Forum Signatures for Increasing Traffic

[TraciKnoppe]

angeladaviss: a signature link will work, IF you join forums or comment on blogs, etc... to genuinely contribute something of value to the conversation - then yes, folks will be inclined to want to check out the link in your signature to learn more about you and what you offer.

[Lynn Terry]

Hi Angela,

Forum Signatures are great for two things:

- direct traffic (human click-through's)
- inbound links (to increase search engine rankings)

Your profile on a forum also gets indexed by the search engines, so you want to make sure you complete your profile with relevant bio and link info. The more posts you make to a forum, the more 'weight' your profile will have too - as each post links back to your profile. In forums that don't allow hyperlinks in signatures, this is a great way to get more weight to your profile that does contain your link.

Also See: Forum Signature Tip (http://www.clicknewz.com/932/forum-signature-tip-to-increase-clicks-sales/) (for a higher click-through rate)

Your signature is just a two-word link. That is good if you want the page you linked to rank well for that two-word phrase. But for members to click through, you'll want to add more info - use a little copywriting to create an incentive to click.

[ress]

Forum signature is another way of getting a backlink. The important think about link building is the variety.

Provide value in your forum posts and members won't think twice in checking out what else you have to offer.

Raymond

[CG12]

Ok I have a totally "newbie" sounding question about adding signature links but my brain is a little fried right now with updating my site, writing articles and attempting other suggested seo stuff so please forgive my ignorance on this one.

I see that people use wording in their signatures that point to the site they want visitors to go to but how do you do that? I know what I want my signature to say but I'm not sure how to go about making the change so that it still points to my site. I know I have to go to my user CP but what then?

I'm sure that I am missing something very easy to fix here I just am having a brain lapse on how to do it.

TIA for the help.

Christine

[TraciKnoppe]

Christine: go to your User CP, click Edit Signature. In the compose area, type out your signature, including the words you want to use as a link. Highlight those words with your mouse, then click the Insert Link icon and paste in the URL for your link.

The Insert Link icon looks like a blue globe with a chain link over it.

Save your signature and that's it. :)

[CG12]

Thanks Traci...I got it Yippee!

I figured I was mixing something easy and I didn't see the link thingy until you mentioned it. I told you I was a little fried. :o

I appreciate your help.

Blessings,
Christine

[TraciKnoppe]

Awesome! Glad to help. :)

[Lynn Terry]

Hi Angela,

A link in a forum signature is the same as a link anywhere. And yes, inbound links help you to achieve higher rankings for specific keyword phrases in the major search engines.

See: Inbound Links (http://www.clicknewz.com/2115/quality-inbound-links/) and Effective Link Building (http://www.clicknewz.com/2110/effective-link-building/)

[yuri21]

Interesting! I'd known that ,yes, signature links were recommended IF you had the time and ability to contribute worthy knowledge. But I didn't realize that they counted also as "inbound links" or were the same as a link anywhere. :eek:


Thanks, Lynn! :)

[deniseoberry]

This is a good discussion about why you should post in forums and include a signature link if allowed. A lot of people (including myself) have been recommending this for years to help others build relationships. The whole linking issue is just icing on the cake! :)

[HarryJackson]

Forum signatures give advantage as they count as link also provide good handsome traffic

[Lynn Terry]

I think, though, that some forums which are password protected, are not spidered by the search engines, although some forum software gives you the ability to switch on a route for the spiders to reach the content. Not 100% sure on that - maybe Lynn knows more!

Maggie

Right, private forums aren't spidered so the links there don't count (which is a good thing!). Public forums that get indexed in the search engines are what you want to use for "forum marketing".

Another tip is to use specific keyword phrases in the titles of the threads you start, as these get indexed and give your post and signature even more exposure if they rank well for a keyword phrase. Using very specific thread titles also gets you more views in general than "I have a question"...

[NicoleDean]

I've been thinking about this and have a thought.

Would it have been better to NOT use the signature feature in our profile account, and instead paste in a signature at the end of each post to better be able to rotate links/anchor text? Because if I change my signature, it updates in all past posts.

Thoughts? :)
N

[Adriana]

I am not sure Lynn would approve that, since it could get out of hand (people could use that to spam).

[webmann]

I haven't added a link to my profile signature yet but I do swear by them. I just don't like to use them until I have been posting for a while.

The trick to getting plenty of traffic from your signature is to add value to the forum and people just gravitate to those people, because they are helpful.

[NicoleDean]

Good point, Adriana. I hadn't considered that the length limits wouldn't be automatically enforced. :) I forget about stinkers cheating the system sometimes.

[deannatroupe]

I've been posting to forums for quite some time and I've noticed that I get much more traffic when I'm active on the forums than I do when I am inactive. I'm still experimenting to see which forums bring me the most traffic. Sometimes I don't even worry about all of that and just participate in the forums because I like the owner or I like the people on the forum. Traffic isn't everything...