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Community & Forum Link Building Guide

Using forums to build links for SEO is perhaps one of the oldest link-building techniques used. But it comes with a controversial reputation. Some SEOs are cautious about this technique since it has been abused by spammers for many years. It’s definitely true! But it is also true that backlinks from forums are efficient for SEO. Undoubtedly, you shouldn’t use it as your only link-building strategy. But you may lack certain advantages compared to your competitors using it. It is essential to distinguish the white link building technique from using black hat forums. On popular forums white link building is used when you help people by answering their questions. On the other hand, link building on black hat forums is merely spamming people. In the first case, it is valuable to the forum users and your website if your link doesn’t promote your services and acts within forum rules. In the second case, you may be quickly banned with all your articles and in-post links. Disclaimer. MarketingHack in no way encourages you to violate forum rules and is against spamming on forums. We strongly warn you against creating tools that sell black hat link services on forums. All the techniques we describe in this guide are given for informational purposes. We do not encourage you to act in any way that may violate forums rules

What forums can help you with?

Active discussions on forums will reward you with traffic. You can get massive website traffic from your in-post links and through your signature. Some marketers underestimate the benefits of using forums to get traffic. In reality, traffic from forums may be a significant source of traffic, leads, and even sales. Forums allow you to get backlinks. If you look at posts in the popular forum profiles of active members, you may see a significant number of links they put to their websites. This applies to both in-post links and links in signature. Traffic Backlinks

Why are forums important for SEO?

If you consider the value of forums from the perspective of SEO, you may see that they have approximately the same value as Q&A sites and social networks. Indeed, social networks are like forums if you are not an ordinary spammer. Check the backlink profiles of websites holding top Google positions in various niches. Many of them contain forums’ links. Some of them may have white hat links voluntarily posted by random people. It works similarly to the links on social networks. People actively share interesting and valuable content. It is what the World Wide Web is built for. If you find a website with the highest positions in SERPs and no links in Q&A sites and forums it may probably mean that they don’t have a natural backlink profile. Most likely, many link builders may have worked hard to make it. Natural backlink profiles contain different links from different types of websites. The same applies to nofollow and dofollow links. Only dofollow links are essential for SEO. It is not entirely true. The truth is that it’s a direct sign to Google that your website is engaged in artificial link building. It may even buy links if it has only a few nofollow links or doesn’t have them entirely.

How do you usually get links from forums?

Probably, you may not be surprised to know that most SEOs use forums for spam. It is indeed a careless strategy since it can lead not only to a ban from forums but also to an algorithmic filter from Google Penguin. Usually, link builders look for any forums with the possibility to get in-post links. They aren’t interested in the quality of these forums. There is no stopping them if the forums are not moderated or no longer used. The primary purpose of such individuals is placing links. Some fanatical spammers may use specialized software to automate the process of posting links on forums. They usually use Magic Submitter and SEnuke since these tools can significantly increase the speed of the process of forum link building. But this only applies to poorly moderated forums. We strongly recommend you not to do this since we are against spamming in forums.

The strategies we have shared below are far more effective. Also, if you don’t break the forum rules, then you won’t be banned on forums. Another popular and really old link-building technique is placing a link in forum profile pages. Some link builders continue using this technique and their websites may soon get penalized by Google Penguin. Besides, many profile pages may contain a noindex tag. It means that Google may ignore such pages and also their links. So, don’t use this method. Link building services are popular on the BHF and Fiverr, including forum marketing services. It may sound odd, but such services are still popular even today. Some naive customers believe that they can buy high-quality backlinks at quality forums for just $5-$15. However, these links are mostly from poorly visited and often dead forums. Google will never index most of these links. You may also consider the risk of getting a penalty from Google Penguin. Consequently, we don’t recommend using such link-building methods.

How to do it correctly?

Firstly, change your attitude towards the process of forum link building. You’re not a spammer but you are an expert and an active forum member. Your goal is to get high-quality links resulting in significant traffic to your website. But this shouldn’t be in the form of hundreds of spam links from dead forums. Also, it is impossible if you are not active there. It is vital that your forum activity doesn’t only consider adding links to each reply. Instead, it means that you should actively take part in the forum life while helping its members. Hence, you may be able to build your reputation and increase your ranking. People may start listening to your opinion, and your in-post links will result in referral traffic to your website.

How to find great forums in your niche?

Firstly, you should aim to find the most popular and active forums in your niche. You may open our list of forums created for you, or you may also find them using the following methods: It is one of the many simple and effective ways used to find forums in your niche. Use the following operators to search for forums: Monitoring backlink profiles of your competitors is a widely known practice in SEO. The idea of this method is to check the reference profiles of Top Google SERPs with your desired request.

1. Search forums using Google search operators. You may need different SEO tools to get answers to these questions. We use various SEO tools, but Ahrefs is the best one to complete the given task. Ahrefs has a special filter that allows you to select only forums. Use your browser in incognito mode to get real search results. It allows avoiding personalized data in the SERPs.

2. Search forums using competing websites “To do this, register at Ahrefs.com or log in if you already have an account there. Copy the website URL of your competitor in the top form where it says “”Enter domain, URL or Topic.”” Next, in the left column, click on the Backlinks section. As a result, we have a list of all external links of the specified URL.” “The next step is to use an Ahrefs filter to select only the forums. To do this, select “””” in the “”.””” So, Ahrefs will only list forums or pages in the forums where the competitors placed links to their websites. Thread URLs and their names will be listed to the left. The anchors and posts with links will be displayed to the right. The date when Ahrefs found the particular link will be shown on the extreme right. <keyword> + forum < keyword > + Which forums do they use? What link anchors do they place in answers? Which threads do they consider? How often do they do it? This website was used only as an example, and we have no relation to it. As you can see, this website has backlinks with different anchor texts, but most of these are the naked URL links. You may check all the forums and compile your own list to repeat the actions of your competitor. “Finally, go to the “”New”” subsection to find out how often your competitors put backlinks in forums.” “Go to the “”New Backlinks”” section where you can see the links that appear during a particular time. It could be any time frame, from the last 30 days to any other time you need to know.”

Top 20 Most Popular Forums

Etsy, found in 2005, is the perfect space for small-scale entrepreneurs and growing start-ups. Here, almost anyone can create an account within minutes and start selling stuff they created. Everything from jewelry to clothes and other physical goods and services can be transacted here. You can easily link your website and share it on your profile. Note that Etsy doesn’t support live links. 183M per month CNET, launched in 2014, is a forum tailor-made for tech-savvy people. Here you can post reviews, get the latest updates, discuss high-tech technologies and connect with experts from around the world. Each forum here is divided around a category of interests, you can participate in any discussion thread or create a separate post yourself. https://www.cnet.com/forums/ 149M per month https://www.4chan.org/ https://wordpress.org/support/forums/ 4Chan is a forum where anyone can share images and comment on them. everything from pop culture references, Japanese anime, popular memes, videogames, and music is acceptable here. You don’t need to register or create an account to avail 4Chan’s services. Also, according to the rules of the forum, one cannot use avatars or signatures on their posts. 68M per month WordPress is an open-source CMS launched in 2003.

The forum is well-known to bloggers and web developers. Once you have installed WordPress and registered an account, you will be redirected to your profile. Here, you can create new posts, view existing ones, follow people, check your stats and expand the audience base in a few simple clicks. For each forum you will learn: Etsy Forum – The number of visitors per month according to SimilarWeb; The age of forum; The forum niche; https://www.etsy.com/forums Minecraft Forum – 42M per month Adobe is a name that has become synonymous to photography and image editing. There are several apps and platforms under Adobe such as Adobe Photoshop, Flash Player, Adobe Reader, Lightroom, Acrobat, Illustrator and more. The company was found in 1982 and has since then become a household name, popular even among people who aren’t very tech-savvy. Here you can check out the different products offered, meet experts from around the world, and indulge in discussions. 10M per month

How to use forums?

When you have a list of forums to use, you may create forum profiles. It is important to build your reputation to have opportunities to place links. Very few people pay attention to this step. The look of your profile defines the attitude towards your personality. It is true from the position of other forum participants and forum administration. Forum spammers usually don’t create high-quality profiles. They also don’t use Avatars, or more often use only a random vector image. They use weird usernames, such as Max348502 or SuperMan777. It’s better to use your real name for the forum username. We also don’t recommend using the name of your website or the company name. People want to communicate with other people. So, you should use personal names if you want others to trust you and not be treated like a BOT.

2. How to improve your reputation?

Be sure to specify your gender, date of birth, list your hobbies and profession. Don’t forget to specify your social network links. Spend a little more time creating your forum profile so that it looks real. I have explained how to address this issue in detail in my article” 3. How to place backlinks in forums? Use the photo of a random person as an Avatar. It may not necessarily be your own photo. Use the following website for creating it. This website generates photos of people based on artificial intelligence. In fact, it creates photos of people who do not exist in reality.

Many forums allow you to provide the URL of your websites in your profiles immediately after registration. But we don’t recommend that you do this as you may look like a typical spammer. This helps to build the trust of both moderators and forum users. The forum’s reputation plays an important role. Each forum has its own algorithm for considering the user’s status. In general, the following factors are considered: After 2-4 weeks you may leave a note in the old thread with the following text: Note: Follow the rules listed below to get high-quality backlinks and avoid being banned: What to do if the forum moderators kill your backlinks? Don’t use SPAM; Don’t violate the forum rules to save your time and efforts; Don’t place in-post links in forums after your registration; https://thispersondoesnotexist.com “””This topic is too old and probably doesn’t have up-to-date information. Please, check more the relevant thread: … “”. Here you may refer the readers to a new thread created by your friend.” Some forums may consider the age of your forum profile. The older you are as a Member, the better it is. Some forums may allow users to publish links either in posts or in signature only when you reach a certain reputation level. Also, you may be granted access to the responses in closed sections of the Forum. Or, you may be authorized to create new threads. Previously, you may have only had the option to comment on threads of other members. Thus, your primary goal is a systematic work of building your forum reputation. The best strategy is to invest time each day to comment in every forum. One valuable post per day is enough to create a high reputation in the long run. Though you may write several posts daily, always remember that there are many good forums and you have to work on your status everywhere at the same time.

The 6 most effective methods to use if the forum has active moderation?

Sometimes, it may happen that irrespective of the benefits and high-quality posts written by you, merely adding a link may lead to the permanent deletion of your article. We strongly recommend that you avoid link-building practices on such forums. Many trusted forums don’t have strict exclusions on posting backlinks. Different methods allow you to post links, even in such forums. But since these methods refer to black hat link building, we do not recommend using them in order to avoid being banned from forums. These methods are entirely for informational purposes and do not call for any action. This method works quite well despite being quite popular. Its main advantage is that you are able to place a Homepage link to your website. This method is best suited if your website domain consists of the name that you use as a forum username.

1. Posting a link at the end of the reply after the name and title To do this, you need to put your link at the end of your post in several lines after your text.

3. Masking links under the image

2. Masking links under the Signature “Sometimes, it may be appropriate to place one of the following lines above your link: “”_”” or “”————————-.”” Though it may resemble a link in your Signature, it’s not actually so. The advantage of this method in some forums is that you are able to place only Nofollow links under the signature. At the same time, you are also able to place Dofollow links in your forum posts.” For this purpose, you may take an image from your website, but it should be relevant to the topic of the forum discussion. The image may be masked as a hyperlink placed in the post on your Forum. The range of images differs and may include diagrams, charts, tables, and relevant memes. They are inserted into the text of your forum post, and the image is masked as a link to your website. If you do it correctly, you may be able to get links even in those forums where moderators delete almost all the answers with links. “To do this, you need to place a link in your post, but it should be in the form of a short anchor text, such as “”here,”” “”source,”” “”this,”” “”more,”” “”page,”” “”post,”” “”other,”” etc.” This method usually works well if the following three conditions are met:

4. Posting a link with a short anchor text

5. Post editing and adding the link

6. Placing a video in the post The anchor text is small enough not to attract the forum moderators; The link in your post doesn’t look like an advertisement; “The anchor text doesn’t contain a call to action. The examples of anchor texts that may probably be removed are “”check over here,”” “”check my blog,”” “”click to read more,”” “”clicking here,”” “”visit the website,”” “”try this out,”” and “”useful link.””” The essence of this method is in editing your post along with placing links after some time of publication. The forum moderators usually check all new posts within the first 24 hours. This allows you to place your link in the post after a while. This method is doubly effective if you open a new thread and add a link to your main post when the thread becomes popular. But please note that some forums may impose time limits to editing your posts. Sometimes it may happen that absolutely any link you add in your post may be deleted even if you have placed it correctly. It is also possible that your forum account may be permanently deleted along with that link. In such cases, the ideal solution may be to place videos instead of links. The forum moderators are usually loyal to hosting related videos in the forum posts. If you have your own YouTube channel, you may place the code of your video in a popular thread on the Forum. It also acts as a great promotion of your business. The primary rule remains the same. The video should be relevant to the topic of discussion in a particular thread. Apart from the referral traffic to your YouTube channel, you shall significantly increase the number of views in your videos. Some users may also visit your website by clicking on the link below the video.

How to use the forum Signature with the most benefit?

Finally, now we shall address the links in your Signature. It is a narrow strip of text that you may place at the end of each response. In other words, if you have 200 answers on the forum, it means that you have 200 links in your Signature. The only concern is that these links are the same. So Signature links should not be regarded as an SEO tool. Google considers all your links in Signature as one single link. The same applies even if you have thousands of links on this forum. So, your Signature could be used more effectively to generate referral traffic to your website. Create a page on your site that may be valuable for the forum users. It may be an article in your blog telling people how to do something meaningful in your niche. Next, add a link to this article in your Signature. The anchor you select should be exceptionally interesting for the users of your Forum. 1. A link with an intriguing anchor text For example, if your website is about games and you are using the games forum, it makes sense to place a link in your signature with the following text: “””Where is the most powerful and rare sword in Skyrim with damage-45?””” 2. Making your Signature a link to your free product You may make this link as colorful as possible. For example, it may be a bright green highlighted with the Strong tag. This helps you get significant website traffic to your article on this topic. Some of these site visitors may also become regular readers of your blog. Most people love getting freebies even if they don’t need it. It helps if you are able to give away a free license to your software, a subscription to a Webinar or your online book. It may be anything of value to the target readers of the forum. “As in the previous method, the success of this method is possible only if your offer is  relevant to the interests of the target audience in the Forum. For example, the users of the game Forum aren’t interested in your forum Signature offering “” But the same Signature will be successful in the Warrior Forum since its target audience is SEOs and marketers.” These are the two efficient ways to make your Signature link visible and attractive: list of forums “free download of the keyword research software until the end of this month.””” Here is a that we successfully use or have used until now.