This is a guest post by Sneha Rastogi who works at LinkBuildingWorks that offers link building services to webmasters. She is sharing this post today to guide us the right way that should be used by people when they participate in forums to build backlinks.
What do you think about forum posting? I mean how much do you think it has benefited you in getting backlinks? Are you one of those who feel that forum is a place just to drop links and then leave? Wait then!!
I think someone has misled you and you need help!! Forums, more than for any other cause, are for sharing knowledge and share ideas about topics we all are willing to discuss.
This does not necessarily mean that forum links are of no use. I am suggesting you the right way to go about forum participation, so that you do not earn a bad reputation. Believe me, it generally happens, when people just drop links to their website and leave. To achieve success you always need to walk the right path. Avoid participating in actions which are referred to as spamdexing.
Forum link posting can be arduous. But, it possesses value in terms of branding and the number of targeted visitors. Let us learn some ways of this process so that you play a safe part and win a fair game.
Signature Based Link Building
It is one popular way to proceed, and, posting forum signatures is a pretty clear-cut process. When you are using forum signatures, you are in a way building brand image. These signature links are the images, links, or text provided at the end of every post that you make on a forum.
Find forums that allow links in this section, especially those in which you can choose the anchor text. But you have to be very careful in this process, as; it becomes crucial to follow all rules on the forum regarding links in your signature. For example; you should be careful as to how many characters and links can be added, what is acceptable, and what is considered as spam. Also make sure that the forum is directly pertinent to your website. If done, keeping in mind all considerations, signature based link building can be very fruitful.
Sponsoring Contests
This can be another way to earn extra links through forums. There are many forums that put forward interesting contests like; photo contests, poetry contests, etc on daily basis. Give out prizes to the winners and get a link in return.
Few Guidelines:
Stick To Relevant Topics — Do not go for any forum that catches your eyes, just because you need links. I would advise you to stick with what you know or what will benefit you. If you are looking for a forum related to SEO, participating in a forum which talks about money making is considerably of less importance. Relevant information will bring you relevant links.
Interact On The Same Ground — While you are in a conversation, start off slowly, as, the group should not feel that you are trying to sell something from the start! It’s important to be participative and contributive.
Your Bulletin Counts — To pass on your voice you can start your own posting area rather than contributing to other places. By doing this, you can earn long term value. VBulletin is relatively inexpensive software and has proven itself as a winner.
Let’s talk about two significant advantages of forum links:
- Outbound Links Are Limited – All links to your website, which you have earned through forum link building, are placed on pages with 5-15 outbound links. So, you can relax, as, you are not “lost in the crowd.” What happens is that, if you are placing links on pages with a high saturation of other outbound links, users will overlook your link. But you have chosen the right option for yourself – forum posting. With only 5-15 outbound links, there is no chance of this harsh consequence. So, you get a better visibility for your links.
- High Ranking Forums – Forums usually enjoy high ranking, and forum links are quite valuable in search engine point of view as forums are continuously updated with fresh relevant contents.
Summing Up, As To Why You Should Use Forums
Forum posting helps your website attract a fair amount of classified traffic, get quality back links and most importantly you build a brand image through your valuable contributions to the forum. Forum participation can be effective if we do that in the proper sense.
Top 10 Search Terms:
• benefits of forum posting • The benefits of forum posting
Apart from back links benefit, if done properly without spamming, forum posting is an instant way to get more traffic to your site. Also participating in the forum you can acquire new knowledge and help others to find answers
As you Biodun, posting on forums mean for me not only getting free back links but also I’m trying to make myself useful for others by answering to their questions and trying to give them advices with their issues. I’m not pretending to be an expert; I’m just about the fact that getting more opinions on your problem increases the possibility to solve it.
Forum posting has done great things to online marketers around the globe. It has helped businessmen and women in the field of online marketing specially in bringing more traffic and backlinks. But it cannot work on its function fully with the right understanding and methods. Its a good thing to know there are articles like this that give simplified tips on effective forum posting.
That’s very true. Forum is a great place to build links and get targeted visitors and readers if used properly. I think the important thing to note is to always post in the relevant forum and thread.
In today’s world everyone one need to build their back-links for their site. And for this they found forum posting is the best way to achieve.But they did not know that if you are not a regular member of that forum webmaster will ban your IP or email. So try to be active in that.
I believe, from my experience, the only forums that can help you to get some traffic (besides the backlink) are the ones which are relevant to your own niche and are also good ranking.
I think forum posting can be a valuable way of getting both backlinks and traffic to your site, but I think it’s important to ensure you’re providing some value in return. That usually means posting on forums within your niche and sharing your expertise and knowledge with people – pretty much what forums are designed for.
well, i always used forums for just some traffic….but now after this post, i will look out for some more ways of making good use of forums
The problem with signature based link placement is that it is extremely easy to get banned doing it. It seems like the success rate is getting lower and lower as forums get smarter.
Forums are best way to get relevant traffic to your blog. But it is important to take care of few things like relevant and useful conversation and avoid spamming. Apart from that it is important that the conversation is easy to understand otherwise readers won’t prefer to visit your blog.
I agree that forum posting is effective not just in building links but also in driving targeted traffic. It may take some time to get good results from posting because you have to start from looking for related topics to your site, participating in the forum and being active, It is important to show other members that you are not only there to post links but you must show them that you are a part of the community.