Building Backlinks on Forums by Forums Posting

Forums are a popular way to get backlinks for a new website and introduce your site to a community related to the niche, but some promoters and SEOs get so caught up in the potential benefits that they end up annoying the forum community and creating a negative image for their brand.

The first key to successful promoting a website through forums is to review the rules and regulations of the forum, particularly as it related to links and signatures. Some forums don't even allow signature links, so don't waste your time here if your only purpose is to establish a link profile. Even if they do allow signature links, there may be limitations on what types of sites can be linked to, or there may be minimum posting requirements before such links are accepted. Paying close attention to the forum rules and following those guidelines is the essential first step.

Next, it is important to be familiar with the culture of the forum community in question. This can be achieved by spending even more time reading: not just the rules, but the actual threads where the membership interacts. Learn to spot common themes and inside jokes - and keep an eye out for the types of behavior and types of comments that create negative reactions from other posters. If certain topics (usually religion or politics) create a lot of frustration and arguments, try to avoid these topics with your own posts.

Lastly, try to keep links in the signature field provided. The only exception is when the forum thread specifically deals with a topic you've posted on. In that case, it could be acceptable to leave a link to your specific article or page that deals with the exact question raised in the forum thread. Excessively dropping unrelated links in the content of your forum post is a sure-fire way to get banned from most online communities.

Now, forum signature backlinks aren't exactly the most powerful for SEO purposes, but if you can establish yourself as a valued member of the forum community you're less likely to make enemies and more likely to build up a reputation as an expert in the niche. Be active, polite, and helpful, and you'll find that the benefits do exist.