Posting links on forums?

Will posting a link to my site on PR3+ forums increase my page rank?

 

It'll help.

 

What would be most succesful? Posting on directories?

 

Yes I would say so, as category pages in directories are generally more relevant than forum threads.

 

I would also suggest to post in directories but only if they are directories with PageRanked categories (there are many categories that have only PR on mainpage)

 

I would place forum signature relatively useful. However, go for article submission if you want something that has significant results

 

Do you really think a link on a page with near 0 incoming links, and 50+ outbound links is really going to give you "PR"??

The answer is NO.

It may however bring you small traffic from others browsing the site

 

Do you guys know any reports on that?

 

I submit to free directories and submit articles to article directories. That seems the most effective way to improve PR and backlinks. I'm also currently working on a link management plan to increase incoming links.

 

Signature links are great for real traffic, but don't have much influence for SEO.

 

Numb3rs: check particular pages, where you are going to put links. Don't check only main domains - this can be tricky a bit.

 

forum posts are good for traffic and not much else

 

-Posting in good forums
-Placing comments on blogs
-and so on ...

I will only do this if i'm really interested in the topic, not for PR or visitors only.

But I think these are good methods among others, so go for it

 

That's kind of a heads-or-tails question; the truth is neither will help you very much. Any link that's that easy to get doesn't have much value in Google's eyes. The whole concept is that each link is a vote for the quality of a web site, and a search is like a little mini-election, where the site with the most links generally comes up first.

If you don't have any forum or directory links, you might as well add some, since most other web sites have. But that should just bring you to the same level as anyone else; you want the types of links that I won't be able to get. Those get more respect from Google, those probably won't be on pages ( directory listings or forum messages ) with dozens or hundreds of other links - a page only has so much "mojo" to pass on, and it gets divided among all the outbound links.

Finally, the only thing I've ever done on a directory is submit my link. But when someone posts something intelligent, and their signature link interests me, I'll click it and check the site out. Occasionally I find a really good site this way ( or through Stumble, or by other means ) and link to them because they have quality content my visitors would enjoy. I've got links from other people the same way. These tend to be one of a handful of links on the page, and they tend to pass more link juice. Better yet, they're a lot more relevant, or targeted, or whatever term you prefer. My article on black and white digital photography has a few links to Ansel Adams and Sebastiao Salgado; people who click those links are a lot more likely than average people to be interested in b/w prints.

 

Very important! I've been doing a lot of directory submission lately, both paid and free. It's amazing how often you'll find a "PR5 directory" (or PR4 or 6 or whatever) that passes no PR on to the main category pages, and even more often passes no PR on to the sub-category pages.

Use any one of the many good PR checker tools. Copy and paste in the URL of the sub-category page you will be submitting to, and see what the PR is. Sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised. More often you'll see PR0.

 

A good amount of my links come from forum posting. It helps at least somewhat, since a decent amount of my google links are from posts on this very forum.

 

Yeah, I think forums are there to share information about a topic and not another way to increase PR or for SEO. I have just start this blog and posted site on the sig so to somewhat advertise so my traffic would increase. Every day is a learning process, I am glad to learn from forums like this one.

 

I would go against the crowd and say that forum link development is pretty good. Though you don't have to look at it with just the perspective of gaining links. It is a great way to meet other people etc.

You can post 20 posts on a forum and it seems to draw some weight from that forum.

 

As eXe said, it'll help! But it will help more if you know what you are doing with you're doing it. Take my signature for example. Mine is likely one of the worst sigs here at the DP...why? Because it's linking pagan sites to a webmaster forum...there are severe issues with topicality and relevance. (Though I must say, I have pulled in one member a month from the DP via my sig).

Regardless though, if you are looking for quality links or traffic, then find a forum in your niche, join it, and become a helpful member in that community. Many people DO read signatures, and people are more inclined to read yours if you are helpful, or rather, people are more inclined to care what yours is if you are helpful. If you are a pig about things no one will want to visit your suggested sites, they'll assume you are there

You should also look for the nofollow command, while you'll still get some forum traffic, you'll not get any perks from the big G. Before joining, make sure you can read the sigs, some forums have the signiture OFF for guests (which includes bots). This is even harsher then the nofollow command, as it effects ALL bots.

Lastly, keep an eye out for relevant topics where you can plug your sites, but try to never point or draw too much attention to your sig from your post (like I did) as in most instances people will take it as spam....rather, simply post a link to your site (even if it matches your sig). People will be more inclined to click that way.

Of course, this has all be my opinion, all studies and tests done are based on personal experience (as well as several years of being a mod or admin on various boards). Regardless though, I hope I've helped...
Q

 

Blog Posts are a good fast way to get backlinks!