Forum Marketing Startup Guide for SEO

With Facebook and Twitter getting the most of our attention among the social networks, it seems that other tools of internet communication have lost their magic. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who has been on Twitter or Facebook can confirm that most of the audience consists of teenagers and technology savvy 20 to 40 year olds who want to make a statement about their lives. But let’s face it- most of our lives are neither so exciting nor so eventful that we want the entire world to know about it every 15 minutes.

The majority of people living normal lives are more probably the members of various forums, blogs or discussion groups. Each of us has our favorite topics that we are passionate about and can even have a reputation as a resident expert. Forum marketing can make your online business get noticed. Contrary to the popular opinion that forum users are commonplace and rather confused individuals seeking answers to life’s problems, research has found that forum users are by and large tech and net-savvy. Further, many of them like trying new products and purchasing things online. In fact some forum members can also be paid to give advice to others as they are often regarded as authorities in the topics discussed in the forum.

Using a forum for SEO marketing can help make a good impression in front of a knowledgeable and influential audience. If your product or service is good enough it will also become popular in a very short time.

The following are some pointers leading to a good SEO marketing strategy via the use of forums:

It is wise to remember that not all forums host the people you want to communicate with. It is better to choose a set of 5 to10 forums and concentrate your efforts on these. These forums should have at least 10,000 posts from at least 1,000 members. There should also be at least 10 to15 new posts every day.

It is best to avoid forums which are hosted by your direct competitors. The same goes for those which attract lots of spam.

It is best to create your forum accounts as soon as possible. This will help because seniority is given a lot of importance in almost all online forums.  Some forums even make you wait a few days before allowing you to post for the first time.

While signing up, forum administrators invariably ask you to agree to their user agreements and posting guidelines. It is better to read these documents carefully rather than treat them as just a lot of legal jargon.

They can affect your membership and even your legal liability. Some of the important things to look for are:

• Will you be allowed to include links in your posts?
• Will you be allowed to promote your business in any manner?
• Will you be allowed to use commercial messages in your signature?
• Will you be allowed to contact other members for business purposes on the forum?
• Will there be any restrictions on privileges for new members?

Your user name is the first thing that will attract attention. It is wise to pick one that is memorable, yet simple and which can be easily pronounced. You can even use your real name and/ or the name of your firm. Do not use random combinations of letters and numbers that do not make sense to anyone but you.

It is best to create a profile that will help you establish credibility both for yourself and your firm. In it, set up a description of your expertise and experience. Sometimes personal information can help warm you to others, but it is good not to venture into topics that can alienate anyone, like religion, race or political affiliation.

When you begin to treat forum marketing as an integral part of your long-term strategy, it will definitely pay off.