Why Posting on Forums Helps Your PageRank
Many people advise that posting on forums related to your area are a good source of the good stuff- links and traffic. You put your link in your signature and go about posting as per usual. But 99% of these people are only think about the possibility of some clickthroughs and the possibility of the thread gaining a PageRank.
Don’t Worry About the Thread’s PR
Most forums’ URL structures are atrocious ?id=stuff&page=q434234 style links. These pages aren’t designed for PageRank. They might get a PR1 or 2 but these will pretty much have no significant impact on your own PR.
Link directories can be your best friend. Don’t be afraid to submit!
While your signature may be linking out to your site, your post links to your profile. It’s the profile page that will get a higher PR and the link to your site in there that is most beneficial. Think of all the posts as sort of a link base. You build a solid foundation of links with a low PR to your site and profile, and you get higher PR links from other sources, like link exchanges, directories, etc…
A great example of a forum that has rewritten URLs (thread/74646/ instead of ?thread=47727) everywhere, and profiles that link out to your site is 9rules Notes. My 9rules notes (my.9r) profile has a PR of 5. This of course is only one benefit to being active in a community you enjoy, but that example has the optimum set up.
Don’t Disappear After you get on Good Link
You should pick the forums you want to be active based on your own interest, not the chance for a link or two. The future PR of your profile, posts and threads are merely a benefit. A small amount of traffic from signature clickthroughs are another benefit.
Later today or tomorrow I’ll post on how to get high PR links (PR6-7+) just by commenting on a blog once (no top commentators). Subscribe for updates to get that as soon as it hits the presses!
Leave a comment
Adam McKerlie
August 24th, 2007 at 11:52 AM
Hmm interesting I had never thought about forums and PR. I get a few click clickthroughs from sig links but I never thought they’d amount to anything
PS Finally I’m the top commentator
Connor Wilson
August 24th, 2007 at 12:01 PM
Congratulations
You’re also the owner of the 980th comment
Maybe the 1000th commenter will get a prize. I dunno, a review or something. I can’t offer much right now 
Naresh
August 24th, 2007 at 5:37 PM
That’s some good advice. I’m active on several forums, so it’s time to actively try to get some hits.
xnepali
August 24th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
Great info. I haven’t thought about it.
But some of the forum I visit don’t want any external links anywhere around.
But there sure are some that allow.
Daniel Johnson
August 25th, 2007 at 7:43 AM
I use to be a big forum junkie but am too busy with the blog to strongly get back into it.
Thanks for clearing this stuff up, I wasn’t quite sure about this sorta stuff. Much apreciated.
Ukrainian
August 26th, 2007 at 2:27 PM
So saying that just registering on forum helps to increase PR? And there is no need to post on it?
Mutiny Design
August 26th, 2007 at 6:30 PM
Like your choice to use 9Rules, it is probably only worth posting on forums that have good link weight and structure.
Another benefit I have heard that forum posting is that it makes your link profile look more natural - the idea being that Google can tell if all your links seem to be coming from similar sources, such as porn or viagra sites for example. I have no idea if this is true though.
Connor Wilson
August 26th, 2007 at 9:12 PM
@xnepali: Yeah, you run the risk of a forum like that. You still get the good community aspect though.
@Ukrainian: You do have to post. The posts are what gives you the links to your site and your profile.
@Mutiny: Google likes “natural” links like that I think. Spam links like that and purchased link carry less weight I believe. How they tell the difference between a blogroll and a TLA is beyond me however.
Aelizia
November 20th, 2007 at 1:10 AM
Hi,
Its a informative blog.Active forums don’t always exist within a lot of profitable, so you may need to find a forum that covers your niche. Backlinks from a large forum in your niche is like a free gift from heaven, search engines love them, and they’ll love your backlinks.Thanks for the great article!
Claire Search
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Forums, blogs - pretty much everything with a decent pagerank does help. We bought our domain a few months ago and it has gained a PR of 4 already. We religeously get a few links a week. If you get the right places then its fantastic. I also saw that social networking sites like Yahoo news are really good places to put your sit out there. I think that will be something to look into in the near future. We may not gain a good link but the awareness will be great.
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