Increase forum traffic

[Romeo]

How do you get more users on your forum?

[Pumazooma]

The $64,000 dollar question.

I think you have to make the forum look pleasant and inviting, get some threads going, try not to start 50 threads yourself as it'll look like you're all alone and talking to yourself. Try and get some friends to reply to posts just to get a little content going. Don't have too many sections. I see a lot of forums with 20-30 new sections and nothing in them. It looks deserted. Start with less than 10 and split the forums out as you get separate subject areas forming. Is your forum unique? Or unique enough? I see a lot of people starting up forums on things like the xbox. Don't bother. There are thousands of them already and most users will have already found the most popular ones.

There's a good article here about promotion at <b> phpbb.com/kb/article.php?article_id=185 </b>

[Peter]

Also have your forum's link in the signature of other forums where you participate and make posts. Running a contest like the one here on this forum helps a lot in getting new members and boosts the activity too.

[MeTi]

Romeo, well about traffic if you're looking out for free traffic, try to submit your site to as many search engines as possible, it's not hard.. It usually takes some time to get visitors, find your site attractive, also check your website so it's simple and fast! also make sure visitors see people online often.. this way you'll gain much traffic, well that's how i managed to get visitors!

[James]

Run a contest and also try doing post exchanges with someone.

[AndrewC]

Also initially try and keep the categories to the minimum, as more categories and sub categories without too many posts would make the forum look empty which would be a turn off for visitors. Also try and start new threads and make posts yourself alongwith help of your friends to make the place look busy and active.

[mickeyy]

Make a list of forums that are related, then start participating on those forums. Make sure to have your link in your signature. Also, Bookmark all of the best posts of your forum. Its not the traffic you should worry about its getting people to sign up. Lots of forums have traffic but little users.

[Pongers]

Originally Posted by mickeyy

Its not the traffic you should worry about its getting people to sign up. Lots of forums have traffic but little users.

Very correct, i agree !!!
It's very difficult to make our forum visitor our registered forum member.
Our forum may have huge traffic but it's not necessary that all visitors will just register with us and will be our active member
PPl will register, if we have a very active & helpful community with wide range of sections.

[IanSmithISA]

Good morning,

One thing that puts me off a forum is when a majority of the posts are advertising or just trivial questions that are used to increase post count, usually as a forerunner to being allowed to post an advertising link.

It's very difficult to control this without vetting each post and it's especially difficult if the advertising question is framed in such a way that it's sort of a question about purchasing services. WHUK are obliged to respond on the basis that it might be a genuine enquiry, when it's almost certainly not. Sometimes the best way to respond is to pull the post and reply privately, for example there are no benefits to the forum user to such posts as, "How much is your hosting" or "How much does it cost to register a domain name".

This technique can be taken a little further by starting threads that appear to contain useful content but in reality don't. Typically these are code samples and "general information paragraphs" that appear useful on first glance but in reality are only useful to a very tiny number of users

The trouble is that this becomes a self reinforcing process, there's no point in reading xyz forum as it's all junk, so the only people who post are people posting junk, but it's worth their while as they are advertising a product or service that they just might get a commission from it.

There is a personal money site that doesn't vet each post but relies on users complaining about posts, the trouble is that this site is dominated by a handful of posters who have in effect hijacked the site. They tend to be retired or wealthy people who work in charitable organisations or a few people who use the site to advertise their business but who have worked their way into the moderators "good books" and this is overlooked. The ultimate problem is that this site now has a very rigid "party line" that can't be broken because it's not worth the effort to keep posting and getting the post pulled because one of the "few" has complained.

So whilst a working general discussion forum is of benefit to the business hosting it, one that is not working well can be damaging. So a question, forgetting how happy you are with WHUK as your host, how do customers and potential customers feel that this forum reflects on WHUK and does anyone from WHUK feel like saying how it is matching up to their hopes for it?

Bye

Ian

[lowcostwebhost]

There should be post current market news and Continue interesting topic will better.