How did you get a lot of traffic to your forum?

[jajabad]

Thank you Game. Those are some helpful tips.

[Former Member]

No problem. When I have some time, I'll post some more.

[Sonikku1011]

Those are some wonderful tips you've posted Game, definitely helps out. As for posting on Facebook i've only posted the link to my gaming forum on Proboards' own Facebook page but haven't really shared it anywhere else aside from here of course. Don't think too many people noticed it on Facebook but I should promote my site on other sites that share the same niche as mine. And of course activity is the key, it looks bad if the site owner doesn't post that often.

[The girl who waited]

I set up a Twitter and Facebook for my forum, and I am thinking about getting it on Tumblr (once I figure out how to use it properly. I need a teenager to teach me! LOL).

On top of that, really, I've found that word-of-mouth (I have this friend that wants to make X character...can we accomodate that? To which I always say yes unless it's TOTALLY unreasonable, like a werewolf or something, or in violation of TOS's (children!) works the best. Make friends with your members-they will want to tell people about the site. It's a good idea to periodically "refresh" the place, too...find some new graphics. People in this day and age get bored quick, so if you're shaking things up and keeping them on their toes, then it should work out well. If you cannot do this, as Game pointed out, find a member to be "Advertising" or "Member" moderator...the nicest person on your site, without a lot of personal drama who can spend some time advertising and welcoming new members.

[Emerald]

Aug 5, 2013 17:22:08 GMT -8 @lucylane said:

The code I provided is not for V5 since the board is not V5.

It's best for guests not to see member's personal information in their profiles BH.

Is there a V5 code? I can't find one on the boards :/

[solarbronco]

The best tip I can give is to pick a topic that isn't over saturated with other forums. Pick something that is popular, but doesn't already have 4-5 forums.

Topic and saturation is more important than styles, templates, plugins, how pretty it is, how cool it looks. It's really easy to put hundreds of hours into a forum that is absolutely beautiful and stunning in every way, but has 15 members and no visitors for weeks or even years on end.

I know, this may be unpopular but why invest all that time into something that nobody will see?

1. A well researched topic.

2.Easy to use style/template.

3. Create a Google webmaster tools account. Have Google Crawl it asap. Then, have them index it.

4.Create a google + page and update it often and start following other people with same interests as your forum, they follow back, check out your forum and bam, ya got a member. Also, Google+ carries major weight in SEO and your posts start showing up in search results on page one, leading to your forum!

5.Master the above and then create Facebook and Twitter pages.

6. Find a forum that is somewhat busy and ask the admin or mod if you can post a link in your signature, but never talk about your forum. That can be a valuable backlink, no matter what anyone says. Trust me.

7. Find a couple of good moderators. First few people who join, ask them if they would like to be a moderator. They will advertise for you. I have 13 mods on one of my forums, 8 were picked in the first two months.

8. Dont forget to update Google + again!

9. Every single board that you create should have your topic's name in the title. Remember, search results!

10. Don't be afraid to dump a dead board in three months and start another. I have a few forums really growing, and converted those to Forums.net. I have two others about to convert, but have dumped 4 forums that just will not grow. Oh well..

11. When a Forum does start to grow, then is the time to worry about pretty themes and templates and plugins. Because now it is wworthwhile to start putting more time into it. Your SEO work is starting to payoff!

12. Is there a magazine or popular website that is the same topic as your forum? If your forum is growing, send the writers or admin of that website your forum info and invite them to join and post.. You may be surprised and they might just mention you in an article. I has this happen and it was good for 75 members in three days.

13. Fiverr can be very useful for graphic art designs, but don't waste a dime on their SEO services.

14. If someone would start a thread on here for making money with your forum, I'll come back and tell you how to quit your day job. Within six months, with your forums.

[Gackt]

Sept 17, 2014 5:14:32 GMT -8 game said:

Your Forums Layout

The first thing to consider is the look of your forum. If tables and images are all uneven and crammed, it just looks unprofessional.
No matter what type of theme your forum applies, it needs to be a clean look.

Whilst this is obviously important, I would like to hear what everyone's current opinion is about 'The first thing to consider...'?

Am I wrong in thinking that with a lot of people using mobile devices, phones etc, that the first time they get to see our forums via clicking on a Google search link, or other links we have scattered about the net, that it will bring up the mobile version of the forum which is pretty much generic, except for colours and a few other bits? So should good 'content' be the first thing to consider over the 'look of the forum'?

[solarbronco]

Again, topic and present forum saturation for that topic are the very first things to consider. Well, if ya want to build a popular forum,.

Everything else is just glitter. If your topic is popular and doesnt already have 10 other forums covering that topic, you will get popular if you put time into it.

After it gets popular you can change the theme, looks, and pretty it up more.

Once the topic is researched and the forum created, you have a short window to get good helpful content on that forum . Stuff that people need. Stuff that people will want to read and share on social media to their friends and connections. Once ya goin that going for ya, the floodgates open.

[nariadreaming]

Honestly, a lot of it is sheer dumb luck. And timing. I managed to start my community just as the community of a national brand was collapsing. I was part of the community that was collapsing, and when I left, 6,000 people followed me.

8 months later we're just shy of 9,000 members and have had over 3 million posts since then.

[Lynx]

I'll toss my 2¢ worth in - because that's about all it's worth. We had a few people at our old site that's coming with us to our new one here on ProBoards. So, having people you're already familiar with can help get you started, if nothing else. As far as new traffic? Couldn't tell you - I don't get new traffic. I'm lucky to see 10 visits per day - including from the bots. And that is my average visits per day for ALL of my forums. Rather sad, but not unexpected. One's a Harry Potter forum - but there's so many of them out there now, mine will probably never get hits. The one where our group came over - we're still in the process of moving, so we haven't felt it necessary to try and advertise yet (we'd rather wait until the move is completely done first). Another that's for a game we're (a friend of mine and I) making. I've got a separate game in-the-making to see how far I can push the engine. Another for coding and designing - but who would want to go there when everything they need is right here - not to mention there's no way I could even come close to those types of forums for "product" (plugins, themes, templates) output - they've got coders and designers already and have been around for awhile. So, how to get more traffic? I have no friggin clue. I guess I just don't have "flashy" or "appealing" forums to get anyone's attention.

[Former Member]

Sept 1, 2015 13:14:36 GMT -8 Lynx said:

I'll toss my 2¢ worth in - because that's about all it's worth. We had a few people at our old site that's coming with us to our new one here on ProBoards. So, having people you're already familiar with can help get you started, if nothing else. As far as new traffic? Couldn't tell you - I don't get new traffic. I'm lucky to see 10 visits per day - including from the bots. And that is my average visits per day for ALL of my forums. Rather sad, but not unexpected. One's a Harry Potter forum - but there's so many of them out there now, mine will probably never get hits. The one where our group came over - we're still in the process of moving, so we haven't felt it necessary to try and advertise yet (we'd rather wait until the move is completely done first). Another that's for a game we're (a friend of mine and I) making. I've got a separate game in-the-making to see how far I can push the engine. Another for coding and designing - but who would want to go there when everything they need is right here - not to mention there's no way I could even come close to those types of forums for "product" (plugins, themes, templates) output - they've got coders and designers already and have been around for awhile. So, how to get more traffic? I have no friggin clue. I guess I just don't have "flashy" or "appealing" forums to get anyone's attention.

you need promote it through twitter and fb etc or your sites will just continue gathering dust sorry to say. 

if luck isnt on your side to get a random 100 guests a day then you'll be struggling to get members for something no one can see .... if your links not out there (twitter etc) then it cant be seen  simple as that. 

its your link you need people to see at the least.

[nariadreaming]

Sept 1, 2015 14:03:06 GMT -8 @joecool111 said:

Sept 1, 2015 13:14:36 GMT -8 Lynx said:

I'll toss my 2¢ worth in - because that's about all it's worth. We had a few people at our old site that's coming with us to our new one here on ProBoards. So, having people you're already familiar with can help get you started, if nothing else. As far as new traffic? Couldn't tell you - I don't get new traffic. I'm lucky to see 10 visits per day - including from the bots. And that is my average visits per day for ALL of my forums. Rather sad, but not unexpected. One's a Harry Potter forum - but there's so many of them out there now, mine will probably never get hits. The one where our group came over - we're still in the process of moving, so we haven't felt it necessary to try and advertise yet (we'd rather wait until the move is completely done first). Another that's for a game we're (a friend of mine and I) making. I've got a separate game in-the-making to see how far I can push the engine. Another for coding and designing - but who would want to go there when everything they need is right here - not to mention there's no way I could even come close to those types of forums for "product" (plugins, themes, templates) output - they've got coders and designers already and have been around for awhile. So, how to get more traffic? I have no friggin clue. I guess I just don't have "flashy" or "appealing" forums to get anyone's attention.

you need promote it through twitter and fb etc or your sites will just continue gathering dust sorry to say. 

if luck isnt on your side to get a random 100 guests a day then you'll be struggling to get members for something no one can see .... if your links not out there (twitter etc) then it cant be seen  simple as that. 

its your link you need people to see at the least.

Agree that networking on other social media platforms is essential. The thing is you have to provide valuable content on those platforms- not just spamming your link all of the time. And collecting and posting that content is time consuming. We have a team of 8 people who manage our social media accounts, and it STILL feels overwhelming most days. 

[Former Member]

Sept 2, 2015 5:25:04 GMT -8 nariadreaming said:

Sept 1, 2015 14:03:06 GMT -8 @joecool111 said:

you need promote it through twitter and fb etc or your sites will just continue gathering dust sorry to say. 

if luck isnt on your side to get a random 100 guests a day then you'll be struggling to get members for something no one can see .... if your links not out there (twitter etc) then it cant be seen  simple as that. 

its your link you need people to see at the least.

Agree that networking on other social media platforms is essential. The thing is you have to provide valuable content on those platforms- not just spamming your link all of the time. And collecting and posting that content is time consuming. We have a team of 8 people who manage our social media accounts, and it STILL feels overwhelming most days. 

agreed,  but my sites are a simple ' advertise free' site so theres not much more i can say in blogs etc etc .... i try changing the wording ever day but when it comes to chatting etc theres not much left to say but 'want to advertise free? join today' sort of thing .... i may be wrong and completely missing a trick, but this is all i know for now.

my other site <<<removed link per the rules>> has tons to say so i try my best with this one




anyways thats all iv got for now thanks  

[nariadreaming]

Sept 2, 2015 5:45:07 GMT -8 @joecool111 said:

Sept 2, 2015 5:25:04 GMT -8 nariadreaming said:

Agree that networking on other social media platforms is essential. The thing is you have to provide valuable content on those platforms- not just spamming your link all of the time. And collecting and posting that content is time consuming. We have a team of 8 people who manage our social media accounts, and it STILL feels overwhelming most days. 

agreed,  but my sites are a simple ' advertise free' site so theres not much more i can say in blogs etc etc .... i try changing the wording ever day but when it comes to chatting etc theres not much left to say but 'want to advertise free? join today' sort of thing .... i may be wrong and completely missing a trick, but this is all i know for now.

my other site<<<removed link>> has tons to say so i try my best with this one




anyways thats all iv got for now thanks  

I noticed on MyCarr you've got side navigation links to facebook, google +, youtube, etc, but they just take you to those sites- not to an account associated with your forum. Do you have social media profiles set up for your community? 

[Former Member]

Sept 2, 2015 6:15:25 GMT -8 nariadreaming said:

Sept 2, 2015 5:45:07 GMT -8 @joecool111 said:

agreed,  but my sites are a simple ' advertise free' site so theres not much more i can say in blogs etc etc .... i try changing the wording ever day but when it comes to chatting etc theres not much left to say but 'want to advertise free? join today' sort of thing .... i may be wrong and completely missing a trick, but this is all i know for now.

my other site <<<removed link>>> has tons to say so i try my best with this one




anyways thats all iv got for now thanks  

I noticed on MyCarr you've got side navigation links to facebook, google +, youtube, etc, but they just take you to those sites- not to an account associated with your forum. Do you have social media profiles set up for your community? 

yes i have, but i didnt actually know that it needed to be my link in the buttons.  i just put them there for people to use them selfs.

would it be better if i put my links in instead?