LinkNow Media Review
As a small business owner, you need a website, but the steep price tag of a custom website just doesn’t seem worth it. It's why you might be exploring template-based design agency options. LinkNow Media is one of those options, promising easy and affordable website packages for all kinds of small businesses.
But is LinkNow Media worth the investment? It may just be too good to be true, as there have been a number of serious allegations made in public reviews; “Scam!” and “Buyer Beware” are just a few.
Considering we are a company that also provides website-building software and services for small businesses, we thought we'd take a closer look. With our experience creating more than 150,000 websites, we understand what professional service providers need to strengthen client relationships and succeed online.
Below we present our findings, revealing a few issues with LinkNow that business owners may want to consider before signing up.
What Is LinkNow Media?
LinkNow Media is a Canadian-based web design and online marketing company targeting small businesses.
It was originally launched in 2009 because custom website design was far out of financial reach for many small business owners. Free and do-it-yourself options didn't quite exist yet.
After over a decade of operation, its mission is still "to provide small businesses professional and affordable sites to establish their online presence."
LinkNow Media has created three website packages, each of which contains an increasing number of basic pieces to support an online presence. A few features of note include:
- Photo gallery
- HTTPS security
- Standard logo integration
- Pre-written copy
They also up-sell add-on features to support broader digital marketing efforts, including:
- Logo design
- Social media management
- Traffic solutions
- Backlinking
A LinkNow Media final product is a glorified digital business card with cookie-cutter pages that offer the minimum of what consumers expect when interacting with businesses online.
Their offerings are notably lacking when it comes to online tools like fully integrated payments and invoicing or on-page conversion features like intake forms and banners, which turn visitors into leads.
What features does LinkNow Media include?
Fundamentally, LinkNow makes websites, but over the years they have added packages to boost online visibility and improve lead generation.
Web design
Their primary focus has always been website design and development, revolving around three core packages. All packages include a minimum of five pages, pre-written content, stock images, and a photo gallery.
Additional customizations are available, all with set prices. For example, you may wish to add more pages, photos, or even a Paypal processing plug-in.
Logo design
Just starting out? A new website might also mean a new logo. Which is why LinkNow also offers logo design services.
It starts with a questionnaire. Then, roughly a week later, a designer produces four logo options to choose from.
Hosting
Websites must have a place to 'live' online, which is why LinkNow Media also provides a secure and reliable web hosting service.
Hosting packages include other features, like webmaster and customer support, email, social media posts, and basic SEO.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
With a certified content marketing and SEO team, LinkNow Media can also provide monthly SEO services.
Packages include elements like Google listing management, local SEO, backlinks, and optimized pages.
Backlinks
Because backlinking plays such a significant role in SEO efforts, LinkNow Media supports small business owners with backlink packages in mini, large, and platinum sizes.
Packages include direct backlinks, blogs, and off-page links.
How much does LinkNow Media cost?
Add-on Features
A sampling of their additional features is listed below. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it provides context for how much money additional services can cost:
- Additional email: $20
- Additional domain: $60
- Logo design: $958
- Additional pages: $38
- Custom photo gallery with 100 photos: $300
- Custom content: $187.5 per page
- Business Facebook page setup: $200
Who is LinkNow Media best suited for?
LinkNow Media is a basic website design service best suited for small business owners who require a limited web presence. It may be a good option for companies that don't do business online but just need a landing page.
But beyond a basic landing page, most businesses these days need a bit more functionality out of their website. We live in the digital age, where customers have come to expect online conveniences like an online scheduler, communication, and even the signing of contracts. LinkNow Media doesn’t support this consumer shift.
It's also worth highlighting that LinkNow Media is not known for their customer service. In fact, they seem to have a major customer service problem. The public reviews on Google, Trustpilot , and SiteJabber paint a very clear picture.
Former customers are loud and clear across several platforms: "Scam Scam Beware of this company!","This company is a scam," and "Buyer beware.
Common complaints about their business include persistent spam calls, high-pressure sales tactics, and erroneous monthly charges. What's more, many customers say that when they canceled their service, LinkNow deleted their Google Business page and refused to hand over their domain, among other serious allegations.
With their outdated offerings as well as their problematic customer service and sales tactics, LinkNow Media may not be worth the cost or the headache. There are much better options available these days that aren’t haunted by all the negative reviews. Options like B12.
B12 is a total-solutions platform. We are anchored with a powerful website builder that provides features to engage clients better and streamline operations. And critically, we actually value our customer relationships. That means no high-pressure sales tactics or sneaky charges at the end of the month.
We aim to supercharge your website to ensure it's not just functional but an integral part of how you operate and grow online. We offer design, copywriting, SEO, and launch services to ensure everything is set up and published just the way you want.
You will be set up for success from day one.
What are the pros and cons of using LinkNow Media websites?
How good are LinkNow Media's pre-built website templates?
Unlike other one-stop site design companies that boast about the number of available templates you can choose from, LinkNow doesn't mention templates in their marketing. Although, based on their portfolio, it appears their designers work from a set of standard designs.
In their Website Gallery that showcases previous work, it's clear that the pre-built sites come with basic stock imagery, a limited number of templates, and pre-written content.
The pre-written content is generic and copied from one website to the next, meaning you could see exactly the same copy on your competitor's website. This is problematic as it does nothing to create a unique brand identity, but it also doesn't work for SEO.
By creating custom copy that exemplifies your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, you get an advantage over when Google and other search engines crawl your website. Duplicate copy doesn't demonstrate these characteristics.
It's also apparent that LinkNow creates web pages for businesses in the same industry that look identical, even down to the color palette.
For example, automotive companies all have a red and black scheme, while electricians get a green one. But, again, it doesn't help you stand out from your competitors. You need to differentiate yourself to stand out and to help your customers connect with your brand image.
There are also notable functional issues with many of the designs. Examples include images that block text, buttons that aren't fully visible, and slow loading times.
All of which is to say that while these standard templates may have been valuable when LinkNow Media first launched, they are beginning to show their age. They are also highly repetitive, which makes it difficult for individual businesses to stand out and show off their brand's personality.
Does LinkNow Media offer copywriting, design, or technical support?
Every site package comes with pre-written content for specific niches, including spas, plumbing, real estate, and many, many more.
It's pre-written, which means it's also copy-pasted from one website to the next. It's very generalized by industry. For example, a plumber's page in Ohio will have the same content as a plumber in California.
Although pre-written copy means you'll get your website up and running quickly, it's unsuitable for SEO efforts, which reward custom copy.
Technically speaking, LinkNow also doesn't provide custom site design. Instead, every package includes a set number of pre-fab pages, which they tweak to suit your business. Customizations include business details (address, phone number, etc.), logo integration, and a few others.
If you want additional customizations, they come at a cost. A special landing page configuration is $278, while custom page copy is $187.50 per page.
If you require technical support from LinkNow Media, it begins with an online chat through their support portal. Their support team is online Monday to Friday, between 9:00 to 5:00 PM.
However, it's unclear whether there is an emergency contact for urgent issues or if they provide ongoing site monitoring for uptime and availability. As a comparison, B12 monitors 24/7.
Every website package and the associated monthly service fee covers a set number of technical support hours. They then bill any additional time at $85 per hour.
What are some LinkNow Media alternatives for businesses?
When LinkNow Media first started, there weren't that many website builders available, especially tools serving the needs of businesses. That left many companies facing the high cost of custom web design agencies.
Times have changed since 2009. It's now easier than ever to build a website for your business, even if you need more elements than just a basic landing and About Us page.
For those with the time and motivation to build their own site from scratch, there's Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. As DIY platforms, each has pros and cons, but all basically let you launch your digital presence with straightforward drag-and-drop web-building tools.
What happens if you want a professional-looking site but don't have the time to build it yourself? And you also don't want to shell out for an expensive agency?
B12 sits at the intersection between DIY and a custom designer, which means we eliminate a lot of the heavy lifting without the exorbitant price tag.
Because let's be honest, you have a business to run and don't have much time to build your own website.
B12 delivers a mobile-friendly, search-optimized site that makes your company visible to potential customers. Our AI drafts your new site in seconds, and then we bring in design, copywriting, and SEO experts to put on the finishing personal touches.
LinkNow review summary
Based on the LinkNow portfolio, the fundamentals of a LinkNow design don't follow the latest trends or SEO best practices. Their websites also often have functionality issues.
Then, their reputation among their customers and even their potential customers is highly concerning. Across all review platforms, their customers repeatedly call the company a scam, and make pretty serious claims about vindictive actions taken by LinkNow when they cancel their services. The reviews make it very clear that there could be a risk associated with working with this company.
Considering the first interaction customers have with your business is through your webpage, it at least needs to function. It should also support all aspects of your business model, with options like client engagement tools and online payment processing.
B12 builds professional websites for small business owners to help attract, win, and serve clients online. We do more than just create a simple landing page. Our powerful AI-driven website builder lets you grow your business and streamline client management.
