Does it help to google your own forums?

[ApplianceJunk]

For example, I can find my forums if I do special googel search.
Say for example I google the title of a topic that was started in my forums.

But if I google something like "appliance repair forums" I may find my site 200 pages down the google list.

If I do find myself way back in google after doing a "appliance repair forums" google search then click on it, does that help get me listed better next time someone does a google search for "appliance repair forums"?

Just wondering how it all works...

Thanks,

[DavidCT]

No.  Your listing is based on "page rank" (google it).  To increase rank you need other sites to give you links, such as you do here in the forum using your siggy.

[ApplianceJunk]

Interesting..

Thanks,

[Toma Grubb]

Hi AJ,

There is a way to build your page rank but it takes work.

• First and foremost is have lots of meaningful content on your site that gives people a good reason to link to your site. Not many quality sites are willing to link to sites that are just affiliate links or links to other sites. They want something unique.
• Have original content. The search engines will penalize you if all you have are things you have copied from other websites.
• Post, not spam in a lot of forums. Most forums allow your link in the signature but frown on simply posting links that are off topic and just blatant advertising
• Add your site to directories. There are two ways to do this I know of. One is to do a Google for directories. Go to each and manually add your site. DMOZ is the best directory to get into but also the hardest. There are free directories and paid directories. It is my understanding that it is possible to get penalized by the search engines if you are buying links. There are two ways I know of to make getting inbound links that is fairly easy but still takes work. One is link exchange services. I have not had good luck with them bot I understand others have. ( For Mutual links the site you are linking with should have similar or complementary content and be a site that is already ranked. The other is software that helps you submit to directories. I use Directory submitter.https://paydotcom.com/r/2976/TomaG/1154980/

An other thing is not to be afraid to ask for links. Just like this

If anyone reading this post has a quality heath related website and wants to do a mutual link contact me.

Who knows, just asking might get you a quality link.

I hope this was helpful. These suggestions are what I do and I have Google pr 5/10. My site is well indexed by google, yahoo and MSN with several search terms that come up page one on the search engines and my site traffic has grown to 30,000 unique visitors a month in a little over 7 months. I have no way to know if that is good or not, but I am seeing site traffic increase each month and I have done it without spending a dime on advertising. If you are dedicated, think your site is worth the effort, and are willing to do the grunt work it can be done.

Good luck to you!

[Niteblade]

Hi AJ,

There is a way to build your page rank but it takes work.

• Add your site to directories. There are two ways to do this I know of. One is to do a Google for directories. Go to each and manually add your site. DMOZ is the best directory to get into but also the hardest. There are free directories and paid directories. It is my understanding that it is possible to get penalized by the search engines if you are buying links. There are two ways I know of to make getting inbound links that is fairly easy but still takes work. One is link exchange services. I have not had good luck with them bot I understand others have. ( For Mutual links the site you are linking with should have similar or complementary content and be a site that is already ranked. The other is software that helps you submit to directories. I use Directory submitter.https://paydotcom.com/r/2976/TomaG/1154980/

Indeed. This is the primary reason why I created my directory. Directories that accept any and all sites into them provide no real basis for relevancy; however, a directory custom tailored for a forum software, in my mind, provides this relevancy.

A forum's content is very, very diverse. However, that footer link unites them in at least one regard -- the forum software that powers the discussion. In a similar vein, a directory that revolves around customized and niche content will be more relevant than directories that accept any and all sites.

However, all directories must be examined because they offer an opportunity to build the number of links pointing to a particular domain. The more links that point to a domain, the more "important" the search engines believe the site to be.

I suppose the "relevancy" issue regarding inbound links is up for debate; some proclaim that webmasters should seek inbound links from sites that are of similar content. However, there are those who disagree and believe that any link from any site will be something positive.

Regardless of where one stands on this issue, one must decide for them selves whether or not it's a good idea to take advantage of free inbound links where one can find them.

[ApplianceJunk]

Very interesting,
Thanks for all the info..

[Lilac]

It took my forum a couple years to get to the top, or close to the top, of the relevant search results.

[ApplianceJunk]

But if I google something like "appliance repair forums" I may find my site 200 pages down the google list.

I just did a google search for "Appliance Repair Forums" today.

I found my site on the second page!!

Did not think it would move up that fast, lol..

I help out on the top 4 forums and they let me put my site address in my sig line. I was looking to see if there was maybe some other forums I should be doing this in, when I found our site listed on the second page of the google search, lol...

What a shock to see it there already.

[ApplianceJunk]

From what I read on google webmaster tools it's helpful to have a site map for when google comes around checking your site.

I found this great SMF mode for that.
I just got the site map up and running. I doubt it has helped yet, but next time google comes though it will be there.

SMF Sitemap

[Toma Grubb]

Yes a site map helps. they are easy to apply and Google help index everything on your site. My site http:diabetic-diet-secrets.com is fairly new. I began promoting it in  December 2006. I now have google PR 5 and it is moving toward 6. these things usually do not happen over night and take a lot of work on the part of the webmaster. Google also has other tools that can be helpful. There is an other tool that I did not mention in my first post. That is the Statcounter from Statcounter.com. it will mostly help you see which search terms people are finding you with and give you ideas about what to write. Terms that are obscure will get to page one quickly, terms that are more competitive take longer and more work, I never thought I would even be ranked for a term like "diabetic diet" but my site now comes up #3 on MSN Live, #23 on yahoo out of 6,330,000, #4 on MSN and #29 out of 2,060,000 on google and moving up.

The point I am trying to make is it is possible. I do not have any money to spend on search engine placement. It was all done by sweat equity. I am up against  big budget websites and still out doing most of them. Don't get discouraged, use good white hat SEO techniques and over time you will see results.