Backlink Solutions Review
Overview
Backlink Solutions is a different breed of article marketing tool. It is really a hybrid of a traditional spun content submitter like Unique Article Wizard and a blog network poster like LinkVana. It shares some things in common with both, though it is actually unique in this round up of tools.
Like LinkVana, Backlink Solutions uses small snippets of articles (as is the Backlink Solutions nomenclature, personally I like to call them “blurbs”). They are 150 words. Not enough to be a real article, so just a “blurb”. You get one link that you can put into each blurb and the nice benefit is that you can spin the content so that you can distribute it to many sites and get multiple links from the same piece of source content. This is one of the major distinctions between Backlink Solutions and LinkVana. LinkVana uses smaller blurbs of just 100 words, but you can only submit them once and they will only go to one site and no content spinning is supported whatsoever.
Spin Away
As has already been stated, spinning is supported in Backlinks Solutions. However, I did notice that it is not fully supported as in most tools. Nested spinning is not supported and will yield garbage content. Nested spinning is where you spin content within other spun content, or, in other words, two levels deep of spinning. The program only supports single level spinning. Not a huge problem, but a limitation nonetheless.
Spinning is not required, though I would highly recommend it as it will give you more bang for your buck for sure by generating multiple links per post. One thing that is unclear is that there are no recommendations whatsoever as to how many spun versions you should generate. It is unclear if you should spin 20 versions or 200. Clearly part of this is common sense and would depend on how “spun” your content is, but the point is it’s just not clear on where that benefit is maximized. The spinning syntax is standard for the industry, so there are no surprises there and common spinning software like Magic Article Rewriter can output in the format used by Backlink Solutions (provided you do not do multiple levels of spinning as discussed earlier).
The Structure
You start off by writing a standard snipet of 150 words or more. After that you apply links to the snipet in a clumsy but effective manner. There are a couple of input boxes where you specify the keyword you want to link and the link URL and it will create the link for you. I say it’s kind of clumsy because most programs like LinkVana or MyArticleNetwork just have a simple link editor that you use that is much more elegant and easier to use.
After writing the snipet, you generate it and an intermediate data format is created that you use to send out to the distribution sites. As stated above, you can also choose to “spin” the snipet content if you so desire. Next comes the awkward task of copying and pasting the snipet into the submission form. I’m not sure why the software can’t handle this on its own, but it is rather tedious and annoying. After you do that, you can select a “preview” to make sure that everything appears correct. The problem is, if it isn’t, you don’t have a copy to go back to. The instructional video actually tells you to make a copy and save it in notepad in case there are any issues. Well, let me tell you, the first time I went through this there were many issues. First it has a box for three links, but you are only allowed one. Then came the realization that there was no “going back” and I had to rekey stuff in again. Next came the seemingly simple yet oddly mysterious task of adding a title. You would think there would be a standard input box for the title, but there isn’t. You have to read all of the fine print on their intermediary format to see how to include the title – again, odd and cumbersome. A great deal of time was spent the first time through trying to figure out all of these little oddities such as finding out how to add a new project – the instructional video never mentions it. It’s right there, but it is also easy to miss the first time through.
Lastly, you assign the snipet to a project, choose one of the twenty-one categories and a publication drip date and set it to publish. You can later alter the distribution rate of publication – how many links per day go out – from a separate view of the active projects.
Other Features
Backlink Solutions also supports the publishing of full length articles with two links per article instead of just one for the 150 word blurbs. The problem I had was I am not sure what a “full length” article is as it is not specified. I’m sure if you create a large enough article it will not “error out” with two links and you can discover what that limit is. I would speculate that it is probably around 400 words, but I don’t know that for a fact. For me, the less I have to write the better, so I just use it for the 150 word blurbs, spin them for maximum effect and call it a day. That is the strategy I would recommend as well. Call me lazy, but I didn’t find that article size requirement anywhere on the site and since I am most interested in the smaller blurbs anyway, I didn’t ask support.
Another feature that you may wish to take advantage of is the built in outsourcing feature. You can purchase snipets written for you on the keywords of your choice for a payment of $2 each. This is handy and easy enough to do, but a little on the pricey side.
The Results
In general we really like Backlink Solutions, even though the tone of this review might lead you to think otherwise. It is much cheaper than LinkVana and it offers spinning to the content which allows for more links easier. It is definitely far less of any elegant interface than LinkVana, however. LinkVana is clean, elegant, fast, intuitive and easy to use. Backlink Solutions unfortunately requires you to jump through a lot of hoops and requires you to write 50% more content (150 word posts versus 100 word posts for LinkVana). The question is, is it worth it?
Right now the jury is still out. I believe the answer to that question is “yes” it will likely be worth the extra submission hassles in order to reap the benefits of more links. It would, however, be nice to see a more elegant and functional design.
What We Don’t Like About Backlink Solutions
As I’ve detailed in the review, my only real gripe is just the clumsy nature of the software itself. The product appears to be solid and I believe it is a good value when compared to its nearest competitor, LinkVana. It offers similar features and only 2/3 of the cost and more features with the support for spun content as well. What I would like to see, however, is a complete overhaul of the functionality of the tool and a better instructional video to get you started quickly.
The software is a hosted online program and so it gets high marks from us for that – we are not big fan of standalone software programs requiring local installation and administration. With some programming and polishing it could be a top notch tool, but as is it gets average marks for usability and above average marks for functionality. The real truth is that you will have to be the final judge and fortunately they do have a 21 day trial period, so you can take a test drive for yourself and see if you agree with me or feel I just had too much caffeine today!
Pricing
The pricing for Backlink Solutions is very competitive at $97. When compared to its nearest competitor, LinkVana, it is approximately $50 cheaper. When compared to others, MyArticleNetwork is $47, Unique Article Wizard $67, etc… it falls in the middle of the pack. But all in all, it is a fair price for a solid product.
**NOTE** Backlink Solutions is currently closed to new registration. Membership to Backlink Solutions is strictly invitation only once a month as a few spots open up. To be invited to join you must click through to their site and place your name and email address in. They will email you a backdoor link each time they reopen.
Backlink Solutions Bonus Offer
Backlink Solutions is amazingly powerful, but writing a bunch of short posts everyday can be a chore, so as a bonus to you if you buy through our link we are going to assist you with that. If you purchase Backlink Solutions through our link we will send you five (5) FREE SPUN Backlink Solutions snippets each month you stay subscribed to Backlink Solutions. The snippets are provided by ArticlesOnTap.com, so you can be assured they are top quality, 100% unique and spun snippets of at least 150 words each, which is what is minimum required for a Backlink Solutions post – Each snippet can give you a multitude of posts and links. You wont get a Backlink Solutions coupon code, just a killer bonus you can actually use and you will also receive a 10% off coupon code for any future orders of Backlink Solutions posts from ArticlesOnTap.com. To redeem these bonuses simply click one of the orange buttons to visit Backlink Solutions, make your purchase and forward your confirmation email from Backlink Solutions on to support@articlesontap.com with the subject of give me my bonus. Once we confirm your purchase was made through our link, you will receive your bonus.
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On February 2, 2010 loss weight naturally wrote:
I like linkvana better, I had better results, and much easier interface with linkvana.
On February 10, 2010 john wrote:
Agree with previous reviewer, I left Linkvana for Backlink Solutions to save $50 a month…… I went back to Linkvana. The interface wasn’t as good, the blogs seemed to be better at Linkvana too. The grass isn’t always greener.