SitePoint.com

Ewan Kennedy · Sep 10, 2008, 02:49

Notice: This is a discussion thread for comments about the SitePoint article, 10 Ten Rules for Driving Traffic Using Forums.
__________

Some very sound advice here, particularly the guidance on etiquette and the principal purpose of forums.

DrAnujGupta · Sep 10, 2008, 03:06

MY primary purpose is to discuss on any seo technics problems in Forum. I'm member of Forum from last month. I got good knowledge here.

Sep 10, 2008, 03:16

Dude, this was not all that good. It wasn't 10 rules to drive traffic to your forum, it was 10 rules on what you as a user should do when visiting any forum.

Sorry man, sharpen up, this did not give me anything to take with me on any possible forum-building. Maybe a good "rules at this forum"-section...

Tyssen · Sep 10, 2008, 08:04

Unfortunately, I don't have the same amount of time to post on forums these days but when I did post more regularly, I would notice a fair bit of traffic coming from Sitepoint.

pfa · Sep 11, 2008, 00:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete

Dude, this was not all that good. It wasn't 10 rules to drive traffic to your forum, it was 10 rules on what you as a user should do when visiting any forum.

Aye, and the title: "Driving traffic using forums" is just about that. A strong signature and the representation of your personal brand is driving traffic (not to mention the linkbuilding

)

Anyway, there's an advice: "Write top 10 lists!" - Josh Klein's article is a typical example for that.

Jun Valasek · Sep 11, 2008, 04:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfa

Aye, and the title: "Driving traffic using forums" is just about that. A strong signature and the representation of your personal brand is driving traffic (not to mention the linkbuilding

)

Anyway, there's an advice: "Write top 10 lists!" - Josh Klein's article is a typical example for that.

I pointed this out many times... Forum posting is the best direct advertising method... Better than PPC for it's free.

boen_robot · Sep 12, 2008, 04:44

Well, this article doesn't say anything about traffic driving that I didn't knew already, however the sample forum topic you gave is a good one. I'm not participating on SitePoint's forums enough (I don't have enough time), and when I do, I'm in the techy parts rather than the business parts.

So, the advise on 'Start with a "free" promotion, list the non-promotion price, engage your first customers with the promotion' I think is a great way to evaluate the quality of a product or service without creating a negative PR on yourself should the quality of your product/service turns out to be bad.

I mean, when you create a payed product/service, people expect quality, and when they don't get it, they stop using it, and advise everyone to stay away from it. When it's free (promotionally or not), they instead try it (since they won't loose anything), and if they don't like it, they say to frinds "Well... I didn't really liked it, but try it if you want... it's free after all".

lukemeister · Sep 13, 2008, 23:40

Good pointers, I agree and also think that most web site promoters, not to be confused with heavy metal band promoters, discount good forum traffic.

There is definitely a spammy way to do anything, and I'm glad you pointed out some differences. I've read way too many forums lately that seems to have a bunch of similar responses to a new forum thread that seem like one person saying the same thing 50 different ways.

You do have good content on your site though which really helps to keep visitors (rare), plus you use Grid Focus (I'm pretty sure) which is my favorite theme.

Sep 19, 2008, 21:07

Good advice, even for an NGO blog admin, which is one of my responsibilities.
Advice # 7 and 9, I'll be using with my English students as well. ;-)

esds · Sep 20, 2008, 04:03

There are many .edu and .gov forums which can be also useful if you participate there.

northbeach23 · Sep 22, 2008, 03:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by micfo.com

There are many .edu and .gov forums which can be also useful if you participate there.

Are search engines have special attention in domain with .edu and .gov extension?

fr@nc!z · Sep 22, 2008, 19:06

I got my traffics mostly from SEs, particularly on image searches; then follow by forums; then the rest came from squidoo pages i made.

rubencb32 · Oct 13, 2008, 14:53

Yes special attention in domain with .edu and .gov extension

annescoffield · Oct 13, 2008, 18:43

forums are full of knowledgeable webmasters that will surely help you with your site or blog problems. another thing is the backlinks you get every time you post a reply or a new topic.

ezwoodz · Oct 13, 2008, 21:39

I chose relying on organic results from SERPs, it's one of the best way to drive traffic. Rankings.

webcosmo · Oct 13, 2008, 22:04

I find forums a place where I can share ideas and get help from folks in similar business.

Jessemn · Oct 14, 2008, 21:40

Me too, Me too.

Honestly though - forums really can be a great way to drive targeted traffic. The issue is that you actually need to be involved yourself. Useful and insightful thoughts can be hard to string together for some forum posters (as is evident by the way this thread has trailed off in the last few posts...) But if you actually add something useful to the post, you can almost always expect a good return on your forum investment

ReadingBuddy · Jan 29, 2009, 10:02

There are lots of ways, besides forums, to get backlinks. Many, if not most of us, I think, use forums to learn and gain new insights that will help our businesses.

celovek · Sep 23, 2009, 00:53

êëàññ)ìíå ïîíðà)îñîáåííî!

jemple · Sep 23, 2009, 09:38

Yes - exactly what I thought to!

Quote:

Originally Posted by celovek

êëàññ)ìíå ïîíðà)îñîáåííî!

BigTPoker · Sep 23, 2009, 13:20

I agree that forums are a great way to go. Too bad for me that most of the poker forums online don't allow any advertising -- that is, not links to any site which could in any way be construed as a commercial website.

Jack32 · Sep 23, 2009, 15:12

Really? Forums are "a great way to drive traffic"?

I guess noobs think that getting VERY few hits here and there, along with a high bounce rate is good.

*shrugs shoulders* Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

But, if you are going to post anyway, you might as well put in a signature.

airjordan2009 · Sep 27, 2009, 22:53

it's very useful for me,but AD always will be deleted.

Volume10 · Sep 30, 2009, 15:56

I believe if you are truly active in a forum and actually give information or help in your posts that you will naturally attract people to click your sig. (now go click my sig)

tuksdrr · Oct 2, 2009, 10:41

Forums can be a very good source of traffic, but the type of benefit can vary:

1. Quality backlinks - Everyone gets this benefit.

2. Direct clicks from posts -Not everyone gets this benefit. Typically, only people who provide quality responses with decent content will get their links clicked. Think about it - when was the last time you saw a poor or pointless forum post and went on to click on the posters sig?

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Sep 10, 2008, 02:49	#1
Ewan Kennedy SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 35	Notice: This is a discussion thread for comments about the SitePoint article, 10 Ten Rules for Driving Traffic Using Forums. __________ Some very sound advice here, particularly the guidance on etiquette and the principal purpose of forums.

Sep 10, 2008, 03:06	#2
DrAnujGupta Non-Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Boston, USA Posts: 153	MY primary purpose is to discuss on any seo technics problems in Forum. I'm member of Forum from last month. I got good knowledge here.

Sep 10, 2008, 03:16	#3
Pete SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	Dude, this was not all that good. It wasn't 10 rules to drive traffic to your forum, it was 10 rules on what you as a user should do when visiting any forum. Sorry man, sharpen up, this did not give me anything to take with me on any possible forum-building. Maybe a good "rules at this forum"-section...

Sep 10, 2008, 08:04	#4
Tyssen SitePoint Wizard Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Brisbane, QLD Posts: 4,008	Unfortunately, I don't have the same amount of time to post on forums these days but when I did post more regularly, I would notice a fair bit of traffic coming from Sitepoint.

Sep 12, 2008, 04:44	#7
boen_robot SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: europe://Bulgaria/Plovdiv Posts: 97	Well, this article doesn't say anything about traffic driving that I didn't knew already, however the sample forum topic you gave is a good one. I'm not participating on SitePoint's forums enough (I don't have enough time), and when I do, I'm in the techy parts rather than the business parts. So, the advise on 'Start with a "free" promotion, list the non-promotion price, engage your first customers with the promotion' I think is a great way to evaluate the quality of a product or service without creating a negative PR on yourself should the quality of your product/service turns out to be bad. I mean, when you create a payed product/service, people expect quality, and when they don't get it, they stop using it, and advise everyone to stay away from it. When it's free (promotionally or not), they instead try it (since they won't loose anything), and if they don't like it, they say to frinds "Well... I didn't really liked it, but try it if you want... it's free after all".

Sep 13, 2008, 23:40	#8
lukemeister SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 84	Good pointers, I agree and also think that most web site promoters, not to be confused with heavy metal band promoters, discount good forum traffic. There is definitely a spammy way to do anything, and I'm glad you pointed out some differences. I've read way too many forums lately that seems to have a bunch of similar responses to a new forum thread that seem like one person saying the same thing 50 different ways. You do have good content on your site though which really helps to keep visitors (rare), plus you use Grid Focus (I'm pretty sure) which is my favorite theme.

Sep 19, 2008, 21:07	#9
Karen SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	Good advice, even for an NGO blog admin, which is one of my responsibilities. Advice # 7 and 9, I'll be using with my English students as well. ;-)

Sep 20, 2008, 04:03	#10
esds SitePoint Wizard Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: US Posts: 1,171	There are many .edu and .gov forums which can be also useful if you participate there.

Sep 22, 2008, 19:06	#12
fr@nc!z Non-Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 616	I got my traffics mostly from SEs, particularly on image searches; then follow by forums; then the rest came from squidoo pages i made.

Oct 13, 2008, 14:53	#13
rubencb32 SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2	Yes special attention in domain with .edu and .gov extension

Oct 13, 2008, 18:43	#14
annescoffield SitePoint Evangelist Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 459	forums are full of knowledgeable webmasters that will surely help you with your site or blog problems. another thing is the backlinks you get every time you post a reply or a new topic.

Oct 13, 2008, 21:39	#15
ezwoodz SitePoint Addict Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 272	I chose relying on organic results from SERPs, it's one of the best way to drive traffic. Rankings.

Oct 13, 2008, 22:04	#16
webcosmo SitePoint Guru Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 707	I find forums a place where I can share ideas and get help from folks in similar business.

Oct 14, 2008, 21:40	#17
Jessemn SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 52	Me too, Me too. Honestly though - forums really can be a great way to drive targeted traffic. The issue is that you actually need to be involved yourself. Useful and insightful thoughts can be hard to string together for some forum posters (as is evident by the way this thread has trailed off in the last few posts...) But if you actually add something useful to the post, you can almost always expect a good return on your forum investment

Jan 29, 2009, 10:02	#18
ReadingBuddy SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Florida USA Posts: 46	There are lots of ways, besides forums, to get backlinks. Many, if not most of us, I think, use forums to learn and gain new insights that will help our businesses.

Sep 23, 2009, 00:53	#19
celovek SitePoint Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1	êëàññ)ìíå ïîíðà)îñîáåííî!

Sep 23, 2009, 13:20	#21
BigTPoker SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 29	I agree that forums are a great way to go. Too bad for me that most of the poker forums online don't allow any advertising -- that is, not links to any site which could in any way be construed as a commercial website.

Sep 23, 2009, 15:12	#22
Jack32 SitePoint Evangelist Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 418	Really? Forums are "a great way to drive traffic"? I guess noobs think that getting VERY few hits here and there, along with a high bounce rate is good. shrugs shoulders Different strokes for different folks, I guess. But, if you are going to post anyway, you might as well put in a signature.

Sep 27, 2009, 22:53	#23
airjordan2009 SitePoint Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: China Posts: 5	it's very useful for me,but AD always will be deleted.

Sep 30, 2009, 15:56	#24
Volume10 SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dirty South Posts: 58	I believe if you are truly active in a forum and actually give information or help in your posts that you will naturally attract people to click your sig. (now go click my sig)

Oct 2, 2009, 10:41	#25
tuksdrr SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 36	Forums can be a very good source of traffic, but the type of benefit can vary: 1. Quality backlinks - Everyone gets this benefit. 2. Direct clicks from posts -Not everyone gets this benefit. Typically, only people who provide quality responses with decent content will get their links clicked. Think about it - when was the last time you saw a poor or pointless forum post and went on to click on the posters sig?