You will hear many people telling you how beneficial it is to promote your web site/s on forums. What they neglect to tell you is that effective promotion takes time and dedication. (It is normally at this point that lazy spammers leave this article and move on....)

Promoting your web site/s on forums demands time, dedication and patience.

Here is a quick 10 point Forum check list:

1. Choose forums that are relevant to your web site/s; i.e. sailing on a sailing forum, local business on a local community forum etc.
2. Check that the forums allow uploadable Avatars and signatures that link to your web site/s.
3. Check that the "No Follow" meta tag is NOT in place on the forum.
4. Having the "No Follow" is not a train smash, though, as you are trying to get CUSTOMERS and not VISITORS.
5. Make sure that your forum posts are ON TOPIC, BRIEF, and NOT SPAMMY.
6. Become the recognised authority when you post.
   If there is a keyword phrase that you would like to rank well for in the search engines, use this as the 'anchor text' in your website link.
7. Bookmark the forums that you visit.
8. Check your SPELLING and grammar.
9. Visit the forums regularly and ONLY comment if your comment CONTRIBUTES.

Modern forums are the equivalent of the Village Pump - a place for people to gather, swop ideas and catch up on the latest gossip. Treat the other forum members with respect and your business can only benefit.

Visit MyPE - Port Elizabeth's Community Forum.