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Should I let guests post on my forum

by oliverjones
12 replies
I have a forum I am trying to build and get ranked in Google. Currently I require people to register in order to be able to post or reply to topics. Do you think it is a better idea to leave it open to all to post and reply so long as I moderate it.

The thinking here is that if it gets lots of content it has more chance of ranking well in the SERPS?
#forum #guests #post
  • Profile picture of the author ProAffiliate01
    There is advantages and disadvantages of letting others guest post on your forums. If you have an option to delete the ones you don't want to keep then it could help attract new members faster. However, if you don't have option to delete spam posts it's probably not a good idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    How many hours per day are you prepared to allocate to moderating? What's your tolerance for being neck deep in digital manure?

    Even more important, what is your users' tolerance for said digital manure?

    Because I can guarantee that once a few of the bots discover that it's open season, you'll be buried in it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fredrik Aurdal
    It can be a good idea to have an open forum, when it's just been started. But it do depend of course on how much spam you will have to clear up, if no one have to register.
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  • Profile picture of the author TorinoGray
    Originally Posted by oliverjones View Post

    I have a forum I am trying to build and get ranked in Google. Currently I require people to register in order to be able to post or reply to topics. Do you think it is a better idea to leave it open to all to post and reply so long as I moderate it.

    The thinking here is that if it gets lots of content it has more chance of ranking well in the SERPS?
    Consider hiring a couple writers for bit to engage users. I wouldn't let just anyone post if it were my baby.
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  • Profile picture of the author oliverjones
    But doesnt leaving it as an open forum mean that it will get lots more content much sooner meaning Google will give us more rank strength?
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by oliverjones View Post

      But doesnt leaving it as an open forum mean that it will get lots more content much sooner meaning Google will give us more rank strength?
      It depends on how much of the "content" you get is rank, pardon the expression.

      You seem to be assuming that all this user-generated content will be high-quality stuff that your users will want and that the search gods will reward.

      The reality is that once your open forum gets added to spambots like xrumer, finding the real content is going to take more time than most forum users will invest. Think thousands of spam posts and fake profiles per day...
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by oliverjones View Post

      But doesnt leaving it as an open forum mean that it will get lots more content much sooner
      It depends what you mean by "content".

      My guess is that the sort of content you'll start getting and then rapidly fill up with will (a) not do you any favors at all with Google, and (b) make you change your mind quickly enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author iJeax
    I'd think it's a bad idea.. If they want to post, they can take the few seconds to sign up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ewan Lumsden
    Banned
    It can make it more active but you have to be careful of spam and advertising. You'll either need to monitor it a lot or hire moderators to do it for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian Tayler
    Yes but only using CAPTCHAs
    Signature
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    X81MBTp
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    John is entirely right. An alternative that is relatively inexpensive (and alluded to by TorinoGray) is to hire some forum posters to get things going a little bit. I'd recommend going with a service like PostLoop where the writers are rated by you, and they can't receive a payout if they aren't posting stuff to your standards.
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  • Profile picture of the author Reez1
    Oliver Jones, I would like to warn you from allowing guests to post. I've had some real bad experience and trust me, you don't want it to happen to you. There are many bot's which spam other websites, and products, they were able to do that to my forums even when I had my settings changed to that you must confirm your email before posting, and even that wasn't able to stop those bot's. Just imagine, how easy you would make this task for them allowing guests to post. On the other hand, it can be really good, as it allows guests to post without having to register and then you're forums look more active when others see it, which leads to them registering and wanting to contribute to the forums. This has it's pro's and con's but I'd say there are many many more con's then pro's. In conclusion, I'd like to say that you should honestly not do this.
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