Getting forums to rank for their niche?

chrismillerjr · 09-12-2011, 08:09 PM

Hey guys,

New here... long time internet marketer and forum owner (since 1997) who has since become complacent and now i am paying the price. Things are changing so fast these days, and I have not done my part to keep up with it all. So that's why I am back on this site hoping to do a little catch-up.

Anyway... the main reason for this post is that I would like to get your opinions on getting forums to rank for the niche that they are in. I have always done well with this in the past, but now I run 2 forums (both the only forums in their niche) that consistently rank BELOW less relevant sites on google.

I think it really comes down to keyword density but I am not really sure. While my forum might be about "selling mary kay cosmetics" (hypothetical), and every single post is about selling, how to sell, what to sell, etc.... from over 10,000 members..... I am still outranked by simple blogs of 20-30 pages that might for example, teach you how to get into selling mary kay.

I am open to any and all suggestions. I am not sure weather to focus on backlinks, keyword heavy articles, or what to do at this point. IMO these sites are number 1 in their niche... should be at the top of google but they are not.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Trusylver · 09-12-2011, 11:47 PM

The problem with optimising forums is that it is impossible to fine tune keyword densities, I have found that including an article section with original articles has helped my forum giving it a better spread of target keywords unlike some of the threads which I feel are to keyword rich in some instances.

Habbakuk · 09-13-2011, 01:48 AM

Rankings aren't only decided by "relevance". Google won't rank your forum than other websites even if you have the only forum in that niche if you don't have enough backlinks or authority in that forum. Backlinks are about 70% of SERPs.

09-12-2011, 08:09 PM	#1
chrismillerjr Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Getting forums to rank for their niche? Hey guys, New here... long time internet marketer and forum owner (since 1997) who has since become complacent and now i am paying the price. Things are changing so fast these days, and I have not done my part to keep up with it all. So that's why I am back on this site hoping to do a little catch-up. Anyway... the main reason for this post is that I would like to get your opinions on getting forums to rank for the niche that they are in. I have always done well with this in the past, but now I run 2 forums (both the only forums in their niche) that consistently rank BELOW less relevant sites on google. I think it really comes down to keyword density but I am not really sure. While my forum might be about "selling mary kay cosmetics" (hypothetical), and every single post is about selling, how to sell, what to sell, etc.... from over 10,000 members..... I am still outranked by simple blogs of 20-30 pages that might for example, teach you how to get into selling mary kay. I am open to any and all suggestions. I am not sure weather to focus on backlinks, keyword heavy articles, or what to do at this point. IMO these sites are number 1 in their niche... should be at the top of google but they are not. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

09-12-2011, 11:47 PM	#2
Trusylver Warrior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Getting forums to rank for their niche? The problem with optimising forums is that it is impossible to fine tune keyword densities, I have found that including an article section with original articles has helped my forum giving it a better spread of target keywords unlike some of the threads which I feel are to keyword rich in some instances.
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09-13-2011, 01:48 AM	#3
Habbakuk Active Warrior Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 49 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Getting forums to rank for their niche? Rankings aren't only decided by "relevance". Google won't rank your forum than other websites even if you have the only forum in that niche if you don't have enough backlinks or authority in that forum. Backlinks are about 70% of SERPs.