Promoting Websites through Forum Submissions

Forums are discussion boards where people of a particular niche or with common interest ask questions and share their views in form of threads. As defined by Wikipedia, internet forum “is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.”Forums Submissions today have become an integral part of off-page SEO. Internet marketers and SEOs use forums as a significant part of their SEO strategy. Supplying website URLs embedded inside the message body in form of keywords and signatures constitutes to this approach. Forum postings for SEO point of view require submitting only informative comments and threads in high PR niche forums in order to build quality backlinks. This link building strategy is called as “forum submissions” providing better exposure and driving traffic to your website.

However not all the forums accept these links and may remove the post for the reason of infringing its guidelines. There are a common set of rules and guidelines for forum submissions that every SEO, be it amateur or professional must take care of.

Forum Posting: Best Practices

• Make sure to read the rules and guidelines of the forum before you post a new thread or reply existing one.
• Search your topic in the forum before you post to avoid repetition of the topic.
• Use an appropriate title for your thread and keep away from posting in unrelated threads, double posting in the same thread or cross posting the same message over various threads.
• Do not deviate from the topic by posting a different problem or initiating a personal chat in somebody else’s thread.
• Respond to spam comments personally so they are not displayed in public. You can also report them if needed.
• Possibly try to explain everything in “words” or providing links. Avoid attaching large files that need to be downloaded by other forum members.
• To make post readable by everyone uses plain text in place of HTML
• Use formal language devoid of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and abbreviations easily conveying your message to large no. of readers. Also, mind your sense of humor does not sound awkward for readers of the post.
• Use of all caps and criticizing other members is considered RUDE.
• Whenever possible try to help others more frequently by replying than seeking help yourself.
• Be responsible for your privacy. Beware while posting personal information like email ids and phone numbers etc.
• Post unique content, not violating any kind of copyright.
• Create small and concise signatures. Larger signatures may be removed by moderators.
• Do not illicitly download software cracks or warez as per the forum rules.
• Make your responses count by keeping them clear and to-the-point. Avoid posting lewd material or giving misleading and pointless answers.