Any some of you may be aware, I have written a few articles that pertain to forum links (Link Building with Forums and Getting non-spam forum/blog links) and recently I have been trying to sell my signature within the various [WTB] threads. Though, strangely I have not gotten very many offers. I have since looked back into the threads and in many cases I have seen that others have sold their links within the same threads. I looked up their profiles, their posting history, and other things that people should be looking at. I was amazed at what people are actually buying, signature wise… At one point, the going rate for sig sales has been a penny per post. This rate seemingly no longer applies. Many are selling their sigs for much cheaper then that, and that is what people are buying… but many of those people are posting nothing but crap, yeah, they are posting 20 times a day, but is that what is needed or wanted? The way I see it, signatures are much, much more then simply a post count and posts per day. Though, if that is all you are wanting then yeah, buy at a discount. Though if you want something more then that look a bit deeper into things, it only takes a few moments. Post Count ~ The staple of sig buying, though see “Post Quality†below Posts per day ~ The second thing most look at. Again, see “Post Quality†below Reputation ~ A weak indication of how well someone is liked. A member with thousands of posts but a low rep can indicate Post Quality (see below). iTrader ~ For sig sales, this is actually not all that important, though looking for negative marks is a good thing, especially if they are over sig sales. Though iTrader is a better representation of trust then PR. I say that it’s not all that important here because it’s only seen in the BST boards and on the profile. Profile PR ~ The sig link in a members profile is a FOLLOW link, so the higher the PR, the more value the link should have. A member that started a month ago with 1000 posts with a 30 average likely has a PR0 whereas, a member that has been here for a year with 1000 posts and a 3 average may have a PR2 or 3. Much better in the way of actual PR. Post Quality ~ If you are buying a sig, then you should be looking into post quality. A member that posts “hello†in introductions, “PM me Details†down in link sales, and “thanks for the info†everywhere else is likely not going to get many humans to click their sig links. Yeah, they are followed by bots, but a low quality post IS rel=â€nofollow†in the eyes of a human! When you are checking the members profile click the “Find all posts by <member>†link below their posting stats. If they are nothing but one-liners, then they are not worth a penny per post. Thread quality ~ This is just as important as Post Quality, though much harder to come by. The higher your link is to the top of the page, the more weight that link will hold in the eyes of bots, and people that see it. A member with no threads started places your link closer to the bottom then the top in most instances. (This too can be found through the member profile) Post Location ~ This is actually really hard to tell in most instances, but they can be found on a limited scale. The Underground ~ A member that posts 5 times a day in the Underground is not doing you any good in the eyes of a bot…bots are not allowed in that board. Sticky threads ~ Sticky threads get PR, if the member has started a sticky thread, then good for you. If a member has posted on the first three pages of a sticky thread, not as good, but still better. Sticky threads also get read, a lot! Top of page ~ A member that has not started a thread, but is the first to post on page 2 (or 3 or 4) is almost just as good as the thread starter, as that places your link at the top of the page. This is really hard to detect though. You should be able to see that the quality of the sig link should stand for something. A person that has more of the qualities above should provide a higher Click Through Rate by humans, and the more humans that see your page the better, as it is after all about, traffic. So the next time you are in the market to buy sig links (for any forum) look a bit deeper into things and you’ll find that the several moments it takes to do that will provide you with a higher quality link that delivers more quality traffic and potentially better weight in the eyes of even the bots that find such a link. And remember it's not just Quantity you want as Quality should stand for something.
Wow, you put alot of thought and effort into this. I think people weren't willing to pay the higher price that your profile commands.
It's not just about me, though heh, it certainly does effect me. I really have no problems going below that penny/post rate, in fact, I've been trying to get $25 a month (compared to the $30 that such a rate would imply)... but I do find it disheartening that people are buying sig links from people that started a month ago that already have 1000 posts. Or people that spend most of their time in politics that get link sales for SEO topics... I mean, the link and where such a member posts are not very related, even if DP itself is on target. Even if I do not sell another sig link, I just thought I'd offer some advice that could in turn make DP a better place. If more buyers hold their sellers to a certain set of standards then that would in turn make these forums a better place. Gotta start someplace I guess
I would think that forum spammmer software has dented the prices, trust needs to be rebuilt gradually. Pete
That was a lot of thought into your writing. Although whatever you have said holds true, most of the webmasters hardly have the time to do such digging for a couple of dollars. Hence they take the easiest way out of post count and avg/day.
I don't know... sometimes I guess. But for many people, $20, $30, or more is a lot of cash. If I was going to pay that, I'd take the extra 2 or 3 minutes to at least scroll through their posts/threads at least. Check the profile (PR, Rep, iTrader) Click posts made by users, look at the first page at least, it'll give a rough summery of quality [hit the back button] Click threads made by user, it'll show the total number of threads [hit the back button] Click the send PM to user, make a deal Not much time at all for at least a quick glance, and certainly worth the cost in the long run... Though, yeah, if all one is concerned about is the numbers, then a quick glance at post count & average is maybe enough, but again, not as cost effective.
Some really good points there. I think people normally see the number of posts as the factor rather than a combination of things.
I personally think the signature links are bought on a basis of 'the more links at the cheapest price, the better'. Hence why n00bs would rather pay $5 to a guy posting 20 comments a day than $6 to a guy posting maybe 5 posts a day with +1000 posts already. Just my 2 cents.
Great list of things to consider. Thank you for taking the time to come up with this and share it +Rep
ah this is a great thread should be sticked anyhow also i believe reputation can help.. i mean if i se something nice on a high rep profile i click it
Kudos and sending over some greenies for that indepth post. Must I say, I so heartdly agree with you on the post count of many that leave spammy posts. Some who have 1000 - 2000 posts within 3 to 4 months and post 20+ posts per day and little rep. Many of the posts are non relevant or "pm me plz", "sent payment" et cetera. Majority of the posts are under 10 words or less, not even equaling out to a complete sentence. I do find that forum sig links sales is like the stock market as well. Or many are willing to pay when their "mother's day" checks come in from their affliate programs(nothing wrong with that). But sometimes it just matters when the money is in and what the buyer is in the mood is in.
Very few buyers look at those things even though they are important. Most are looking for cheap not quality. This not only applies to signatures, it affects most things on DP. If you look at content writing, most buyers look for a $.01 or less per word and then bitch when they get crap. It is all about cheap not about quality.