much easier as you focus your efforts. Many thanks for visiting.

31 JANUARY 2005 January has been by far my best month for visitor numbers. Welcome everyone (1727 unique visitors) and thank you for calling. I've learnt a lot about how to get good search engine rankings over the past 6 months or so. This next year could be pretty exciting!

31 DECEMBER 2004 Happy new year to you! I wish you all the best in your goal seeking in 2005. December saw a 50% increase in visitor numbers to this web site so I'm delighted. Certainly 2004 has been a year when I started to learn what works in achieving high search engine rankings. And when you are seeking any goal you'd do well to learn from other people who have already achieved what you are now aiming at. That's been the secret of my success in 2004. Having said that, there's a long way to go in terms of what I'd like to achieve for my business on the internet - so 2005 could be exciting!

3 DECEMBER 2004 November was quite an interesting month. The web site did rise in the Alexa rankings but not by as much as I hoped. Clearly the competition is tougher the nearer the top you get - which is only to be expected. I have no doubt I will reach my goal but the original time frame I set myself is beginning to look very tight.

17 NOVEMBER 2004 Sorry about the break. I've been on holiday. That's a nice thing about web sites. They keep on rolling even when you're on the beach. One really odd point is that when I set my monthly targets for this web site I had no real idea as to whether these targets were realistic. However, most months I've hit the targets just about dead center. It kind of makes me think that the targets you set will influence the results you achieve - an interesting observation for goal setters.

17 OCTOBER 2004 This is a very interesting time in the development of the site because it is becoming clear to me that my goal is in fact achievable. When I started the site, I was determined to attract 5,000 visitors each month, a goal that I'd never achieved before (or even come close). I haven't reached the goal yet but all the evidence is pointing towards getting there, and my original timetable of 31 January 2005 is looking about right. I can tell you one thing for sure: setting this goal and working my way towards it has taught me huge lessons in how to achieve any personal goal. One of the key lessons is that success breeds success. Your confidence grows as you experience the achievement of your goals.

30 SEPTEMBER 2004 Another good 2 weeks in terms of visitor numbers and getting links from other sites. Also I've put my photo on the site. What's great about that isn't the photo - but it's the first successful attempt at putting a photo on a web site. Like a lot of stuff, it's a whole lot easier than I thought it was going to be!

15 SEPTEMBER 2004 The past two weeks have brought hugely encouraging results. A big jump in Alexa ranking, many more visitors and many more sites linking to mine. It's going well, no doubt about it. I'm very pleased. Not only that but I'm learning all the time. I really think I'm going to acheive my goals for this web site. Thanks for visiting!

31 AUGUST 2004 The past 2 weeks have been very encouraging. Visitor numbers have increased quite significantly and I've discovered a lot of highly valuable information about how to increase visitor numbers even more quickly. Also Site Build It now has a forum for users which is great.

17 AUGUST 2004 Site Build It tells me that visitor numbers are climbing steadily. I've been focusing on writing more pages for the past couple of weeks. The Alexa ranking is stuck at the moment but I expect to see a further improvement towards the end of the month. I'm also enjoying finding and reading more and more books on goal setting.

31 JULY 2004 Looking at my month end Alexa ranking I'm still on target. What I keep on reminding myself is that I've set a realistic timeframe for my goal - and that date is about 6 months off. There's a real temptation to want a 'quick fix' and to get impatient. To counteract this, I've now set up a mini-goals sheet for August. I need to keep faith that if I follow the right Site Build It strategy, I will achieve my goal. At the same time, I also need to be open to improving my strategy as I go along.

15 JULY 2004 Achieving your goals is easier if you copy someone who has done exactly what you're trying to do. That's why I'm using the proven Site Build It system. Also, that's why I've consulted another experienced Site Build It user. They checked over my site and gave me some useful tips which I'm now putting into practice. Also, they were able to confirm that it will take another couple of months to push up my search engine rankings. So I just have to....keep on going!

30 JUNE 2004 End of month report - gradual progress and on track for my goal. If this web site was a cafe, at the start of the month I'd have been at the door with my binoculars hoping to spot a customer. Now though, I'm seeing a steady trickle of customers. Unless you pay for advertising, building visitor numbers for a web site takes time. One interesting point - since I started this site I've changed how I approach my goals - putting some of the best goals tips to work. For example, writing down my goals every morning is great for focusing my mind.

15 JUNE 2004 Excellent news! Yesterday Site Build It reported the first visitors from searches on Google. Welcome to you! Just a few so far, but traffic building takes time. Also, I've been reviewing some fascinating goals-related books and audio programs in the past few days - stuff that I didn't know existed before starting my research for this site. I'm enjoying it - and let's face it, enjoyment is important for achieving any sort of goal.

8 JUNE 2004 Wow, time flies. I deliberately left a few days since my last diary entry but I didn't realise it had been two weeks! Site Build It tells me that Yahoo 'found' this web site on 7th June. It will be interesting to see whether they deem it worthy of a listing. Also Google has now listed a second page. This is all good news though I still see attracting large numbers of visitors to the site as taking another three months. See you soon...

24 MAY 2004 The good news: Google now has my home page listed. The bad news: it's not high up - yet. Well, it takes time, so the way I look on it, it's another step forward. My puppy is demanding quite a bit of my attention, but I now have 31 pages on the site.

19 MAY 2004 A few days since I've posted and I've hit the first major hurdle - about 4 days ago I took delivery of a 7 week old puppy! It's difficult to focus with a puppy on your lap or running round the office chewing files etc. When you're aiming for a goal you have to find your way round challenges like that. Anyway, it's slowed me up a bit but probably very good for my work /life balance. By the way, the Google 'spider' visited yesterday - a step closer getting this site listed by the Search Engines. By the way, I don't know much about search engine spiders - I'm just going by what Site Build It tells me is happening.

11 MAY 2004 Now I've got 17 pages on the web site. This is a time when I need faith - just like you will in pursuit of your goals. As expected at this early stage I'm not yet getting visitors to the web site. Why? - because I'm not yet listed by the search engines - because it takes them several weeks / months to list a new site. Site Build It handles all that stuff but it gives me access to see what's happening. So, on to my next page....

8 MAY 2004 When you're on your way towards your goal you many need to reassess some of the mini-goals and tasks you originally planned. I've spent the last day 'tweaking' my plan based on my experience so far in building this site. The key point was to reconsider which topics should be 'main themes', and which should be sub-themes. After all, I want to make the site easy for you to find your way around!

6 MAY 2004 I now have 11 pages up and running. After I'd put up the 9th I realised that I'd have to do a bit more planning on the structure of the site. With goals generally it's good to plan, but at the same time you also need a burst of energy to get going. The planning helps to make sure that you're headed in the right direction - and also that you have a logical route to follow. Otherwise, your early efforts can fizzle out.

4 MAY 2004 I've now got 5 web pages up and I've sketched out another couple. I still find the idea of the whole goal - building a site with 30+ pages - quite daunting. However, when I split this down into mini-goals of one page a day, it is much more manageable. I have experienced a learning curve getting to grips with how Site Build It works. But I have to say that it isn't rocket science. You just have to follow the Manual and read all the 'help' notes on screen.

29 APRIL 2004 I've just launched my home page (first draft anyway). All I needed to do was to type it up in Word, then save it in the recommended format and finally copy and paste it into SiteBuildIt - which did the rest. There's no stopping me now.

28 APRIL 2004 After a research phase I've chosen my domain name and Site Build It has sorted out the registration. I've also researched some pages I'm going to write.

22 APRIL 2004 Well it's taken a week to get Site Build It to connect to the Internet. I received excellent help from the support team who told me exactly what to do "press this, then press that" etc. It turned out my PC had a weird set up which had to be dealt with. Again, I was highly motivated so I stuck with the delay. And the good point was that I had loads of time to read the Manual. It is very easy to read and quite amusing believe it or not. I think that reading time will come in very handy as I have a better idea now how the system works.

15 APRIL 2004 I purchased SiteBuildIt and downloaded it. The first thing I noted was that the Manual was about 600 pages long. This didn't please me as I hate long Manuals. However, I was highly motivated to build a web site that made me money - so that wasn't enough to put me off.

If you'd like to know why I chose "Site Build It" to create this web site click here.

If you'd like to visit the Site Build It web site to see what it's all about please click here

MAKE YOUR GOALS HAPPEN
Ranelagh.
Precelly Crescent.
Goodwick, UK SA64 0HF
0044 1348 872491

©Copyright 2004 by Stuart Warner. All rights reserved.

Contact Stuart | Site Map 1 | Site Map 2

For more information on achieving your personal goals please click on Personal Goals to return to the Make Your Goals Happen home page.