Increase traffic using forums
As we all know, forums attrach alot of attention. Visitors like forums and search engines especially like forums.
Why?
Because forums are full of actuall content and there is good content on forums. Issues that users had. In the forum the resolve these issues and have a good solution. Therefore, users like forums and search engines like them because there is always new content for it to find.
How can we as bloggers or website owners benefit from this?
In a few simple steps:
1. Find a forum that is in your catagory.
If you have a website that relates to property, find a forum that talks about property. You won’t benefit from a forum that talks about flowers if you are trying to get visitors to a property site.
2. Join and Sign
Once you have joined the forum, set up your signature. Within your signature you have a link that points to your site or blog. Make it something interesting that people will want to click on it. Maybe a catchy frase, or a good picture?
3. Ask for help and post
Don’t go straight into asking people to have a look at your site. You will probably be removed and be marked as a spammer. Ask good questions and maybe, if you can, answer some other people’s question. Once you have posted a few good threads or replies. Post somthing that refers to your site/blog.
Once people know you are not there to spam, they will most likely go to your blog and do what you asked them to.
4. Ask the Forum members what they want
It confirmed by research that people respond better to products or services if they have had their bit of input. So ask the fellow forum guests what they would like to see. If you have a business blog, ask them their opinions on new business idea’s and what they think would work.
Then, once you’ve had that feedback. write an article about it and tell them that you’ve taken their thoughts further and it matters to you.
They will go and see what you have to say.
5. Offer help
Create a step by step guide to doing something that they might not know how to do. If you are a web designer, create a step by step guide to do something. Maybe show them how to create a quick logo.
By following these simple steps, you are almost garuanteed traffic from forums.
Let me know how it works out for you.
Blog Rush
I came accross a site Called Blog Rush.
What is it? Its basically free advertising for your blog. I’m sure we all know about Google adsense and adwords and how it works. BlogRush works on the same basics. After you’ve signed up with Blogrush you get an Unique URL that you use to reffer people. The URL would look something like this: http://www.blogrush.com/r15934029 when someone follows that link and signs up to BlogRush, I get credits. With those credits I get, I get more exposure on other blogs and in the end more traffic.
I’ve just signed up with them, and I’m giving it a good test run. You will see the BlogRush “Advert” on the left of my blog. In there is posts from other bloggers who are also signed up with BlogRush. I’m not too sure how its calculated on what posts are displayed. But There are Genuine blog posts in there.
What does this cost?
The only real “cost” involved is having the blogRush Widget displayed on your blog. Like the one on the right of my blog. Other than that, its completely free. I think its a really great idea and has alot of potential. I don’t believe that people should be scarce when it comes to “giving away” traffic. If someone wants to do a link exchange with me, I am more than willing to do so.
With BlogRush, It takes all the admin away of having to manually create the links and post it on a separate page. It’s all automatically created and displayed in a neat looking widget.
I’ll give you a report back some day on how its been going for me. It it woks well, then I’ll let you all know. If It doesn’t work. The widget might disappear from my blog.
Till next time.
Robert
does lots of posts give you better traffic?
Does lots of posts give you better ranking on sites like Amatomu.com? does it give you more visitors?
Well yes, and no.
I’m going to be running some tests tomorrow. I’m goin to post a whole bunch of articles about an hour appart. and see if I get more traffic, and if my rating on the top right changes. I believe that posting your articles or making changes on your website have to be at a set time. I find that when I post something every day at 7am, and again at 4, I get better traffic, than when I just randomly post during the day.
I have seen with rating websites that some people shoot up the rankings. It could either be that they have alot of visitors already, or if their content changes alot. ie. lots of posts.
I believe that it could be both.
At the moment of this post, I am rated no 690 on Amatomu. By tomorrow this time, I want to see if my rating has chaged. After all the new posts. It could go both ways. I could get marked for spam, or I could actually get more traffic and better rankings.
To get back to the routine posting.
If you are a blogger, I would really recommend that you post your articles at about the same time every day. That then allows your readers to come back at a certain time and they know that there will be something new. For me, I find that the best time to post is before the day starts.
If you have RSS readers they will get the RSS feeds first thing in the morning. That way, you have a better chance of them actually seeing your post. Before the day gets too busy.
The other time that would be good to post, would be towards the end of the day. Just before the business day ends. That way, when people have finished all their work and have some time to kill, they will browse through their emails/RSS feeds. If they find something interesting, they will click through and have a look at your website/blog.
Is there a better time to post? is there anything else that I am missing in regards to posting at certain times or your ranking?
Let me know what you think.
pageRank Does it Matter?
PageRank is a number value that represents the importance of a website on the Internet. Google figures that when a site links to another one, it is casting a vote for the other page. The more votes that are cast for a site, the more important that site must be!
When I visit a web site, I look at the “PageRank” of the web site. To me PageRank is more of a credibility index than anything. For example, I would feel more confident making a purchase or requesting a service from a web site with a PageRank of 6 than I would from a web site with the PageRank of 2. Therefore I am more likely to convert (try, buy, or recommend) a product, article or service from web site with a higher PageRank.
Google control’s PageRank. They have the final say in what the PageRank of a site would be. It is mostly worked out by a formula. Largely unknown by the public. A basic rule of thumb is that the more links you have to your site the better your PageRank would be.
50 not so well known social media sites.
I thought I might share some social media sites with you guys:
- AgentB: On AgentB, you’ll be able to find great deals online.
- iliketotallyloveit: Visit this site to find weird, but fun products.
- Dealigg: Dealigg offers “social bargain hunting” on lots of tech deals.
Gear & Gadgets
In these communities, you’ll find discussions and links that are all about grown up toys
- AutoSpies: Find out what the spies are sharing on this social media site that’s obsessed with automobiles.
- Meme or Lame: This “citizen media platform” is all about gizmos, ranging from cars to cell phones.
Finance & Business
Stay on top of the worlds of business and money through these sites.
- Value Investing News: Get news about the stock market from other investors on this social media site.
- HubSpot: Find and share content about marketing online and off on HubSpot.
- Real Estate Voices: Read the most interesting news about the real estate market on Real Estate Voices.
- Small Business Brief: Visit this community to learn how to be a better small business owner.
- FeedTheBull: Visit FeedTheBull to see what’s hot in the market.
Sports
Read about your favorite teams, players, and sports on these sites.
- BallHype: This social media site has a great community and all of the best sports stories to share.
- SportsAg: Visit SportsAg to find an aggregation of all the best sports articles, all in one website.
- PlanetMVP: PlanetMVP is full of “sport shorts” — videos of sports players of all ages and skill levels.
- ScoreGuru: In this online sporting community, you can get the latest in sports news.
Web Development
Here you’ll find a wealth of web development sites, ranging from SEO to design.
- DNHour: Find domain name news content from other domainers through this site.
- Sphinn: In Sphinn’s discussion forums and links, you’ll find great information about internet marketing.
- DZone: DZone offers plenty of helpful links for web developers.
- SEO TAGG: SEO TAGG is home to search engine optimization content, and other related links.
- Pixel Groovy: Pixel Groovy’s community seeks out the best in online tutorials for developers.
- BloggingZoom: Read the posts on BloggingZoom to get the latest on the blogging world.
- Design Bump: Read news about web design on this fun and informative website.
- PlugIM: PlugIM is full of awesome internet marketing content.
Fashion
Visit these sites for eye candy, finds, and plenty of style.
- Stylehive: Stylehive connects stylish people with each other, offering bookmarks, links, forms, and a lot more.
- Chictini: Chictini features the latest in fashionable and cute.
Technology
Keep up with the latest in technology on these social media sites.
- Tweako: On Tweako’s site for “collaborative computing,” you’ll find guides, tutorials, and lots more for computing, technology, and the Internet.
- Hacker News: Check out Hacker News for teachnology links from the dark side.
- SWiK: In this community-driven resource, you’ll find information about open source software.
Entertainment
Enjoy videos, celebrity news and more on these social media sites that entertain.
- Video Bomb: Stop by Video Bomb to get a sampling of the best videos online.
- Lipstick: Lipstick shares all of the celebrity news that matters.
- ShowHype: ShowHype has loads of stories about movies, TV, music, celebrities, and more.
- VideoSift: VideoSift will help you get through the muck of videos to find the most entertaining and useful stuff out there.
News
These sites offer an up-to-the-minute look at news along with a sense of community.
- Newscloud: On Newscloud you can find stories hand picked from users around the world.
- Shoutwire: Shoutwire has Internet news in just about every category imaginable.
- 2CentsNews: Find community-created news and submit your own 2 cents on this social media site.
- Newsvine: Keep your ear to the ground and find out what the world is talking about on Newsvine.
- Searchles: Search for news within your social circle on Searchles.
- NewsHeat: Get the latest in popular political news through NewsHeat.
- NowPublic: Read about all of the new and interesting news events around the world on NowPublic.
- BuzzFlash: BuzzFlash’s community aims to fight ignorance with progressive news and commentary.
International
Here you’ll be able to connect with users from different parts of the world.
- Muti: Muti centers on all things Africa.
- IndianPad: On IndianPad, you’ll see all of the latest news stories in India and great finds in Indian interest.
Weird & Interesting
If you’re in the mood to find something offbeat, be sure to visit these sites.
- Plime: In this community, you can find and add weird and interesting links.
- Truemors: Check out Truemors for the latest breaking news and rumors.
- linkfilter.net: linkfilter.net is exactly what it sounds like — a filter for all of the web’s links.
Miscellaneous
These social media sites are in a class of their own.
- Wordsy: Wordsy’s links are all about books, writing, and words.
- BrewPoll: Join this community, and you’ll get the latest in home brewing and craft beer news.
- blogs4God: Get connected with Christians who blog by checking out this site.
- Hugg: Within the Hugg site, you’ll be able to find lots of different news and advice about the environment.
- Kirtsy: Formerly known ask Skirt, Kirtsy has links that women will really appreciate.
- TTiqq: Get online tips and tricks for technology, finance, and lots more on TTiqq
Tell I’m going to start using these. And bring some traffic to my blog aswell as these social media websites. 
