There is no doubt in my mind that this software is highly complicated.  I am sure that it would take me hours, if not days, to do on my own in what this program tries to do in minutes.  Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations.

First, let me say that I really wanted this program to work.  If it did, it would be a huge timesaver, AND it would help me bring more traffic to my sites.  Who doesn’t want that?  Traffic typically means money earned.

Before using SEO SpyGlass, I read the instructions.  I followed them and generated my first report.  As I reviewed the seven steps my blueprint had given me, I was a bit confused about some of the steps.

So, I went back to the instructions to see if I had done something wrong.  Nope, I hadn’t missed anything.

Then I tried a different keyword phrase.  Things did not get better.  I tried five different searches, all with less than desirable results, which I will explain below.

I am not going to share the specific results I did that pertain to my own websites.  However, my final search with this program was made just for this review.  I searched on the highly competitive phrase, “Dog Training.”  I do not have a dog training site, but if I did, or if I wanted to start one (which I don’t), then I should be able to follow the seven steps and outrank any site, according to SEO SpyGlass.

Step One – How to properly optimize your anchor text

This is where I am given five specific anchor text keywords that I need to use when linking back to my dog training site.  (Anchor text is the word that is seen when a link is used, such as for Script Critics.)  According to SEO SpyGlass, the top five phrases I need to use to outrank my competition in search engines are:

1. dog training basics
2. dog training basics home page
3. dog training basics – articles
4. dog training basics.com
5. This is a word that appears to be in Chinese, or some other Asian language, which I am unable to copy and paste here

Why am I going to use the phrase ‘dog training basics’ in the four given versions, if I am trying to rank for the phrase ‘dog training?’  Perhaps there is a reason that I simply do not understand, but the reasoning is not explained to me.  And, why was a phrase given in a foreign language?  I chose the USA as my search engine country, so this just baffles me.

Under this list is a list of the top ten individual anchor text keywords I should use:

1. training
2. dog
3. basics
4. www
5. dogtrainingbasics
6. http
7. htm
8. articles
9. home
10. page

Really?  I’m going to outrank my competitors of dog training sites by using the phrases, “www,” “http,” “htm,” “articles,” “home,” and “page?”  In truth, only three of the ten terms are relevant.

Step Two – Increasing your site’s importance with Google

This step looks increase my site’s Page Rank (PR) with Google.  To do this, the program tells me what sites I need to get backlinks from.  Backlinks are links from someone else’s site to my site, and they should use relevant anchor text to be most effective.  The best type of backlinks are from sites that are similar to your site.  So, if I am trying to rank for ‘dog training,’ then the best backlinks for my site will come from high PR ranking sites that are also about dog training, or at least about dogs.

There are 20 domains that I am told I need to get backlinks from.  The program even tells me exactly what pages on each domain I should get the backlinks on to increase my Page Rank the most.  Here are the exact top 20 pages I am told I need to get backlinks from to increase my site from the following, in order of importance:

1. http://us.geocities.com/hdhava/ (relevant, but no method for getting a backlink on this page)
2. http://www.geocities.com/swhdaphne/DogTraining.html (relevant, but no method for getting a backlink on this page)
3. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006042433001 (relevant, but no method for getting a backlink on this page, as the question is closed to new answers)
4. http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/Biology/Zoology/Animals__Insects__and_Pets/Mammals/Dogs/Training_and_Obedience/ (relevant, and I could potentially get my site on this page)
5. http://www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Pets/Dogs/Training/ (relevant, and I could potentially get my site on this page)
6. http://www.squidoo.com/heateddoghouses (relevant, but highly unlikely that I could get a link on this site)
7. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=dog+trainig (I was presented with the following error message on this page, “Searched for ‘dog trainig’ No results were found in your search in Encarta.”, which does not help me)
8. http://kids.yahoo.com/ask_earl/691543 (relevant, but no method for getting a backlink on this page)

Well, I was going to provide the entire 20 sites, but SEO SpyGlass stopped going to the links.  This is one of the problems I’ve noticed as I’ve used it.  For some reason, all links stop working.  This is true of external links, such as the ones above, as well as links within the program, such as from one step to the other.  I then have to save my search, close the program, and reopen it to get the links working again.  Highly frustrating!  So, you just get the see the top eight sites.

On the other searches I made, some of the pages I was told to get backlinks from were not only impossible, but also completely unrelated to my site’s niche.  For example, one page I was told to get a backlink from was an ended eBay auction that had nothing to do with my site.

First, it was completely irrelevant, so I don’t know why I would even want to get a backlink, assuming I could.  More importantly, it was impossible to get a backlink from the page, as with many of the above examples, because there is simply no way to do so!

Excuse me while I restart the program so I can finish my SEO SpyGlass review…

Ok, I’m back.

Before I leave Step Two, I would like to note that, of the eight pages listed above, only two of the pages were ones I might be able to get backlinks from.  That’s a terrible ratio of good sites to bad.

Step Three – Finding high-quality link partners and getting more link love

This step is about finding other websites to exchange links with.  This means I put a link to Bob’s site on my site, and Bob puts a link to my site on his site.  As with backlinks (which these technically are, but in this case I am also putting links to other sites on my site, which I would not do in Step Two), I will benefit most from exchanging links with sites similar to mine, such as other dog training sites, or dog sites.

The program gave me eight sites that, it says, I need to get links from.  It must be these exact pages:

1. http://www.talewaggers.com/pup_in_the_house.html (this site no longer exists)
2. http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/potty.html (relevant, and it may be possible to get a link from this page)
3. http://www.dnet.net/wcdfa/ (relevant, and it may be possible to get a link from this page)
4. http://www.paw-rescue.org/before.html (relevant, and it may be possible to get a link from this page, though it looks very difficult)
5. http://www.petcareservice.net/index.htm (relevant, but no backlinks on this page)
6. http://www.ombr.org/adoptioninfo2.html (relevant, but no backlinks on this page)
7. http://precious-puppies4u.tripod.com/ (relevant, and it may be possible to get a link from this page)
8. http://www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/animals.htm  (relevant, and it may be possible to get a link from this page)

So, of the eight pages, I may be able to exchange links with only five of these pages, though one looks to be very difficult.  Not as bad as the results for Step Two, but also not great, given that the program said I need to exchange links with ALL of these pages.

Oh, look at that.  The links stopped working again.  I’m off to close it and open it for the second time during this review.

Step Four – Using articles and press releases for high-quality links and publicity

This step provides me with a list of 160 article directories I should submit articles to.  Of course, they should include anchor text keywords back to my site to be effective.  This is pretty straight forward, and looks like good information.

Also included are 96 press release sites that I should submit press releases to.  As with articles, I would need to include anchor text keywords back to my site.  Again, this looks like good information.

Step Five – Unleashing your competitor’s biggest traffic sources

This step is about learning which sites send traffic to my competitors sites.  It is another list of pages that I need to get links from.  I am not going to list these sites, as there are 43 specific pages.  The pages do look like I could get backlinks from them, so that is good.

Step Six – Tapping into social media to get traffic and links

This step is about using social media sites for bringing traffic to my site.  This is a list that includes 47 specific pages that I need to get links from.  The sites look like they are all relevant, with a good chance to get backlinks from.  That is good.

Step Seven – Using Internet directories to boost your rankings

This step is about what directories I need to get my site listed in to improve my site’s search engine ranking.  It starts with both DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory, then gives a list of 1,447 sites to get listed in.  Yes, you read that correctly, over one thousand directories that I would need to submit to!

The first six steps would be fairly time-intensive if I do as my blueprint states I should do.  My guess is it would take me about a week or so to complete them.  But step seven is massive.  To do this on my own would take months.  I’m guessing most people outsource this step, as I can’t imagine taking the time to submit one site to 1,447 directories.  If I did, though, I’m sure my site would benefit greatly in rank from all the links it would have.

In closing, I really wish this provided better results.  There are far too many irrelevant pages given (there were many more in my private searches than were shown in this example), too many no-longer-existing sites (there was just one in this example, but there were a lot in my private searches), and too many pages that are just impossible to get backlinks from, as there aren’t any or it can’t be done (such as eBay auction results).

The results are unreliable for such a pricey program.  That isn’t to say there is no value to it, as steps five, six, and seven did seem to have valuable information, but I could have gotten the same information on my own with a bit of research.  I cannot recommend this program, unless you decide to use the free version.

Pros and Cons of SEO SpyGlass

About the Developers

SEO SpyGlass is the creation of www.link-assistant.com.  You will find a suite of software programs, all geared towards helping you build a better site or improving your site’s search engine ranking.

Cost and Licensing of SEO SpyGlass

• One Time Cost: $87 (or, purchase all four SEO programs for $268 and save $20 on each program!)
• Research as MANY Websites as you like with a single license!
• Free Forum Access!

Read More and Purchase Today!

SEO SpyGlass is a post from: Script Critics