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.
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• benefits of forum posting • The benefits of forum posting
I have kind of steered away from forum posting as it takes up so much time…I really would rather do blog commenting.. But of course forums and place like Yahoo answers can get a very targeted audience.
Sneha – Great tips on forum posting, especially when you talked about taking advantage of sponsoring contests.
I have seen a number of forums in the past that put together contests but I didn’t know I could take advantage of those contests in this way.
Well now I know and I’m going to give it a try as soon as I can. Thank you for sharing this tip with us.
Its a great Post Sneha..Really sums up the right way of getting quality backlinks from forums..Leaving a spam link almost never helps as it is usually removed by moderators…Thanks for sharing the info..
I’m with Mitz here. If link building is your main purpose for participating in forums, then it’s going to take up a lot of your time. I also prefer commenting on blogs over forum posting. Even with all the benefits this article listed down, the big downside to it is that you still have to build your name, be known, and have a reputation in a forum before anyone will take you seriously.
I found your post interesting but I have not had much success with forum commenting as a way of gaining backlinks to my site. I have at times, gone all through the submission process, only to find that links are no follow, or that signatures with links to a commercial website are prohibited.
I find it really difficult to ‘get a handle on it’ to be honest, but I do think that people should not leave comments anywhere, solely for the purpose of getting links, it should add something to the discussion or provide useful information for other participants.
However, having said all that, I had not really considered the fact that the outbound links from a forum page are limited, so having read this post, I will be trying to make some useful contributions in forums related to my niche. Thank you.
Very interesting post, we know that forum can give you additional traffic to your site. But you must need to participate and be relevant to their forum topics always give inspiring advice or point of view so that reader on that forum will be considering you as one of the interesting forum member and they will click your links..
I have just started using forum signatures and profiles for backlinks and have seen nothing but a decrease in rankings. I would say that using forums for backlinks is not the best idea. I hear that google has caught on and will soon be punishing those who have spammed forums with signatures on multiple 100s of forums due to the fact that no one can actively participate in forums like this. It is a dead giveaway for search engine manipulation. If you have used this in the past, my research shows that recently with the last google update they have a problem with multiple forum links. This is why I have lost ground. I am now spending time deleting these links just to get my name back. Spam is never good, neither search engine manipulation. The only way is good content that will help you develop natural links over time.
Hi Bebik, That is what the post is all about. The primary objective of forum participation is not link building. It is helpful in gaining and sharing knowledge. When you strictly follow the rules and regulations and share some valuable thoughts, ideas and knowledge. you obviously gain reputation , so the next objective is to build reputation (branding). Then comes links, you are allowed to add signature links, which is ethical. Many forum sig links are ‘do follow’ (except a few) and the back links you get are of course valuable. Forums are of high value in search engine’s point of view as these platforms are continuously updated with fresh content. Most of the forums follow strict rules and regulations and they anyway kick out spammers. Forum is not the place to run aggressive link building campagins :), though you can build some valuable links slowly, steadily as you contribute more and more as a valuable member.
thanks for such an informative post
i think forum is the best place to target the selected customers…but many from are not using this technique rightly but now after this great article they will surely found the right way to use this forum
One thing I don’t like about forum link building is that some forum sites strictly require new members to be active for few weeks or months, and should have a posted a minimum number of posts before you can add a signature. Forum link building is not a priority in my link building activities.
We all know that it can give huge backlinks and drive traffic to your website. What I like about forum posting is you get to talk to experts who are willing to lend a hand and tell you what to do.