I have a discussion forum nearly ready to launch. So, I am looking at cheap & effective SEO which will get me some early members to kick-start my forum. What would any seo-sharpies advise?
Organic means you have something popular ie: your content is worthy of sharing... So unless you have something popular; Forums are very difficult to get going.... The only cheap way spend lots of hours on other forums/sites promoting yours... There is just no guarantee, and I guess that goes for all sites, sorta hit and miss...
You need to merge content, good content to keep the members keep coming with social media. Doing a strong bond takes time but once the work will be appreciated by searchers and Google, because at the end engine to appreciate the value, only then your forum will remain active. Keep one thing in mind, as a starter you need also to share before you "collect" something from your members. Digital Point, Dnforum and other top forums started all their quest with no fees or paid membership. Another way to boost the brand is to use PPC. This way you could grow your traffic fast, but again content is very important on coming weeks. If you need more assistance please let me know. Sincerely, Matt