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Whether you are an internet marketer or just a webmaster, it is a great idea to use forums to promote your website. Forums are powerful in many ways, and usually completely free. Think about it – a forum allows you to have links to your site in hundreds of posts – posts which drive traffic directly, give a little bit of “link juice”, and get ranked in the search engines, driving even more traffic to your URL. If you are still unsure, check out the points below:
Targeted Traffic.
Forums don’t just drive traffic – they drive high-quality, targeted, interested traffic. You can get traffic easily, but getting interested traffic is an entirely different matter. Forums are filled with people who love what they are talking about. If the forum is about horses, every individual there loves horses, at least enough to search for them on Google, and participate often in a forum. So if you have a site about horses, a site selling horse supplies, etc, chances are it will do very well on the forum.
It’s Free!
This should be obvious – forums are almost always free. Nowhere else could you gain exposure to hundreds, thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people without spending a dime. Forums are easy to use, free, and provide a great source of traffic.
It’s Fun!
This one is important. What other promotional methods are actually FUN? For most people; none. Promoting a website is rarely fun, so when it is, that should be a sign to stick to whatever you are doing. Forums are, in my opinion, very fun – especially if you are interested in the topic. To me posting on a forum is relaxing, and it seems more like a break than work to me. If you have a site on a subject that you are interested in (you should of course) then just join a forum related to the site, and start posting. In my experience I have found that I don’t consider it work, and therefore I do it much more. I post all throughout the day, and I justify it by examining the large amounts of traffic I get from it daily. Some may say forum posting is a waste of time, but I disagree. I get upwards of 20 unique visitors per day to one of my sites, coming from a forum I post maybe 1 or 2 posts daily. It is also nice because it builds on itself, so while I have 20 uv’s/day today, I may have 21 tomorrow, 22/day next week, etc.
There is a Forum for Everything.
These days, there truly is a forum for everything. Almost every niche has at least one forum supporting it, so no matter what type of site you run; chances are you can find a related forum. Also, since smaller niches have only a few forums, if not just one, almost every interested individual gathers at that one forum, so your audience is large and highly targeted.
Members Respect Senior Posters.
Forums are very much a place of respect. Users who have been on the forum for a long time, and/or have lots of posts are very respected and looked up to. If you are a senior member, newbies will look up to you, and trust whatever you put in your signature. For example if your site is based on affiliate marketing and you join a forum about affiliate marketing, and you are a senior member, every new member there will view your signature with trust. If you are trusted, there is a much larger chance of making a sale, getting a lead, etc. So, forums reward active posters in that way.
Forum Users are Interested Information-Seekers.
After several of my own experiments, as well as looking at other people’s results, I can safely say that most forum users are information seekers, and they like to be fully engaged in whatever they are doing. What does that mean to you? It means that the traffic coming to your site from a forum is much more valuable than any other traffic. That means more conversions, lower bounce rates, and overall better traffic. Forum traffic is great for any type of website, but especially for blogs. Blogs are somewhat interactive (comments) and therefore they are more interesting to forum users.
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49 Responses to “Traffic Monday: Why You Should Use (NOT Abuse) Forums to Increase Traffic”
46 Comments
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[...] Forums are powerful promotional tools. On top of that, they are fun! Just do a search for forums in your niche, join up, throw a link in your signature, and start posting! It truly could not be easier. Forums are one of my favorite promotional methods, mainly because it doesn’t feel like promotion. Forums to me feel like a break – a relaxing conversation with a few people. NOT a boring campaign or mindless link building. [...]
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[...] Traffic Monday: Why You Should Use (NOT Abuse) Forums to Increase Traffic [...]
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[...] Forums are powerful promotional tools. On top of that, they are fun! Just do a search for forums in your niche, join up, throw a link in your signature, and start posting! It truly could not be easier. Forums are one of my favorite promotional methods, mainly because it doesn’t feel like promotion. Forums to me feel like a break – a relaxing conversation with a few people. NOT a boring campaign or mindless link building. [...]
Any forums you suggest to use?
The Blogger Sources last blog post..Friday Mix – No. 4
Digital Point, Webmaster Forum are one of the most popular forums. Goolge DoFollow Forums and you will get a cool list.
fass last blog post..Do You Workout?
Yes I definitely vouch for digital point and webmaster forum. Sitepoint forums are also not bad.
DigitalPoint? Really?
Sitepoint is pretty good, webmasterworld can be good as well.
I have also heard of a forum called Warrior Forum and have heard a lot of decent things about them if you interested you should definitely give this a try.
almirs last blog post..Vital Tips That Can Aid Any Blogger
I have had mixed results with forums. Some result in almost no traffic, while others can be quite a boon. Be sure to read the TOS for each forum, before adding your link… some get a bit snippy about links.
Robin,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, much appreciated!
Yeh always read the TOS. Better to be safe than sorry!
I love being in forums. You learn a lot of things and it does bring a lot of traffic. So there’s 2 great things about them. Digitalpoint drove the 2nd most traffic to my blog last month.
KushMoneys last blog post..How To Make Money On Twitter
KushMoney,
Forums works yeh, and othae than driving traffic to one’s blog/site like you said it is also a great place to learn and even get ideas on what to write on your blog.
Actually I never bothered to use forums to create traffic, it was never worth my efforts to spend all the time to build a trustworthy account firsthand.
smashill,
It can take time to be a “Senior Poster” and get the respect from other members but I think it is worth it!
I used to frequent a few forums and I admit they did drive traffic to my sites, but unfortunately there’s only so many hours in a day.
Sires last blog post..A Related Post Plugin For WordPress Makes Sense
Sire,
Yeah I think having enough time to do things is the issue many of us are facing with other life responsiblities.
Yeah, I used to have more time but then things change and my time is needed elsewhere, which is a real pain, but it’s where the money is. Still I love to come back to blogging just to relax.
And there is the crux of the matter.
As far as benefits from time spent, there are a lot of other ways you could be promoting your site which are far more productive.
Forums are definitely traffic generators if you come across as a knowledgeable and helpful poster, not just someone who is obviously just promoting themselves or their products. Just adding your link in a default signature will get clicks if other members are reading a valuable response from you, and your link looks applicable to the topic being discussed.
~ Kristi
Kikolanis last blog post..Twitter Lingo & Tips For New Twitter & Facebook Users
Kristi,
Exactly! So worth the time really.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, much appreciated!
Hey!
Great offering,I did not use any type of forum,but after reading your blog I got more tips on using it and I also need to drive more traffic just mentioned the picture above.Some people above mentioned two types.Can you recommend me one is most effective to obtain many traffic and find relaxation from it?I hope to hear from you soon, Thanks a million.
mybloglog.com,
Nice to see you here!
Your question like I said on my post most promotional methods are, well not fun! but other than forums, I will also say social media websites such as facebook are great way in getting more traffic and enjoying at the same time.
I love forums. It enables you to talk to different personalities whether an expert or a newbie. It is always nice to read sensible threads and share what you have and what you can offer. I have been a member of warriorforum in a while now and I am loving it.
First $100,
Exactly!
another free advertising. I rarely use forum for my traffic. Maybe someday I’ll have a try. Nice post =)
blinkky,
Thank you!
I think V7N webmaster forum is the best forum.you can use Do-Follow comments to get traffic on your site..
marc lohan,
I have never heard of V7N forum. Will check it out! :=)
I generally avoid putting my website link as my signature. There can be lot of spammy signature links on the same page which I’m not sure how Big G will treat.
On the other hand DP and other forums do have very good revenue sharing program which can earn you few extra bucks
Himanshu
PS: I am very very sorry Salwa
Himanshu,
Yeah I believe most of the traffic methods has the “good” and the “bad”. You just got be careful and know your limits thats all!
Thanks for your comment and It was nice seeing you here after sometime :=)
PS: Bit lost, sorry for what?
Yup, I do agree that forums can be a great source of traffics.
kuanhoong,
Thanks for your comment, appreciated!
Warriorforum is a nice forum too.
But in getting relevant backlinks and traffics, it always nice to join a forum with the same interest as your website or blog.
I used to pull traffic out of forums, and ill vouch for em’ any day. If you can manage to use them the right way you can get butt loads of targeted traffic. There’s just one bad thing about forums, you said they’re not a waste of time, and I agree but I must say they take up a lot of time.
p.s. there maybe one thing that is more fun, Twitter…
I very much agree to you Ardit. Twitter FTW !
I love forums but I just dont use them enough in my niche. I really need to find some that fits green living/green/eco-friendly products.
Carla,
Yeah depend which niche you are in, it can sometime be hard to find the one that really fits with your website but I am sure with little more research you will find what you are looking for!
Thanks for stopping by :=)
I agree that forums are agreat way to build traffic. Ifthey allow sig links they are als great for link building. I am active on several webmaster forums including Digital Point, v7n. and several blog forums like Bloggeries and BlogFluence. Another cool thing about webmster forums is that many have alexa toolbar installed so when they visit it also helps your alexa ranking.
Tycoon Bloggers last blog post..Top 10 Bloggers – The new list
Tycoon Blogger,
You are right that forums are great way for building traffic and while you are at it (building links) they are also so many things you can learn, and/or even get topic ideas for your blog!
Thanks for your comment!
Hello there,
I think it’s important for your readers to know that not all forum allow signature links or the posting of irrelevant links. And not all forum have do-follow links. Forums that are no-follow have no link juice at all.
For example the Blog Catalog forums are no-follow and no link dropping is allowed. Only links that are relevant to the specific subject matter in the thread are allowed. All others links will be reported and deleted.
This is why it’s important to read the forum posting guidelines before you post and yet so few bloggers do.
timethiefs last blog post..Appreciating your readers
timethief,
It is definitely important to read the forum guidelines before you start posting and you are right unfortunately, not many bloggers do this.
Thanks for stopping by, much appreciated!
Forums have a lot to offer. As long as it’s one that ties to your niche. It’s important to observe for awhile as the is a decorum for posting or linking within. True of asking questions too. If there is a search feature: check before asking as most questions have been answered many times.
Gennaros last blog post..National Parks Get $750 Million
Gennaro,
You are right. You sometime see people asking for question and when you search for it, that very same thing that was asked had already been asked several time. So it is important to do a little search before asking. This same both party the time.
Thanks for stopping by!
I was always skeptical to forum marketing because to me I was always underestimating it’s true power. I assumed that no one really goes to forums but I guess I was really wrong. Wow have to try this form of marketing thanks for the insight.
almirs last blog post..Vital Tips That Can Aid Any Blogger
You welcome and yes be sure to give it try!
Finally someone who can write a good blog ! . This is the kind of information that is useful to those want to increase their SERP’s. I loved your post and will be telling others about it. Subscribing to your RSS feed now. Thanks
I thinks people will likely click your site of you help them and answer some confusions from the forums, not too abusive though. thanks for the post.
Thanks Friend For the Good Info. Thats a good way to get backlinks too.
.-= Amal Roy@Buy Gadgets Online´s last blog ..6 Websites to Consider When Buying Gadgets Online in India =-.
I have visited your posts before. The more I read, the more I keep coming back!