Forum Link Building tips (it's not just your signiture!)

It only takes a few moments to fill out the registration on a forum, and only a moment longer then it would take to fill out a directory.

A directory in many cases is a one shot deal and can often cost money on a monthly basis. Money I currently don’t have. It’s wonderful to get a linkback from directories, so it’s certainly worth it to be a part of as many as possible, but that often includes only the free ones. A directory can also offer some valuable Page Rank, rank that’s often worth paying for (but again, I have no cash).

Forum links on the other hand are free, well, in most cases. Deep linking is also an option, as well as multiple links! Though, rather then money, forums need a certain amount of time invested.

Here is my schedule for time…

• First, you’ll need a valid email address. I personally use a junk one from Yahoo…I hate it when a forum sells my email, and many it seems do.

• Secondly, you need to find forums in your niche. You can do this one of several ways, I generally search for “my niche” + “vbulletin” or “phpbb” or even “forum” this should pull up at least a handful of forums within your specialty that you can join.

• Third of course would be to join the forums. Immediately after joining the forums fill in your profile, even include a nice avatar (not one with an ad). You can even put in your yahoo IM info (like anyone cares, and it won’t matter if you are using the one from your junk email). This shows you are a real person and people will take you more seriously. Don’t forget to fill in your webpage and your signature!

You can stop here if you wish, our home page link and signitures MAY be counted as a linkbacks. More power to you if that is the case, though in most cases now-a-days admin are cleaning house every few months to clean out the spammers. If you think this may be the case, move on…

• Find the forum for introductions, and introduce yourself…again, this proves you are a caring human interested in the community. Your thread will get bumped a few times as people say hello, with luck it’ll be on the main index when Google crawls by…

• Click the MEMBERS link and find a post whore (people like them it seems, they generally have lots of rep. Also, most post whores are admin or mods…and it’s always nice to befriend them.). Once a post whore is found that you like the name of, click into their profile, then click on either their posts or the threads they’ve started . This will give a list of generally current topics, which can be easier then scrolling forum by forum.

• Find a topic that interests you, post something RELEVANT in it.
  

• Repeat the last two steps once a month. This will give you a new relevant link back monthly, as well as the one in your profile. It’ll also keep your account active in the eyes of admin. And the time it takes is often less then the price of many directories.

Additional Options:

• After a few months, find sticky threads that list “useful resources” and post a link to yours.
• Actually become active on the forum for a few weeks/months…this will certainly bring more attention to your signature and/or any relevant links you can get out.
• If you are recruiting for a forum yourself, then gain a few friends, pull them in…many forums offer ‘gold accounts’ and if you can grab a few of those, many will pay for each forum they are a member of.
• “Sitcky threads” will gain in PR faster then others. If you can, try to sneak a link in (even if it’s your sig) on page one for the best effect, failing that, look for the default post cut off and try to land your post on the top of a new page.

Find more forums, and then repeat the entire process. Once you’ve registered and the time it takes to get that out of the way, finding a new thread to post in will only take 5 or 6 minutes. An hour a month will result in 10 link backs…you can likely speed the process along if you just post worthless drivel like “good post!” or “well said”

Regardless though, BE HUMAN and I can not stress that enough, and don’t SPAM. In many cases I search for new user’s names on my forum. If I see nothing but spam from them I’ll ban them before they can bother editing their profile.

Have fun on the forums!
Q

 

Nice simple link tips. Well thought out. I am sure alot of new people will like this post.

 

your opinion on "Sitcky threads" were really intreting. i'm glad to read it. but do not apply it on dp forums

 

Nice list of tips there. Thanks for posting them.

 

that's reason why most sticky thread are closed or blocked

 

I was going to edit these into the first post, as I thought I had a 24 hour window (based on a post I read yesterday, but I guess that was old). At any rate, here are a few more tools to help with forums & link building.

General development and promotion:
Forum Link Building tips (it's not just your signiture!)
Forum Startup - How to Get Users
Forum threads submission to Digg
Find forum in your niche!!

Sig & Post Links
Want FREE Forum Signature Backlinks?
Forum Post's For Backlinks

Backlinks:
I just started developing backlinks for my forum... results are impressive!
developing links for a forum
Any other good forum to sell/buy links???

Other:
Why Google doesn't show the forum signature links?
How much do forum links increase PR?
Auto forum spammers
Poll: Which is best to sponsor? A directory, forum or blog template?


I’ve not listed any threads that seemed too specific, so it’s wise to search for whatever terms you are seeking (forum, link, signature). I’ve also not bothered listing any threads older then half a year. Some of the old ones ARE gems.

 

Nice one, i think most people made a mistake by go ahead and start new thread right after registration talking about their own site. Their thread will be gone in no time

 

very nice, very nice

Good information, I knew some of it, and didn't know some of it ...thanks for the insight!

i'd rep ya if i could...but i don't think it counts for me yet

 

Great Advice, I repped you for taking the time to put this together.

 

Thanks everyone! The nice comments are inspiring, and will likely lead to other helpful hints...

That is generally a bad thing, which is why I tried to stress being human. But even then, it goes beyond that...the real trick is fitting into the community. If you can look like you belong then you're links hold more weight to the community. If you have three posts and you look like a spammer, the only one that'll bother clicking through would be bots... And while that's not a bad thing, a GOOD LINK will bring in other people and bots. [both is best]
Q

 

Nice tips, thanks for sharing! Can I add them to my blog? I will link to whatever site you want!

 

Currently the only thing that comes close to SEO/webmastering for me is my posts here at the DP. My other sites are occult or pagan in nature (see sig) so if you'd like to credit, I guess it would be most fitting to link it back to here.

If you can squeeze in a link to any of my three sites that would be grand too but I guess it would look a bit strange if you credited those...

Thanks!
Q

** needs to get a webmaster blog

 

Not at all, posting it now!

 

sseppd.org/?p=51

Enjoy Dude!

 

does that go for the rest of us

 

Sure, but heh...maybe I should ask that you don't link to my forum (for obvious reasons )

Though, like I said, linking to this thread is just fine & dandy...

 

This is really excellent tips. Something I have been looking for awhile to help improve on my site PR. Thanks again

 

Yah, nice tips. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the additional compliments! It's always nice to know that someone liked what I wrote

If anyone has any additional tips for building links through forum participation I'd love to hear them!

 

This is an awesome thread Q -- thank you for your thoughts and generosity!