When I first started working with Forum Links, I did some research and found that it was hard to learn much about them. Wikipedia doesn’t even have a page for Forum Links. All they have is a page about Forum spam. That made me wonder if links posted in forums were even any good. If other SEOs are talking about forum links, it’s hard to find their stuff because there are so many sites selling garbage forum links.
Well, I’ve come to find out that, when done properly, a forum link can be a really great addition to a backlink portfolio.
Let’s start by using an analogy to help describe what I’m talking about.
Every college has that campus notice board that keeps students informed about the latest college happenings. It’s a place where activities are posted and students can stay current on news and events that are taking place. Anyone is free to post messages and announcements. Sometimes, these posts add value to the board (i.e. changes to class schedules or school policy changes). Sometimes they are spam (i.e. “1995 DELL PC For Sale” or “Electric Guitar lessons”).
The value of the notice board is often determined by the one who cleans it up once a week. We’ll call this person the moderator. He or she decides what notices add value for the students who read the board and what doesn’t. He or she has the power to eliminate some of the notes, while allowing others to stay. If this person is taking the task seriously, the notice board will be a good addition to the campus, providing quality information for those who stop and read it. If they are allowing anything on the board, or they ignore the board for weeks at a time, the value of the board degrades.
Let’s Translate.
There are a million forums online. Forums are simply places where people who have similar interests can communicate with each other. They are great for getting questions answered and for sharing content on related interests.
Personally, I’ve spent some time on Apple’s forums. When I switched to Mac a few years back, it was a little weird getting used to the ways in which it was different from a PC. The Apple forum was a valuable resource as I taught myself the new operating system. Other Mac users were happy to assist, providing insight into simple things like keyboard shortcuts or tips and tricks (I love SPACES on the Mac!) that aren’t available on PCs.
Search engines like forums too.
- They are filled with valuable content. Google: “How do I use spaces on a mac?” and Apple’s support forum is the #1 result. That alone is very telling.
- They often have PageRank and Domain Authority.
- Forums get new content on a regular basis as users post questions, comments and answers. Google’s Freshness Update has got to love that.
So when you’re looking for a backlink to point to your site (to improve SEO and maybe even get some traffic), you should look for the same things that Google likes. That means that a forum is a great place for a link.
Whoa! Wait! That is way too blanket of a statement. Check out this campus notice board:
Would this be a good place to post your valuable content? Probably not. It isn’t going to get read, and it isn’t going to impress those finicky Google bots either.
So while I feel comfortable saying that forum links are good, I’d like to qualify that by saying that “Links on good forums are good.”
My next qualifying statement is this: “Good links on good forums are good.”
So before you go joining a bunch of forums and posting your links, let me give you a little more advice. Don’t create the spam that forum moderators hate. If you’re going to take the time to join a forum, you’ve got to participate in a way that adds value to the forum, so that the moderator doesn’t trash your comment (including your link).
Here are a few strategies to make your link look as natural as possible (to the moderator and the Google bots):
- Only post on forums that are related to your site. (Don’t place a link to your landscaping site on a forum about skin care. Duh.)
- Don’t use your keywords as your anchor text. (Instead, link to a random word in your comment.)
- Don’t use your URL as your anchor text.
- Don’t point the link to your home page. (Use an interior page – hopefully one that is super-relevant to the forum.)
- Add value to the forum. Provide an answer to another reader’s question or provide interesting content. Don’t write something totally random that makes no sense on the forum.
Just use common sense. After writing your comment, ask yourself: if you were the moderator, would you leave the comment (and the backlink with it)? If your answer is no, then just take it down and start over, because that’s what the moderator is going to do anyway.
David McBee
Please comment or share this post with your network. Thanks!
Thanks one more time!
Hi David,
Informative article. I want to add one tip. You can build backlinks through Quora. Just remember to add value and weight to the post. And always make it longer so that it does not look like spam.
thank you so much
Hi David,
I just was trying to find some information in google how to advertise my business in forums and I found your article. This will be very helpful for me. Thanks a lot for that you shared the information.
Hi
if im promoting my company via forums where a person has requested an answer to a particular question and i have the product to answer that question. i find i am still been banned for spamming when im only directing people to the resource they need to solve their problem. Any advice please??
That’s a tricky one Leanne. Forum moderators don’t want businesses “trolling” their pages just to look for potential customers. My best advice is to participate in the forum with lots of questions and answers of your own long before directing other users to your products. You might also point them to your page, but as a third party. As in, “I had some luck with that problem at http://www.yoursitehere.com.” Good luck.
My experience promoting my website online tells me the same thing. Tell your advice to those people who need it most. Now I will find those dofollow forums for job/career, child and parenting, Marriage and relationship, self awareness and stress management etc.
What you’re basically saying, is be relevant and natural with your postings – and everything else?
Yep. Relevant and natural. Link building in a tiny little nutshell. 🙂
Thanks David,
I get where you are coming from as I suppose it’s obvious that click-through’s from low ranking forums are better than no click-through’s at all.
With my comment I was – and have been too often – guilty of concentrating on the SEO side of things too much rather than potential customers, when obviously concentrating on both would be the better option.
I imagine I would be right in thinking that I need more than just a SEO strategy for my websites? I just get carried away sometimes with my SEO efforts as I haven’t managed to crack it yet, and as a result I don’t always see the bigger picture, and it’s probably costing me.
Dean,
I’m not actually saying that you would post in a low ranking forum just for click-throughs. What I’m trying to say is that if there’s a logical reason for the link (on a forum or anywhere else) that could result in a click-through, then that is probably a good link for SEO too. My rule is “if it makes sense to drive traffic, it probably makes sense for SEO too.”
I think that’s the case for forum links, guest posts, content marketing, blog comments, directories, whatever…
Another point I’d add to that, and what I have done before, is to not place the link on one of your first few comments, place relevant comments consistently and look natural before you try placing a link. I’d imagine a moderator would monitor new sign ups to see how they behave and if they are a candidate for spamming. Once you are established, then place your link.
I actually found this site while I was looking to see if there are any decent forums around that let you place links, like the warrior forum. The point raised about the quality of the forum links in this post has made me rethink if it’s worth it or not. Any suggestions?
Dean
In my experience, here’s how to tell if the forum makes sense for your link. If your potential customers would be likely readers of the forum, and your comment ads value, then it stands to reason that you may actually get a click-through now and then. If that’s the case, there’s likely some SEO value there.
For example, if you sell sports accessories, and you post in the Phoenix Suns’ Fan Forum, that makes sense. If you’re a Phoenix Divorce attorney, there’s no place for your link there. Go find a forum about family law and participate there.
Awesome post! These strategies and tips are great! Also it’s true that if you are trying post links onto a forum, at least make the post relevant to the subject, instead of making a generic one. If you can get the person in charge of the forum to like your posts, they’ll usually let you keep the link in there.