Overview Of LinksManager
Link Building Program
 

Introduction
Linking101 Overview
Reciprocal Manager Overview
ARELIS Overview
Zeus Overview
Feature Comparison Chart


LinksManager distinguishes itself from other popular link management scripts by running not on your PC or server, but on the server of Creative NetVentures, the company that runs LinksManager. 

This one fact means that the script requires no installation - no upload, no configuration, no changing of file permissions, no setting SQL databases, just establish your settings and go.  This has to be a big plus for those with little technical knowledge.

LinksManager is a subscription-based service which allows you to build and maintain a links directory for one domain per account. While can you receive link submissions, there is no facility to build your directory by using the interface to search for relevant link partners - if you want to to this, LinkPartners is a sister site which exists purely to allow webmasters to exchange links.

LinksManager - The Features

(for more detail, see chart)

  • solicit link submissions

  • build categorized link directory

  • review submissions before entry to directory

  • approve or decline submissions upon receipt of notification

  • delete and edit links

  • automatic notifications to approved and declined link partners

  • link verification

  • link verification reporting

  • check accessibility of reciprocal links

  • automatic link status notification mails to link partners

  • disable non-linking sites

  • find and disable dead links

  • filter sites

  • add links manually

  • link directory search engine

  • administrative search engine

  • automatic FTP page update

  • link rotation for fair exposure

  • import links from other programs

  • full site customization

  • assistance with specialized functions, including optional PHP & XML pages via "Linklets"

  • run pages on own server or under own domain.


Pros

  • LinksManager wins hands down in the war to provide a customizable program.  Its point-and-click interface is available in both Novice and Expert modes, so that virtually anyone can edit both the style and content of a link directory. Users can opt to have HTML checked by an integrated version HTMLTidy, but experience of using this validator elsewhere teaches me that it raises more questions than it answers. The stakes are really raised by the availability of a free "cosmetic integration" by application to the program's Help Desk.

  • Build in dynamic content such as PPC ads, newsfeeds, and random links using "Linklets".  If you require assistance, this is freely available via the Help Desk.

  • Many link directory scripts which operate remotely from the final location of the link pages require the administrator to manually update and upload the new pages to the server.  Not LinksManager.  Automatic database updates take place as soon as  any addition, deletion or editing is initiated by the  administrator or an approved link partner. Your account is scanned every 20-30 minutes, looking for these changes, with any changed files being automatically uploaded to your server.

  • Encourage potential link partners by highlighting the unique link rotation feature, which ensures that all links on any given page are rotated to ensure an even spread of visibility.  This means that links aren't penalized because they fall low down in the alphabet or because they are recent additions to a nearly full page.  With link rotation, all links are guaranteed a spot "above the fold".

  • Because it's not run on your own server, LinksManager is suitable for full use by administrators who run their sites from Windows servers.

  • If you're clever, you can use LinksManager for free.  Simply use your link submissions pages and notification e-mails to gently promote the benefits of using the program, and you'll get 1 free month for every new customer referred.


Cons

  • The LinksManager system relies on a link checker which "sweeps" each account on a cyclical basis.  This means that administrators don't have access to the on-the-hoof link checks, or scheduled cron jobs available in other programs.  Functionality of the program suffers badly as a result of this, because one of the things about building and maintaining a link directory, at least for me, is that tasks don't always follow the reliable order that the developers of LinksManager seem to have built this system around.

  • For example, I regularly requests from webmasters who haven't used my link submission form. If they had done, it would be simple, they couldn't submit unless my system (Reciprocal Manager) had verified the presence of my link on their site.  If I want to get a decision back to an individual quickly, I need to be able to make an instant link check.  This isn't possible with LinksManager.  Instead, I'm going to have to add his site to the directory manually and wait for the system to "sweep" my account, when it will tell me whether or not I need to send him a link status reminder. If he does indeed already have my link up, I'm going to have to send him a welcome mail manually, because the "Quick Add" option doesn't send out automated mails.  What a time waster.

  • I'm afraid my gripes don't end there.  I'd expect a script of this pedigree to allow fully automated mailing of non-linking partners, and by virtue of this, automatic disabling or deletion after a certain number of days or reminders, but LinksManager requires me to wait until my account has been swept, and then decide on the basis of the findings of the verification report whether or not to initiate a batch or manual deletion - I can't disable (i.e keep link details in database, but not visible in directory).

  • Like most other scripts of this nature, LinksManager employs the use of customizable e-mail templates which have tags to describe information which is automatically inserted from the database.  The one thing that link partners want to know if their link submission is successful, is exactly their site is located. I was therefore amazed to find that there is in LinksManager no tag or variable to automatically specify the location of a newly approved link within the directory - only the category.  Experience teaches this is never enough - time-stretched webmasters will mail asking for an exact link location - hassle you can do without.

  • Although it's possible to navigate from LinksManager to the LinkPartners site in order to get general information, I found it irritating that that I wasn't able to click a "Search For Links At LinkPartners" button from within LinksManagers if I wanted to track suitable partners - I had to make a separate visit to the site. I found this curious, since the two sites and systems are obviously very closely aligned.

  • You can't run multiple domains on your account - you pay a subscription fee of $19.95* /month per account, with discounts available if you're running more than three accounts.  This makes LinksManager a rather pricey option when compared to one-off cost programs with similar levels of functionality, such as Reciprocal Manager .  If you aren't able to take advantage of the referral scheme, in order to be cost effective, a link directory run under LinksManager will need to pull in monthly sales which are at least equivalent to the LinksManager subscription fee.

  • Be careful you don't fall foul of what I believe to be LinksManager's over-aggressive use of automatic filtering to determine which are and are not appropriate sites to enter their program.  Having signed up for a trial of the program using this domain for the account, I had only spent 15 minutes investigating its possibilities before I received an e-mail informing that my account had been closed because;

    "we do not allow affiliates sites with little to no content to use LinksManager.  We do permit sites that have a unique site design containing primarily unique content."

    Now, I'll be the first to acknowledge that this in an "affiliate" site, in that it exists largely to promote goods and services provided by other people, and as such many of the links on the site are affiliate links, but that does NOT mean that by definition, it has no unique content...I mean, come on, you're reading an original 7-page article here, and the main site is devoted to reviews and articles about the subject of dating!

    Before you write me off as a little sensitive, I should add that a quick mail to LinksManager ironed out any problems.  It turns out that this glitch acted as a very useful exercise in my attempt to review the system's features.  OK, LinksManager eventually accepted that my site passed muster, but this was hassle I shouldn't really have been subjected to, and it doesn't throw much positive light on the use of one of their more unique features - the ability to "blacklist" groups of sites.  My site obviously fell foul of that filter based on the type of links to be found on the site rather than the content which also resides there.  If it happens to me, it will also be happening to many other legitimate sites seeking to link to your site.

     

Summary

There's no denying that the developers have spent a lot of time building LinksManager.  What's impressive is that they've been able to integrate a complex series of features whilst retaining a simple-to-use interface. The result is an apparently sophisticated links management program that can be managed even by a webmaster novice - it's even possible to build a directory without having a website - you simply point your domain to the LinksManager nameservers and run your pages from from their server.

Particularly noteworthy are the options for customization and the degree of free support offered to build specialized aspects of your link directory.

Despite its veneer of sophistication, I was bitterly disappointed to discover the lack of flexibility in the arenas of link verification and disabling/deletion.  As I mentioned above, the absence of a link location in approval notifications is astonishing.  I would expect to see all these options as standard in a script of this calibre.

Compared to similar programs, this is a relatively expensive way to manage a link directory, especially if you have more than one domain, but as long as the service is reliable, it may offer peace of mind to those concerned about losing data on their own server or PC.


Find Out More About LinksManager

 


Introduction
Linking101 Overview
Reciprocal Manager Overview
ARELIS Overview
Zeus Overview
Feature Comparison Chart



 * Price at time of writing

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