What do I mean by "automated"? I'm referring to software which doesn't require human intervention. You click a button and it's off to the races. I'm not referring to software which helps you manage, submit, or track link submissions.

We all know that software can make life a whole lot easier. But, when you depend on software to make choices for you, you start giving up control of your linking process. And giving up control can only lead to one thing—trouble.

Decide for yourself if using automated linking software is worth the cost; in terms of money and search engine rankings.

Con: You don't have much control over where your links will be placed unless you manually approve each placement. But then, that's the point of automating the process, so you don't have to perform manual approvals.

Pro: It's easy. Let's be honest "1 million backlinks in days" is tempting. You can set and forget.

Con: It violates your natural linking profile. When you submit hundreds, or thousands, of links simultaneously, what do you think search engines do? They cringe. There's no way a human can submit thousands of links in a day or even few days.

Pro: It's inexpensive. You can buy most linking software for as low as $50 up to as high as $150. For thousands and thousands of back links, it's very inexpensive.

Con: It violates many sites' terms of service. More and more sites are turning down automated linking programs. As more sites turn away linking software, it will become much harder to find quality linking partners.

Con: It's not healthy for your website in the long run. Many search engines are discounting massive, automated link profiles. You may not get banned but you'll be wasting a lot of time with worthless links.

Con: It's not being used by webmasters who are getting high search engine rankings. If you want to do search engine optimization right, then you have to take the time to learn and work.

Most new webmasters who don't educate themselves about proper search engine placement succumb to these software fads. Once a new webmaster realizes he needs to get backlinks to get ranked well, his next task is to figure out how he can do that with the least amount of money and in the shortest period of time.

With the time, and money, that a webmaster spends on the latest linking software, he could have been learning legitimate backlink techniques. Or, he could have outsourced the task to a legitmate company.

I'm continually amazed at the obstacles people put in front of themselves by trying to "buy" something that does the work for them. What they don't realize is that every other new webmaster, or marketer, has tried the same thing with minimal success.

I hope you realize that "inexpensive" and "quick" are not good enough reasons to spend your money on automated linking tools.