Why do some people prefer not to specify a direct link to their websites in Forums? Example, io of mysite.com, they state mysite(dot)com. I have heard it can affect SEO negatively? If so, how?
Sometimes you just DON'T want a backlink from a certain site.. i.e, if the site will make your reputation look bad. If the site has a bad rep and you're getting links from it, it can also affect your search engine ranking negatively. OR if the site has a lot of OBL (out bound links) as it is, that won't help much.
So if I have a N/A pagerank website and I am putting links on my site to give backlinks to some 9 PR site, does it mean that that 9 PR site is being devalued or disreputed by me?
Its not a good idea to post on warez forums and porn forums only if you have a warez site or porn site. Do not only use a link in your signature put some related keywords in your sig too.
As you are referring to forums I think you will find the majority of times you see this it would be because the forum or forum section does not allow direct links. Or it may be that the member is fairly new and the forum requires them to be around for a while or have a certain number of posts before being allowed to add a URL to a post. Therefore by typing the the URL in the format of Google dot com instead of linking directly to the site they are abiding by policy but still allowing people to manually visit the link if they choose to.
there is also the consideration of "bad neighborhoods" here - probably the reason in the case imo ....
pcxmedix wrote: OK, I understand that point if you are participating on Scam, Porn or "bad neighbourhood" Forums. Example, Scam.com, the Googlebot is there all the time & will start associating your website link with Scam.com, which you might not want. Case Scenario: You're a SEO Website Developer with good Rep, create websites that gain PR with Google. You sell your services/websites on good rep Forums (ie DP) but you don't provide direct links to the Sites/Domain Names you sell? Plenty cases on DP, why? http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=726563 In this case the OP will only PM the link, claims it is because it is a niche market?
After your site get to a certain point, you don't know how a link from this forum will affect it (forums have lots of outbound links some times can cause a negative effect IMO).. So it is easier to do go [dot] com instead of giving it a link and not know what it is going to do to your rank! But if you have a new site, forums links helps google spider your site really fast! I just don't use forum links on my other more aged sites...
Tks for some good replies, reps added. Great Question! I've heard most sites welcome hotlinks but yes, if you are a "bad neighbourhood" how does it impact the PR9 site?
Sorry but most of what has been posted here is bull****. A link in a forum cannot harm your site, regardless of the forum! This is a very common misconception. If this were true, then your competitors could link to your from warez, porn and illegal forums to hurt you. http://www.alexpoole.name/seo/200/are-top-10-google-positions-really-that-hard
Wrong, wrong, wrong! How many times do people have to be told! An IBL cannot affect you negatively. It might not benefit you, but it certainly will never, ever, ever, ever (ever!) affect you negatively.
Theres the answer. When people write their URl out and do it like that they are not trying to get a backlink. If you want the link back credit you put your link text for best effect.
You PR always affected if you make a link with let you have pr2 website. then you have 100 of pr0 linked to your page. Your pr wont increased on next google update well it might increased but it will take time to get pr 5 or 6. I think there is mathematical calc for pr on the net.. you can look for it..