| If you're a regular presence at discussion forums, you know how active and lively these rooms can get. The most active rooms are always abuzz with news, gossip, industry information, fresh concepts and opinions. In fact, if you need a few ideas of your own, 'eavesdropping' in these forums can be quite productive. They can also be an excellent source of traffic for your site. Why not take advantage of this valuable opportunity? Here are ways how: Contribute. Really contribute. Internet forums are more than just small talk ? they're actually places where people can discuss, share opinions, even argue. To make you sure you get noticed enough to drive traffic to your website, participate in forums where you can really make a difference, where your opinion and views will matter. Don?t just make an appearance in forums just to say hi or 'what's up?', 'uh-huh' or 'I agree.' Take note of the topics and find out what you can say that will actually be considered a contribution. You get more respect that way and people will trust you more. Pretty soon, they'll actively seek you out. Offer useful advice. Other than sharing your intelligent thoughts, you might also want to scour forums for people asking for help. Many site visitors view the internet as a highly evolved directory. They'll use it to ask for advice about a wide range of products ? which mobile phone to buy, where to buy window shades for the kitchen, which makeup to wear, which skin ointment is best for this and that rash, etc. Find out which threads contain questions that you yourself can answer or at least help with. When you do, make sure the link to your website appears on your signature. That is, if it's allowed by the site. You can also make a loose reference to your website in your post and offer other references that appear in a few of your pages. You're not only being helpful, you're also proactive in promoting your website without trying really hard. Leave your footprints behind. Or at least your signature. Never participate in a forum actively without letting people know about your website. Always include your site's address when you post a message so people can see it each time they interact with you. Make sure the link is active so that anyone who clicks on it will be able to view your website. A caveat: make sure you understand the site moderator's stand about inserting links in your signature. Some sites frown at this practice and would rather have their participants sign using only their screen names. Check the site's rules before linking your website with their forums. Use specific keywords. If you're hosting your own forum from your website, take extra care about the keywords you use to name the forum and its threads. This is especially important if you want your forum to make an appearance during searches. Joining forums to drive traffic to your site doesn?t have to be a difficult undertaking. Find out more about the ways you can take advantage of the traffic present in forums with 'Forum Traffic', one of the advice and tutorial videos offered by The Barking Videos series. 'Forum Traffic' can teach you how to use the valuable traffic coming from these areas in the internet. Forums are an opportunity to increase your site's visibility. If you don?t make use of them now, someone else will. |