Not sure how to take this review from Mashable. One one hand we should thank them for the review, on the other, they’re kinda rough on us. Dismal? Ouch.

So, do you think the designs could use some work? Send us a new design and we’ll brand it for you!

Our internal numbers tend to disagree with Mashable’s assessment.

ScratchBack is a new service that operates a bit like link-lovin’ TextLinkAds. One thing it does let blog publishers display and sell text links in a sidebar widget. If You click on the widget, then you’ll be directed to ScratchBack, where you indicate the URL of the site you’d like to advertise. Include whatever text you’d like to show when site visitors mouse over the link, and buy it.

The blog owner picks the price of the text ad, and you have a new, self-serving ad on a site you like. The blogger will still do the final approval of the ad. This should help curb the spam ads. What could also deter spammers is the fact that there are no refunds. Does this create a conflict of interest? Someone that does purchase the ad but is not a spammer could end up with empty pockets and no ads.

One current downfall of ScratchBack is the lack of a referral network (which is kind of implied in the name of the company), though there’s one on the way. The biggest downfall I see for ScratchBack is the unattractiveness of the actual widget and its “TopSpots” link ads. They don’t engage site visitors at all, and won’t be worth the money for some advertisers.

As we’ve seen with the past week’s announcements regarding ad networks and improved advertising options, it’s clear that marketers are seeking more ways to insert themselves into social media. But I don’t think the ScratchBack widget is the best way to do so.