a backlink is a backlink imo want proof? check the backlinks for relationshipheadquarters .com its got all these crappy crappy backlinks on websites that have NOTHING to do with its content at all--- nothing. yet it ranks higher than Oprah and DrPhil on a competitive keyword -- "relationship advice" I wouldnt believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes.
It's all about measure. If 90% of your backlinks are from non relevant forums, there is something wrong. Whereas if you have only 10% of your backlinks from non relevant forums, they will not help much, but they will certainly not hurt.
JMO, they actually help with or without being relevant. I'm assuming most guys saying they don't help is because they run forums and don't want people spamming even more than they already do. Your best bet is to do an experiment yourself. Target some keywords that you don't rank for and add then anchor text to your signature links. Do about 20 and check back in a month. See if you've increased in rank. Note: Start with a keyword that has little competition(under a million). Also, try and actually post relevant material to the forums you join. Webmaster's tend not to ban you once they see your actually participating in their community instead of exploiting it.
You will definitely get the backlinks from the do-follow forums and thus it helps to improve the pagerank.
agreed 100%--- I mean really, do you really honestly think there is some mysterious google formula that can tell the difference between related posts/forums/blogs?
imo yes, at least that is what is seems like when I do a search for backlinks on any website using backlinkwatch.com I dont see how google tells the difference
I would say it doesnt hurt your autoamted search engine rankings obtaining links from irrelevant forums. It would only give a chance for users of those forums to visit your website manually and thus contribute to free traffic. I am not sure how it is viewed by search engines though. How does the search engine know if a forum is irrelevant to your link or not unless it is extremely intelligent /genius?
I wouldn't really say it is the best. But you can always do them to bring diversity to your backlink structure.
Back-links are hyperlinks placed on another website which link to your site. The most powerful back-links are one-way, meaning that another website has links pointing to your site, but you don't have a reciprocal link pointing back to theirs. Using forums is a great way to get high quality one-way back-links to your site. These links can generate direct traffic to your site, as people browsing the forum click your links in addition to raising your search engine ranking and if the links are relevant to your site its better for you. If you like to learn more on how to use forums to build back links to your business website , here is a nice article on, this read it as it will help you to better understand about this , http://bit.ly/2SlvTI