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Most website owners know how important it is to build links back to their website. Not only do the links help increase website traffic, but they also increase their sites “link popularity” rating which translates to better search engine rankings. Since search engines (especially Google) are generally viewed as the holy grail of traffic, building links is usually a priority for website owners. Link building almost always requires ongoing effort and it can often be time consuming and even difficult. As a result, link brokers, linking services, and text link marketplaces became available. This review will focus on TNX (pronounced “thanks” as in text message speak), how their system works, and how it can benefit you.

What’s TNX all about?

TNX is a link service that brings webmasters and advertisers together for their mutual benefit. The TNX advertising service helps website owners gain targeted traffic and boost their search engine rankings. Their webmaster publishing service provides a lucrative income opportunity for website owners. In addition, TNX strives to reduce the dependence on search engines and to improve the quality of the search results for TNX member websites. The TNX system is based on points and the cost of buying links is very reasonable. Currently, 1,000 points is about $1.50. This can get you one link on a PR 5 website or five links on PR 3 websites. Sound good? Well, there’s more!

When you visit the TNX website, you’re greeted with a cool blue theme and the advantages of joining as either a website publisher or an advertiser. There’s no cost to join and the registration form is incredibly easy to complete. A confirmation email is not required during the signup process, so you will be presented with the opportunity to login immediately. Once you’re logged in, you’re greeted with the TNX dashboard that includes the TNX system stats, helpful links, and a very easy-to-use side bar (see below).

For Webmasters:

Website publishers will find setting up their website is a breeze. The two-step process is simple: 1) add the code to your site, and 2) add your site to TNX. I wish everything were so easy! Installing the code to your site is usually a simple cut-n-paste process. However, TNX does provide a few trouble shooting tips in this section as well as live chat support and 24/7 support in their forum. Adding your site to TNX involves another easy-to-complete form where only the most basic information is required. It takes 1-3 days for your site to be approved.

One main advantage of the TNX system is that they offer you the ability to sell links on every page of your website, instead of just the main page. They can automatically sell links to thousands of advertisers for you, while still offering you the flexibility to choose the advertisers yourself and place only relevant site links on your site pages. Most text link marketplaces only offer the ability for advertisers to choose publishers. So, having a marketplace where publishers choose advertisers gives TNX members an incredibly versatile link building environment.

For Advertisers:

Creating an ad campaign is accomplished in only 3 steps, though I admit the panel and the process are a little more involved than the publisher panel. It includes setting certain parameters, such as site category, Yahoo Backlinks, Geo Targeting, and Google PageRank. TNX provides a convenient calculator that displays how many links you can get based upon your chosen parameters and your spending plan. You can then create your campaign in simple or advanced mode. Simple mode involves completing the form they provide. Advanced mode involves uploading a text file containing your ads or using their free Link Generator tool. This tool allows TNX members to create a variety of link anchor words so that the links appear very natural. This is a crucial link building factor when striving to boost your website rank on the search engines.

TNX advertisers will also need to fund their TNX account in order to run an ad campaign. The current price of 1,000 TNX-points is $0.75 - $1.50 depending on the quantity you buy. The basic price of $1.50 is if you buy points for less than $50. A 20% discount is offered for purchases of $50 and above, and a 50% discount is offered on purchases of $100 and above. When funding your account you should keep in mind that link prices are monthly. Funding methods are Paypal, bank wire, certified check or money orders. TNX also offers a money-back guarantee in case you are having trouble understanding how the TNX system works. TNX link prices are the lowest I’ve seen and probably on the market. For about $11 a month you may get up to 10,000 static links to your website! I think many advertisers will see the $100 funding option as the smartest option considering it provides 100,000 points with the 50% discount and the ability to build many, many links with a variety of PageRanks for a few months.

For Affiliates:

For those not interested in selling text links on their site, you can still benefit from being a TNX member. They offer an affiliate program that includes the ability to earn 13.3% of all the points generated by webmasters that you refer. You will also receive 5% of all payments made by advertisers you refer. And if you don’t want to use the points to advertise your own site, TNX offers you the option to sell the points (either to TNX or another user). They provide affiliates with banner ads and the ability to direct link on other sites, which is something I’ve never seen before. This feature allows you to link to the TNX main page and completely disguise the fact that your link is a referral link. Very cool.

There are a couple of issues…

Even though I find the TNX website to be a nice shade of blue (one of my favorite colors) it doesn’t grab me at first look. There’s just no pop. For a system as powerful as theirs the color doesn’t matter that much, but just a simple change to a more vibrant blue could make a big difference. Also, and this is a pet peeve of mine, the website copy has a few spelling and grammatical errors. I found a few on this page which I’m sure has been read quite a few times. However petty as it may seem, this makes the site appear less professional than it really is. My final issue involves the recent attack that Google has launched on paid linking and how it has scared many website owners. Although many credible sources have shown that Google cannot determine the difference between paid links and natural links (unless made blatantly obvious), TNX might want to include some articles on their site to address this issue. It may convert the nervous “on-the-fence” site visitors and perhaps calm the fears of any anxious current TNX members.

My final overall impression:

All-in-all, I found the TNX system to be incredibly intuitive. The easy-to-use user panels are a breeze compared to their competitor’s, LinkWorth. There strict advertising guidelines also set them apart and makes them more appealing. Knowing I won’t have to worry about getting links from gambling or spam sites is a relief! The absolute intelligence behind the linking system itself creates a powerful opportunity for many website owners to achieve traffic and rankings goals they may have been working towards for a long time. And the manner in which they build links and encourage members in the process (slowly and with varying anchor text) is fantastically smart. I believe this very critical factor gives them an edge over their other competitor, Text Link Ads. Knowing what a challenge it is to build links, I definitely recommend TNX. Joining promises to be a good choice for both publishers and advertisers alike. And, with their juicy free link offer, you can join now and test the benefits of their system with no upfront costs.

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Tags: link building, text link ads, TNX

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