There are many types of social media that your site can take advantage of as part of your SEO campaign. SEO experts will often talk of the advantages of Twitter, the need to be on Facebook and the possibilities that YouTube opens up. It all sounds progressive, modern and technically advanced.

What very few people mention is how much use a basic forum can be to you. Forget for a moment the exciting possibilities of Twitter (which are real) – simply joining a forum that holds interest in your industry can put you in direct contact with a community full of your target users. Forums can also be a valuable resource when you’re trying to generate links back to your site.

Forums have been a part of the internet since it began. Their presence might not be quite so prominent these days, but they are as popular as ever. With all of the bells and whistles available on other forms of social media, it’s easy to forget that forums are a direct way to communicate with your target user group. They are also a prime way to track them down in the first place.

Take computer technology, for example. Internet users search for information on computer technology all the time. Users that are deeply interested in the subject are more likely to investigate more deeply and communicate with like-minded people on forums to gain information. They’re also more likely to make regular purchases of computer hardware and software. In other words, they are the ideal market for any site that sells computer technology. Happily, the computer technology market is easy to locate. Simply typing ‘computer technology forum’ into Google will produce a wealth of results, as will a search on reviews for any particular brand. In two searches you can track down information on your competitors and locate the forums your target users are likely to frequent.

Once you discover the forums your users rely on, join them. A little effort is required at this point in order to develop a reputation within your chosen micro-community. Just joining a forum isn’t enough to generate interest or links, so you have to participate. Asking and answering questions is a good start. This can be a good opportunity to do some subtle research on what your users are looking for in your site and a chance to establish your business as an authority within the community.

When joining forums, ensure you provide a link to your site as part of your signature. Not every forum will allow this, but most will, and users within these forums are used to seeing personal links as part of a signature. Once your site link is in your signature, every comment you post provides a highly relevant backlink to your site. Participation in industry forums can be significant part of many search engine optimisation plans. Although this kind of link-building may take a commitment of time, the links it produces are often more worthwhile than those acquired through other link-building programs. Talk to us at SEO Consult about building your links in this way.

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