How to increase traffic?

[LeoPanthera]

Forum URL: bigcatsworld.freeforums.net/

Hey friends, how do I increase traffic in my forum? I want to make a big community so I wanted to know how get more guests coming to my forums.

[Michael]

Hi,

The best way to increase traffic is to generate interesting and reasonable volumes of content on your forum and then getting your forum link in front of people who will be interested in the subject matter of your forum. Sometimes this can be done by posting publicly in another community group (where allowed) or even by sponsoring an event in your community that allows you to promote your forum.

[LeoPanthera]

Thanks Michael. You can just check out my forum and there are pretty interesting info. Also most of guests are from USA when I lookup the IP. I just checked last and it was from Italy. Are these real humans or some are bots?

[Michael]

Jul 15, 2020 13:57:15 GMT -8 LeoPanthera said:

Thanks Michael. You can just check out my forum and there are pretty interesting info. Also most of guests are from USA when I lookup the IP. I just checked last and it was from Italy. Are these real humans or some are bots?

I can't give you a definitive answer but you're going to always see a mix of human and bot traffic. Bot traffic is important to the growth of your forum as most bots that spend time on your forum are indexing bots for Google, Bing, and other search providers who are indexing your forum for search on their platform.

[ZandraJoi]

Another thing to look into is Affiliate Exchanges. It's a way to get your forum out there. Some people also link to their Facebook, Twitter, or other social media accounts.

[bigballofyarn]

Be active on ProBoards Support. Make some friends. Put your forum link in your signature. Consider affiliate exchanges. If you are a member of other forums, and they allow you to put your forum link in your signature, do that. Be patient and never spam. Spread positive energy and you will attract the right people.

[LeoPanthera]

Hey guys what should I do if my guest numbers start going down.

[bigballofyarn]

Jul 18, 2020 7:07:07 GMT -8 LeoPanthera said:

Hey guys what should I do if my guest numbers start going down.

The number of guests you see on your forum isn't necessarily an accurate portrayal of human visitors. Many of those guests could be search engine bots. I would recommend focusing less on guest and member counts.  Focus on content and the visual appeal of your forum. Create a design that attracts positive attention.

[LeoPanthera]

Jul 18, 2020 7:17:46 GMT -8 bigballofyarn said:

Jul 18, 2020 7:07:07 GMT -8 LeoPanthera said:

Hey guys what should I do if my guest numbers start going down.

The number of guests you see on your forum isn't necessarily an accurate portrayal of human visitors. Many of those guests could be search engine bots. I would recommend focusing less on guest and member counts.  Focus on content and the visual appeal of your forum. Create a design that attracts positive attention.

So you are saying that if I produce interesting and cool big cat content, my guests and visitors will also increase.

[Kami]

Jul 18, 2020 8:31:41 GMT -8 LeoPanthera said:

Jul 18, 2020 7:17:46 GMT -8 bigballofyarn said:

The number of guests you see on your forum isn't necessarily an accurate portrayal of human visitors. Many of those guests could be search engine bots. I would recommend focusing less on guest and member counts.  Focus on content and the visual appeal of your forum. Create a design that attracts positive attention.

So you are saying that if I produce interesting and cool big cat content, my guests and visitors will also increase.

In theory, but that is not what the point of this post is.

You're focusing on guests and visitors, but a successful forum with lots of traffic is a combination of a LOT of factors. There is no one sure fire way of making sure your traffic goes up.

First you need content. No one will visit an empty store.

Second of all, you need something that sets you apart. Why did you create a forum? What does a forum offer a potential user, that they can't get from Wikipedia or the National Geographic website or the Animal Planet website? The internet has evolved, so just having a forum where you post "cool big cat information" is not enough. The #1 thing you should always keep in mind is why should a visitor choose YOUR FORUM over a website that already offers this information and does not require membership?

Your actions should be oriented on what sets you apart. I can find facts and information about anything anywhere online now. Why should I visit yours instead?

The rest of it is just window dressing. An appealing theme can be nice, but some of the most successful forums have the default theme.

You're competing with MILLIONS of websites and forums on this topic. Stop worrying about visitors and start thinking about what makes your site special.

[LeoPanthera]

Jul 18, 2020 8:53:29 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jul 18, 2020 8:31:41 GMT -8 LeoPanthera said:

So you are saying that if I produce interesting and cool big cat content, my guests and visitors will also increase.

In theory, but that is not what the point of this post is.

You're focusing on guests and visitors, but a successful forum with lots of traffic is a combination of a LOT of factors. There is no one sure fire way of making sure your traffic goes up.

First you need content. No one will visit an empty store.

Second of all, you need something that sets you apart. Why did you create a forum? What does a forum offer a potential user, that they can't get from Wikipedia or the National Geographic website or the Animal Planet website? The internet has evolved, so just having a forum where you post "cool big cat information" is not enough. The #1 thing you should always keep in mind is why should a visitor choose YOUR FORUM over a website that already offers this information and does not require membership?

Your actions should be oriented on what sets you apart. I can find facts and information about anything anywhere online now. Why should I visit yours instead?

The rest of it is just window dressing. An appealing theme can be nice, but some of the most successful forums have the default theme.

You're competing with MILLIONS of websites and forums on this topic. Stop worrying about visitors and start thinking about what makes your site special.

Thanks for the suggestion Kami. I made my forum to raise awarness about big cats and post information about them. Sources like wiki or Animal planet are often very inaccurate. I suggest you go to my forum, have a look and tell if you saw or learned anything new. Many of the data in my forum is not found in other animal forums. Also "cool big cat content" was just a choice of wording.

[Kami]

Jul 18, 2020 9:22:03 GMT -8 LeoPanthera said:

Jul 18, 2020 8:53:29 GMT -8 Kami said:

In theory, but that is not what the point of this post is.

You're focusing on guests and visitors, but a successful forum with lots of traffic is a combination of a LOT of factors. There is no one sure fire way of making sure your traffic goes up.

First you need content. No one will visit an empty store.

Second of all, you need something that sets you apart. Why did you create a forum? What does a forum offer a potential user, that they can't get from Wikipedia or the National Geographic website or the Animal Planet website? The internet has evolved, so just having a forum where you post "cool big cat information" is not enough. The #1 thing you should always keep in mind is why should a visitor choose YOUR FORUM over a website that already offers this information and does not require membership?

Your actions should be oriented on what sets you apart. I can find facts and information about anything anywhere online now. Why should I visit yours instead?

The rest of it is just window dressing. An appealing theme can be nice, but some of the most successful forums have the default theme.

You're competing with MILLIONS of websites and forums on this topic. Stop worrying about visitors and start thinking about what makes your site special.

Thanks for the suggestion Kami. I made my forum to raise awarness about big cats and post information about them. Sources like wiki or Animal planet are often very inaccurate. I suggest you go to my forum, have a look and tell if you saw or learned anything new. Many of the data in my forum is not found in other animal forums. Also "cool big cat content" was just a choice of wording.

You're missing my point a little. Im not saying to tell me specifically, I am saying that is what you need to demonstrate on your forum for people who are visiting.

Why should they trust you? What are your credentials? Where are your sources from? Things like that: you need to demonstrate to people that your content offers something different. I am not disputing any of your content (quite frankly, I am not your target demographic) I am simply saying that you have millions of forums and websites that already exist to compete with, many of which are considered reputable on a global basis.

I want to give you perspective on the magnitude you have to contend with, and why you need to approach this not as a "how do I increase traffic" exercise but rather "how can i show my content has value that sets it apart".