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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 2073
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#1 · Posted: 2 Jun 2009 01:41 · Edited by: getagrip
Hey Vishal,
I just wanted to know what you did to market this forum and your stress management forum when started out.
How did you get traffic? SEO, Article Marketing, General Forum Content?
How did you get visitors to come back?
Did you make any mistakes along the way?
Would you do anything differently?
What other advise would you give to someone who wants to start a forum?
Thanks!
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1255
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#2 · Posted: 2 Jun 2009 06:45 · Edited by: Vishal P. Rao
getagrip: How did you get traffic? SEO, Article Marketing , General Forum Content?
Back then I had a very successful site www.home-based-business-opportunities.com through which I built a good base for this forum.
Moreover it's critical that your forum is optimized for search engines.
getagrip: How did you get visitors to come back?
If you provide good quality and create a friendly environment, visitors are bound to come back.
getagrip: Did you make any mistakes along the way?
Not a major ones that I remember. Oh yes, I started the board with PHPBB and then shifted to minibb.com. It was like rebuilding the entire forum. Do proper research before choosing your forum software. It's not easy to change your mind half way through.
getagrip: Would you do anything differently? What other advise would you give to someone who wants to start a forum?
One major advice I would give out to anybody starting a forum would be to not to start a forum on it's own. I mean first create and build a successful website and then branch off to a forum as a part of your site. Creating a forum from scratch is not an easy task unless you are pro in marketing and have some substantial marketing budget.
Also, the returns from a forum (from AdSense point of view) is less compared to an optimized website.
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mountainmom5
Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 2968
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#3 · Posted: 2 Jun 2009 13:13
Vishal P. Rao: Also, the returns from a forum (from AdSense point of view) is less compared to an optimized website.
Thanks - That was a question I had...
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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 2073
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#4 · Posted: 5 Jun 2009 14:59
Hey Vishal, thanks! Two questions:
1. Why is it a bad idea to go with PHPBB Forums?
2. Do you think SMF forums are any better?
Both of these can be automatically installed with Fantastico Deluxe, which makes it easier on those of us who are "technologically challenged". LOL
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1255
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#5 · Posted: 6 Jun 2009 01:10
getagrip: 1. Why is it a bad idea to go with PHPBB Forums?
One reason is that it has a reputation of being hacker friendly. I made the transition to minibb.com after my forum was hacked once. Of course that was way back and I have no idea of how their development is right now.
Another reason is SEO concerns. When I ran the forum back then using PHPbb there was no reliable SEO addons for the forum. I'm not sure now.
'
getagrip: 2. Do you think SMF forums are any better?
I haven't researched SMF well enough to give you a conclusive verdict. I would however like to say that no matter what software you choose do your homework extremely well.
* It should be easy to use
* It should be search engine friendly
* It should be light weight
* It should be easy to moderate
Frankly, if you are technically challenged, I wouldn't recommend minibb.com You can install their software as it is without much difficulty, but if you need to add some addons and upgrade, it isn't easy. But then you can always hire a programmer to do those stuff.
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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 2073
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#6 · Posted: 6 Jun 2009 02:39
Thanks Vishal! 
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1255
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#7 · Posted: 6 Jun 2009 07:05
You are welcome Keith
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