I was recently explaining to a client that the best way to determine if a link is good or not is to ask this question: “If it weren’t for SEO and link juice and PageRank, would I still want the link?” And if the answer is “yes”, it’s probably a good link. Because answering yes to that question means that you’re not just acquiring the link in order to impress Google’s search algorithm in an effort to rank higher. It means that you believe that you’ll get some traffic from the link, or some exposure or even some branding – something that could lead to new followers, fans or even clients.

So when I hear the SEO community complaining that forum links are no good anymore, I have to disagree!

For my newbies, a forum is a site where users communicate with one another about stuff. For example, I was recently looking at lift kits and new tires for my Jeep. When I Googled the question “jeep tires 35 inches how big a lift kit?” one of the first results was JeepForum.com – a place where Jeepers answer each other’s questions about Jeep stuff. My question had already been asked and answered by other members. It was a great user experience and it’s the reason that forums rank high on search engines – especially for questions like the one I Googled.

So what’s a forum link? Well, it’s a link included in that conversation. Take a look at this example. One of the users is talking about the parts he had some success with and he linked to those places on the web where the other users could purchase them.

This is a great link because it creates a good user experience. If I’ve come across this page, it’s because I’m probably looking for answers, and these links may lead me to those answers.

Is it good for SEO? Officially no. This link is tagged as a “nofollow” link, which means that it doesn’t pass any link juice. That’s good for the forum because it keeps spammers from abusing the forum with links NOT built for a good user experience, but for their own evil SEO purposes. Unofficially, it’s probably a good idea to have “nofollow” links in your backlink profile. The Penguin algorithm proved that not only does Google judge links individually, they also look at an overall picture of all of your site’s backlinks. Doesn’t it look more natural to have some “nofollow” links in there? I’m just sayin’.

This is just one example. There are plenty of great forums out there that don’t tag their links “nofollow”. Those are great for traffic and SEO. They may not be the easiest forums to find, but when you do find them, if you can contribute something of value to the conversation, and if you can place a link without appearing too commercial or spammy, and if the moderator allows it, THAT’S A GREAT LINK!

[Read “How to Post Links in Forums Without Creating Spam”]

In accordance with my 99% education / 1% advertising policy, I’ll add this one last statement: I may happen to know some folks who have the “in” on several of those great forums that allow links and don’t tag them “nofollow”… and I may happen to be able to get you in touch with them so they can help you build out more forum links for your business.

Cheers and thanks for reading.

David McBee