how to make a forum more visible in search engines

[faca3891]

Forum URL: (private)

Hi,
we have a fan forum for over 6 months now, with over a 1,000 threads and 25,000 posts, bur its still not 'visible' in a browser, for instance google. It is made set on private and registration is needed, is that the main problem? What can i do to make it 'searchable' so we could attract more members?

Thanks!

[Kami]

In a word, yes private / requiring registration is hindering being found on google.

Here is a (very basic) rundown of how search results are populated:

1. Search engine sends out an indexing bot
2. Bot finds your URL
3. Bot takes note of words that appear repeatedly on your forum
4. Those words become "keywords" that people can use to search for your forum on the engine

For this to work, the bot would need:
- Your URL
- Access to your content

If you are only privately sharing your URL, as you have done above, and bots cannot access the content you've put on the forum, then there is nothing for them to return to the search engine to tell it what people can use to search for your forum.

Now: do you have to take away all privacy for your forum? No, definitely not!

You can still:
- enable "restricted" registration, meaning that you would have to manually approve anyone who registers
- restrict the creation of new threads and posts to "members and staff"
- restrict access to boards that you may not want to appear in search results (such as a board where people share their original art work, for example, to help deter the theft of intellectual property)


Bear in mind that if you do open your forum up for guests (and thereby indexing bots), it won't necessarily be an instant addition to google. Without millions of dollars in advertising budget to spread your link all over the internet, it will be slow crawl that can take months to years, depending on activity levels and how frequently your URL appears on the internet (so affiliating with other forums, posting an advertisement here on support, using social media to share the link, etc, will all help speed things along).

I hope this helps!

[faca3891]

Mar 26, 2017 4:45:55 GMT -8 Kami said:

In a word, yes private / requiring registration is hindering being found on google.

Here is a (very basic) rundown of how search results are populated:

1. Search engine sends out an indexing bot
2. Bot finds your URL
3. Bot takes note of words that appear repeatedly on your forum
4. Those words become "keywords" that people can use to search for your forum on the engine

For this to work, the bot would need:
- Your URL
- Access to your content

If you are only privately sharing your URL, as you have done above, and bots cannot access the content you've put on the forum, then there is nothing for them to return to the search engine to tell it what people can use to search for your forum.

Now: do you have to take away all privacy for your forum? No, definitely not!

You can still:
- enable "restricted" registration, meaning that you would have to manually approve anyone who registers
- restrict the creation of new threads and posts to "members and staff"
- restrict access to boards that you may not want to appear in search results (such as a board where people share their original art work, for example, to help deter the theft of intellectual property)


Bear in mind that if you do open your forum up for guests (and thereby indexing bots), it won't necessarily be an instant addition to google. Without millions of dollars in advertising budget to spread your link all over the internet, it will be slow crawl that can take months to years, depending on activity levels and how frequently your URL appears on the internet (so affiliating with other forums, posting an advertisement here on support, using social media to share the link, etc, will all help speed things along).

I hope this helps!

Ok, can you tell me, step by step, what should I do, if I want guests to be able to view my forum (or parts of it?) but only members can post and make threads?

Thanks!

[Kami]

faca3891 - certainly!

So, head on over to your admin panel (the "admin" button in your menu). At the top right, you'll see an option marked structure. Hover over this, and select the Categories & Boards option that appears.

Now, hold down the CTRL button on your keyboard (or Command, if you're on a Mac), and select by left-clicking all the boards you would like to update; then, press the Edit Properties button at the top of the page (next to the "Create New Category" and "Create New Board" buttons).

Navigate over to the Permissions tab, and make the sure the settings are as follows:

Who can view the board: "Everyone"
Who can access the board: "Everyone"
Who can create threads on the board: "Members & Staff"
Who can reply to threads on the board: "Members & Staff"
Who can create polls on the board: "Members & Staff"

Then click the save changes button at the bottom right of the popup, and you should be all set. (:

[faca3891]

Mar 26, 2017 6:58:47 GMT -8 Kami said:

faca3891 - certainly!

So, head on over to your admin panel (the "admin" button in your menu). At the top right, you'll see an option marked structure. Hover over this, and select the Categories & Boards option that appears.

Now, hold down the CTRL button on your keyboard (or Command, if you're on a Mac), and select by left-clicking all the boards you would like to update; then, press the Edit Properties button at the top of the page (next to the "Create New Category" and "Create New Board" buttons).

Navigate over to the Permissions tab, and make the sure the settings are as follows:

Who can view the board: "Everyone"
Who can access the board: "Everyone"
Who can create threads on the board: "Members & Staff"
Who can reply to threads on the board: "Members & Staff"
Who can create polls on the board: "Members & Staff"

Then click the save changes button at the bottom right of the popup, and you should be all set. (:

Did all that, but there is no Permissions tab to be found!

[Kami]

faca3891 - Are you the creator of the forum?

[faca3891]

Mar 26, 2017 7:09:36 GMT -8 Kami said:

faca3891 - Are you the creator of the forum?

yes I am, the one and only

[Kami]

Mar 26, 2017 7:12:14 GMT -8 faca3891 said:

Mar 26, 2017 7:09:36 GMT -8 Kami said:

faca3891 - Are you the creator of the forum?

yes I am, the one and only :)

Then that is odd. To double check, are you clicking the edit properties button and looking for the "permissions" tab in the popup that appears? A screenshot below to clarify:

[saltin]

Hiya,
 You can register your site directly with the various search engines, after that's done they will start crawling your sites very quickly, like within 48 hours.This is much faster than waiting for the search engines to find you "naturally ".

My understanding is backlinks are pretty huge in google search algorithms so your site net visibility can be boosted greatly if other larger (traffic wise) and better known sites link to your site. Find large sites with the same focus as your forum and ask for permission to link to your site.This is why you often see signatures and profiles with links from one site to another.Like in my profile for example ~shameless plug ?

Ahh also..Proboards has several ressources to increase visibility (and eventually trigger the search engines notices)  like the [advertising ] board, the affiliate program, even the [get opinion about your forum] board can help a little , I noticed a small boost in analytics shortly after I visited and posted on that board.

Social media and youtube are a couple of biggies in getting you out of the shadows and into the internet sunshine, have your hard core highly dedicated trooper fans  (you have a few of these right?? ) splash your site a little on Facebook, tweeter, youtube and whatever else platform might be relevant as this makes you socially "trendy" and the search engines pick up on that.
Just remember there is a fine line between showcasing and discreetly promoting your site and and an obnoxious  spamming ?

Finally there is always proboards [pay to win ] tailored custom paid ads solution, for a few $ you can start an ad campaign right from your [Admin]-[Marketing] tab. Dunno how good that is but I am under the impression it's decently effective.

[Kami]

Mar 26, 2017 8:46:09 GMT -8 saltin said:

Hiya,
 You can register your site directly with the various search engines, after that's done they will start crawling your sites very quickly, like within 48 hours.This is much faster than waiting for the search engines to find you "naturally ".

That is absolutely not necessary. Once it's crawled, it will be available, but the problem is appearing for keyword searches, which will absolutely take time regardless of whether or not you submit to a search engine.

I actually wrote a pretty large series of posts in the below thread regarding SEO:
support.proboards.com/thread/579030/get-site-google-lists-paying

Also, I already mentioned backlinks and social media ;)

depending on activity levels and how frequently your URL appears on the internet (so affiliating with other forums, posting an advertisement here on support, using social media to share the link, etc, will all help speed things along)