It’s not often I decide to write a post about a website; however; I feel that this website deserves a mention. I am talking about textlinks.com who are currently giving free trials of their system to help website owners and marketers with their search engine rankings.

There are many websites that explain the importance of backlinks and how we should try to get relevant links for example Getting Hits but Textlinks.com have gone one step further making it easy to find relevant instant links in their thousands.

They do this as they already have a network of over 10,000 blogs that have already been optimised for search engines. A good example of this is my blog which is parked with their sister company seoparking.com Andy Mc As their network already has a large number of blogs, which most (assuming the owner has configure it properly) are already in Google’s index. This means that the next time Google indexes the blog again the link will show up.

There are thousands of directories out there that you can submit to, many of them free, but many of their pages do not make it into Google’s index you can swap links with other websites but if their link page is not indexed then your link will never be found.

Basically textlinks.com is a simple and effective way to receive a large number of relevant links instantly (but as all good SEO people know you should spread these over time to make the links appear natural)

It can’t be all plain sailing? I hear you say because if it was that simple everyone would be doing it. As I see it there are 2 main drawbacks.

• textlinks.com      ask you to subscribe for $99 per month, which will give you 99 links ($1      per link) which is fine for big corporations but small users may find this      out of their price bracket.
• Currently      all the links will come from 25 unique IP addresses, so after a short      period of time a threshold will be met where links are no longer improving      your ranking.

In conclusion I believe there is a definite value add from subscribing to textlinks.com for anyone trying to improve their website ranking; although how long that subscription will be, if you only have once site to promote, I am not too sure.

If you have a number of websites to promote then you will definitely find value at textlinks.com

Please email me if you find any irregularities with the information contained in this post.

Thanks.

Andy McDonald

I have used Belkin for many years and never had an issue with them, but a company is measured by how they respond when things go wrong.

I have had a Belkin Pre-N Router for the past couple of years, which has been fine until the last couple of weeks. When uploading a photo or I try to attach an attachment to an email, the router freezes and it needs to be rebooted. Up until that point the router works fine.

As Belkin products have a lifetime warranty I called their support line and they confirmed the router was faulty and I was passed to customer services to arrange the new router. This is where it all went wrong.

As I run a business from home I need an internet connection (even an internet connection that does not work too well) so Belkin said I had to return the router and then they would send me out a new router which means I would not have an internet connection for a few days.

• I asked them if there was a way of collecting the router when they delivered the new one – NO.
• I asked if I could collect the new router from Northampton -NO
• I asked if they would take my credit card details and if I did not return the faulty router within a week they could charge me for the new one -NO
• I asked if there was any way they could help me so my business did not have any downtime -NO

They asked me “If the internet is so vital why do you not have a backup?” to which I replied “If your process does not meet your customers expectations why do you not have a backup process or a work around?”

Conclusion

I have to admit I do like Belkin products; however; I would recommend not buying one as their customer service will not meet your expectations if anything was to go wrong with that product. Lifetime Guarantee? as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Links to this post on other sites

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/index.cfm?action=showthread&threadid=364052&forumid=2

Every now and again something comes along that just does not make sense. I stumbled on a website called Terminate the Rate which explains a few things about mobile phone companies.

When making a call to a mobile there is a charge levied by the receivers network carrier for the call. It is this charge that explains the high call charges and high contracts.

This is called a Mobile Termination Rate or MTR and is currently charged at around <strong>4.7p or more for every minute of the call.</strong>

The site suggest that you write an email to your local MP asking them to join in with the campaign, so rather that just sending my MP the same text as everyone else, I decided to write a bespoke letter.

It read :-

Dear Sir

I am local resident of Marton and a business owner, and I would like to bring a current campaign to your attention.

I am not sure if you are aware, but every time you make a call to a mobile phone from a land line or a cross network call a charge of 4.7p per minute known as a Mobile Termination Rate must be paid to the mobile network carrier.

I am of the opinion that this charge does not reflect the level of service they provide and in the current climate I believe it is time for Ofcom to investigate this charge and dramatically reduce overall call charges for me and other hard presses constituents.

I would like to ask you to lend your support to the Terminate the Rate campaign and sign the Early Day Motion (EDM) 1531.

After reading your website regarding the St. Georges Swimming Pool, I would like to add that I totally agree that Blackpool needs more swimming pools. My children used to take swimming lessons at St Georges, and as my wife does not drive we find it difficult to arrange swimming lessons for the children.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Kind Regards

Andy McDonald

I received a automatic reply :-

Thank you for your e-mail.

This acknowledgement has been triggered electronically and means that

your email has been received by my office.

All correspondence that I receive is prioritised and treated with equal

importance, so as not to discriminate against constituents who do not

have access to e-mail.  Therefore, please do not be disappointed or

offended if you do not receive an immediate reply.

You may know that there is a strict Parliamentary protocol that means

that MPs may only act on behalf of their own constituents.  My

constituency covers the area of Blackpool South.  If you are one of my

constituents please ensure you have included your full name, postal

address and telephone number in your e-mail.  This will help me to deal

with your communication more effectively and you will receive a reply in

due course.  Without these details it will not be possible to reply.

If I ever receive a proper reply I will update the post with the details.

OK, now its getting really difficult. When the lads at work are eating takeaway and at home the kids are eating sweets and chocolate I am finding it really hard.

I did have a night out on Saturday in Milton Keynes,  got really drunk and had a burger on the way home. Next day at work I had to have the obligatory morning after bacon buttie, but other than that I have been really good. Oh I forgot, chicken kebab on monday night, but after driving for 3 hours from Milton Keynes to Blackpool I reaklly needed something yummy.

17/06/2009 136kg

22/06/2009 135kg

10/07/2009 131kg

24/07/2009 126.5kg

03/08/2009 125.4kg

18/08/2009 124.8kg

I have found a  new simple meal. Tin of plum tomatoes, small tin of tuna, 1 pack of microwave plain rice and of course lashings of tabasco. I know most people won’t believe me but it’s really tasty

So while at work I am having baked potato and beans for lunch, with tuna rice and tomatoes for dinner. Sometimes I have breakfast (poached eggs an beans) I have stopped snacking and I am drinking plenty of fluids.

Its getting very hard when I am at home though, with the kids eating nice tasting food, my resolve is tested and I have to admit I do give in to temptation.

17/06/2009 136kg

22/06/2009 135kg

10/07/2009 131kg

24/07/2009 126.5kg

03/08/2009 125.4kg