Page Rank and University Discussion Forum Posts

Calamaroo · 06-09-2010, 12:56 PM

How valuable - SEO-wise - are back links that originate from the discussion boards of University/College Discussion Forums?

I didn't check, but let's say Harvard had some kind of discussion forum for current students as well as potential students. And there is a link from a poster in their forums that go to your landing page, how valuable would that link be for SEO purposes, specifically, as it relates to PageRank?

cbpayne · 06-09-2010, 01:51 PM

They are no more valuable than any other link from any other forum ... ie not very much at all.

Josip Barbaric · 06-09-2010, 02:14 PM

It all depends on the amount of link juice that it can pass to you.

Harvard could have a discussion forum that isn't even indexed by Google and has no incoming backlinks or internal links - that's not a good place to get links from.

However, it could have a forum that is not only indexed, but has thousands of backlinks, great internal linking structure and, as a result, high Pagerank - this would be a great place to get links from.

Cheers,

Josip

Social-Media-Marketing · 06-09-2010, 03:54 PM

There is absolutely nothing special about links from .edu and .gov sites... no more special than .com, .org, .net, .info, etc. These links "used" to be sought after back in the late 1990s/early 2000s... but that was because at the time those sites were the most linked to sites on the webs, so they had a high PR.

Universities know that lots of "misinformed" SEOs still try to use this technique thinking there is some extra boost the links provide. So they clamp down on the ability of SEOs to get such links.

Getting a link on some student blog or forum is no more powerful than getting a link from a .com or .org with the equivalent PR and same number of outbound links on the page. Those discussion pages are likely PR0 (barely), not links to from other sites, and may not even be indexed. As such, they provide VERY little if any benefit from an SEO perspective.

Now if you know a professor who can get you a link on Harvard's home page or a page 1 or 2 links away from the home page (like a department home page) then you will have yourself a nice link...

Calamaroo · 06-09-2010, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Social-Media-Marketing

Now if you know a professor who can get you a link on Harvard's home page or a page 1 or 2 links away from the home page (like a department home page) then you will have yourself a nice link...

How powerful would this link be?

And would similar links from accredited universities, say, in the Philippines or Malaysia, have some SEO value?

__internet__ · 06-09-2010, 07:57 PM

Nobody knows except the search engines. None of us know the algorithm. However, it is probably weighted pretty well. Getting links from trusted sites are weighted higher than garbage links from brand new domains.

It's not that hard to get .edu links. You just have to know where to look.

Also, I don't agree with the post above saying that .edu links are not worth more. It's not the .edu that matters, it's the trust. It doesn't matter if it's on the home page or an inner page. Most college domains are trusted. If that domain is trusted, that link will be worth more than a crap .com link from a brand new site.

06-09-2010, 12:56 PM	#1
Calamaroo HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 236 Thanks: 41 Thanked 31 Times in 16 Posts	Page Rank and University Discussion Forum Posts How valuable - SEO-wise - are back links that originate from the discussion boards of University/College Discussion Forums? I didn't check, but let's say Harvard had some kind of discussion forum for current students as well as potential students. And there is a link from a poster in their forums that go to your landing page, how valuable would that link be for SEO purposes, specifically, as it relates to PageRank?

06-09-2010, 01:51 PM	#2
cbpayne Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 578 Thanks: 12 Thanked 36 Times in 34 Posts	Re: Page Rank and University Discussion Forum Posts They are no more valuable than any other link from any other forum ... ie not very much at all.

06-09-2010, 02:14 PM	#3
Josip Barbaric Barbaric Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Posts: 673 Thanks: 47 Thanked 431 Times in 48 Posts Social Networking	Re: Page Rank and University Discussion Forum Posts It all depends on the amount of link juice that it can pass to you. Harvard could have a discussion forum that isn't even indexed by Google and has no incoming backlinks or internal links - that's not a good place to get links from. However, it could have a forum that is not only indexed, but has thousands of backlinks, great internal linking structure and, as a result, high Pagerank - this would be a great place to get links from. Cheers, Josip
	Law Of Attraction

06-09-2010, 03:54 PM	#4
Social-Media-Marketing HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 150 Thanks: 0 Thanked 22 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Page Rank and University Discussion Forum Posts There is absolutely nothing special about links from .edu and .gov sites... no more special than .com, .org, .net, .info, etc. These links "used" to be sought after back in the late 1990s/early 2000s... but that was because at the time those sites were the most linked to sites on the webs, so they had a high PR. Universities know that lots of "misinformed" SEOs still try to use this technique thinking there is some extra boost the links provide. So they clamp down on the ability of SEOs to get such links. Getting a link on some student blog or forum is no more powerful than getting a link from a .com or .org with the equivalent PR and same number of outbound links on the page. Those discussion pages are likely PR0 (barely), not links to from other sites, and may not even be indexed. As such, they provide VERY little if any benefit from an SEO perspective. Now if you know a professor who can get you a link on Harvard's home page or a page 1 or 2 links away from the home page (like a department home page) then you will have yourself a nice link...

06-09-2010, 07:57 PM	#6
__internet__ Active Warrior Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 70 Thanks: 1 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Page Rank and University Discussion Forum Posts Nobody knows except the search engines. None of us know the algorithm. However, it is probably weighted pretty well. Getting links from trusted sites are weighted higher than garbage links from brand new domains. It's not that hard to get .edu links. You just have to know where to look. Also, I don't agree with the post above saying that .edu links are not worth more. It's not the .edu that matters, it's the trust. It doesn't matter if it's on the home page or an inner page. Most college domains are trusted. If that domain is trusted, that link will be worth more than a crap .com link from a brand new site.