Is Forum Linking Dead?

19 replies
  • SEO
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Alright, this is for the experienced SEO vets - is forum linking dead?

Some say yes but I think it has alot to do with the industry that you're trying to get your site ranked for.

In 2012, diversification seems to be the real "secret" out there. It can't all be weighted towards links in articles, blog comments, forum linking, social bookmarking, etc.

Anybody care to share their thoughts for the community?

Holler.
#dead #forum #linking
  • Profile picture of the author Headstart
    A link is a link.. even if it's a nofollow. You want to look at 1) Diversification like you said and 2) THe order the links are placed.

    In SEO (especially now with Google being VERY "penalty happy") we have to make everything look natural. Typically links don't just show up out of nowhere on forums and blogs comments and blog posts, they have a viral aspect first.

    Hope that helps
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  • Profile picture of the author GMT
    Forum linking definitely isn't dead. Infact google "links:http://couchable.co/" you'll see on page 3 his warriorforum backlink. This is a random site for the user tylerherman I grabbed from another thread. Also @OP is there a reason you didn't make your signature site linkable?
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  • Profile picture of the author powerofschool
    Forum link building is very powerful when you participate in the related forums threads.

    Many experts says , that there are getting most of the traffic from forums are relevant.

    That means the traffic they are getting from forums , bounce rate is less.

    And link building strategy is not much good. Because you will get some back links with the forums. If you want to build link building through forums, you need to participate in the as possible as you can .
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  • Profile picture of the author sovereignn
    I see it ALLLLLLL over the place. I doubt they'd be doing it if it didn't work in some way
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I still do forum linking (though not as much), but I don't forum link because of SEO. I link on forums that have constantly delivered niche traffic over the years.

    Targeted niche forum traffic is some of the best traffic you can get. Most people on a forum are looking for a solution to a problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author adriel97
    Forum linking is definitely not dead. This forum is a great example. However, I think its mostly used for traffic nowadays. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Williamson
    For SEO, I'd say largely yes. But like yukon said, I use 'forum links' to drive potential traffic, not for the SEO benefit.

    You can still diversify your linkbuilding efforts without incorporating forum links.
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  • Profile picture of the author carlamax
    Forums linking is a powerful resource to get backlinks in a quick time.But i think targeted forums about your niche is more useful than general.
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  • Profile picture of the author JKflipflop
    Forum linking is still an excellent traffic booster - if you use it in a sytematic and well-targeted fashion. As far as SEO goes, I would rely more on the other best practices like contextual backlinks, quality content submissions etc in order to keep that taken care of - owing to the uncertainty about forum linking for SEO purposes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trevor
    Profile links are one of the worst links you can get. Signature links are a little better, as they come from pages full of content unlike profile pages that don't have any content at all, but even signature links don't carry much SEO value.

    All in all, they may be useful for indexing, but for increasing PR or getting better positions in the SERPs, they won't cut it.
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  • Profile picture of the author simona86
    It is the right place where you will get relevant information related to your needs. Many of the websites receive a very high amount of traffic and are a huge opportunity for whatever niche your site may fall into. By making an effective signature link for each your posts, you can see an drastic increase in your backlinks and also traffic. This traffic is often highly targeted.The web forums can be used successfully to generate traffic to your website or blog which in turn can help to promote your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author georgem78
    Link building is still quite effective. What's changed over time is the weight that's put on each link. Participating in niche related forums is still a good strategy.
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    • Profile picture of the author s1ngular1ty
      I keep on saying this, but those of who who rely on traditional link building strategies are going to find things harder and harder.

      The furture of getting a good ranking is social media presence! Find a way to get viral traffic on the big social media sites and everything is golden, including your PR.
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  • Profile picture of the author Taba
    Originally Posted by BlueGalt View Post

    Alright, this is for the experienced SEO vets - is forum linking dead?

    Some say yes but I think it has alot to do with the industry that you're trying to get your site ranked for.

    In 2012, diversification seems to be the real "secret" out there. It can't all be weighted towards links in articles, blog comments, forum linking, social bookmarking, etc.

    Anybody care to share their thoughts for the community?

    Holler.
    Google changed, its algorithm changed-- Yes We all webmasters knows..
    But since you stated as
    It can't all be weighted towards links in articles, blog comments, forum linking, social bookmarking, etc.
    Are you sure about that..?..
    What other ways are left now to get link then?

    What i believes (technically) is that the importance of links has got reduced in fraction but still strategy is same i.e articles, blog comments, forum linking, social bookmarking.

    Forum link isn't dead actually, What actually changed is "The link and Niche Factor". After the Panda updates, whats is changed is that Now they value the only links which are related in Niche.

    Getting your socialize ( having Fan Page, Twitter, G+) is the only new strategy that we can apply..!

    Since every webmaster now uses NoFollow Tag, we can't except to get a link(dofollow)from Yahoo, or say by Google..!
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    • Profile picture of the author BlueGalt
      Originally Posted by Taba Rama View Post

      Google changed, its algorithm changed-- Yes We all webmasters knows..
      But since you stated asAre you sure about that..?..
      What other ways are left now to get link then?

      What i believes (technically) is that the importance of links has got reduced in fraction but still strategy is same i.e articles, blog comments, forum linking, social bookmarking.

      Forum link isn't dead actually, What actually changed is "The link and Niche Factor". After the Panda updates, whats is changed is that Now they value the only links which are related in Niche.

      Getting your socialize ( having Fan Page, Twitter, G+) is the only new strategy that we can apply..!

      Since every webmaster now uses NoFollow Tag, we can't except to get a link(dofollow)from Yahoo, or say by Google..!
      Hey Taba,

      Sorry, I don't think I made myself clear. I meant to say that it appears you can't have a million links all from articles or one source but its better to have a million links spread out from across a wide berth of sources like the ones I detailed.

      Hope that is a bit more clear.

      And great comments, BTW!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jordan Kovats
    Definitely not dead. In the last 4 months, those types of links alone took a 3 yr old site I own to #2 for a 3 word keyword. Likewise, many other 'new' keywords for that site to page one too.
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    I don't think Forum Links are dead but shouldn't be solely relied upon. They should be added to your overall portfolio of backlinking.

    -Omar
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  • Profile picture of the author savedbyhim01
    I just started posting on one forum recently. Didn't think I would get more than 2-3 visitors from it. But in a few days time 18 people stopped by from the link in the forum. If they like what they find, they will also be back. I'm wondering though, is Google going to penalize websites for having forum signature links?
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  • Profile picture of the author sarakelly72
    Yes savedbyhim01, forum posting is good for generating the traffic.
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