What Are Forum Backlinks?

Forum backlink, or forum link, refers to links to your website that are posted with online forums or discussion boards. 

If placed strategically, a backlink forum can help you to:

• Connect with like-minded users
• Share your expertise and build credibility
• Generate high-quality links for your website

Some examples of forum backlinks include Reddit backlinks, Quora backlinks, etc. 

Often, users want to know if forum backlinks actually work. They sure do, but only if you:

• Focus on using high quality backlinks from credible forums instead of using high-quantity spammy ones.
• Actively participate in the forum instead of simply hitting the like button. The idea is to contribute valuable ideas and engage with others organically.
• Don’t buy forum backlinks, which is considered unethical.
• Ensure your forum backlinks are relevant to the forum topic. 
• Don’t engage in any kind of spamming—whether it’s posting the same link on repeat or adding low-quality content to the forum.

The Elephant in the Room: “Are Forum Links Good for SEO?”

The direct answer? No. Forum links are not great for SEO for two specific reasons:

One, because since they are not editorially or manually-added links, Google considers them to be spammy:

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According to the search engine giant, “Forum comments with optimized links in the post or signature” is an example of link spam. Consider the example shown below:

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And why not? These links can be easily automated and be placed by a bot. So, if you are looking to create exceptional forum profile backlinks or use forum backlinks for SEO purposes, it might be a good idea to regroup and rethink your forum backlink strategy. 

6 Effective Strategies for Forum Link Building

Suppose you are looking to buy forum backlinks and fast-track your SEO efforts—bad idea! Instead, try the following seven expert-backed tips on how to use forums to build backlinks organically and ethically:

#1. Find Forums in Your Industry.

If you are going to add content to forums, you might as well make it industry-specific. You can find the relevant forum in the Google search bar with the following variations :

Variation 1: [keyword]+forum

For instance, if your keyword is digital marketing, search for digital marketing + forum to get:

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Variation 2: [keyword]+discussion board

If you use the terms digital marketing + discussion board, you will get the same result:

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Variation 3: keyword inurl:/forums

If you search for digital marketing in the URL with the “/forums” phrase, you will get:

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Remember, you can also create your own combination of Google search operators to further customize your search. So, don’t be afraid to experiment!

#2. Ask: Do the Relevant Forums Offer Do-Follow Links?

While nofollow links are not useful for your SEO, do-follow links have the opposite effect. So, once you find the industry-specific forum:

• Ask if they offer do-follow links and filter your search accordingly.
• Use the “inspect” function within Google Chrome to inspect the link.
• Install a browser extension (such as Automatic Backlink Checker) on Google Chrome to highlight the do-follow links.

#3. Rule Out Inactive Forums.

Before you dive headfirst into forum link building, you’ll want to rule out the inactive forums.

Remember, inactive forums won’t serve your purpose. So, how can you determine if a forum is active or not? Look for recent posts, comments, and discussions. The biggest mark of an active forum is ongoing conversations and regular contributions from members.

#4. Understand the Forum Guidelines.

Familiarize yourself with forum guidelines and read up on what’s acceptable. Here’s an example of what forum guidelines look like:

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Note that each forum may have its own set of rules and regulations. These guidelines typically outline the following:

• What’s considered accurate behavior
• The types of links you can share
• The frequency of contributions
• What to add to your forum profile backlinks

Adhering to these rules will help you maintain a positive presence and avoid getting penalties.

#5. Develop a Posting Strategy.

Forum link building requires a well-thought-out posting strategy. Instead of indiscriminately dropping links and content, plan your approach:

• Engage in relevant discussions
• Answer questions comprehensively—one-word or one-sentence answers won’t cut it
• Build a reputation as a knowledgeable and helpful member
• Share highly relevant links to the ongoing discussion 

#6. Avoid Spamming Links

Finally, avoid spamming links in forums like the plague.

Excessive self-promotion and irrelevant link sharing are the perfect recipe for earning a bad reputation or, worse, getting banned from the forum.

So, laser-focus on the quality and relevance of your contributions. Share links sparingly and only when they genuinely add value to the conversation.

Your goal should be to become a respected member of the forum community—and avoiding link spam is the best way to get there.

3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Forums to Build Links

Reason #1. There Are Several Risks With Using Services Which “Sell Forum Backlinks”

If you come across third-party services that promise to sell forum backlinks, look the other way! As tempting as it may be, when you buy forum backlinks, you put yourself in a compromising position.

Here’s how:

• Poor reputation, poorer SEO: These service providers may use automated software or engage in other low-quality methods to create backlinks. This can dent your website’s reputation and SEO efforts beyond repair.
• Spammy forums: You must also remember that these ‘purchased’ backlinks often find their roots in unrelated forums, which spells doom for your SEO.
• Penalization: Google’s algorithms are always being optimized to detect—and penalize—websites that use manipulative link-building practices to their advantage. This means your website may get deindexed, and you may lose all your website traffic in one night!

Reason #2. Getting Backlink From Forums Is Considered a Black Hat Tactic

You want to engage in whitehat link building instead of being branded as a blackhat SEO practitioner.

While there are legitimate and valuable ways to use forums as part of your link-building strategy, acquiring backlinks from them is often viewed under a questionable or even manipulative lens.

This happens because blackhat SEO practices often involve shortcuts that can violate search engine guidelines, such as:

• Spammy Link Placement: Posting links to your website in irrelevant, low-quality forum threads or comments to gain more backlinks.
• Keyword-Stuffed Anchor Text: Using overly optimized anchor text that doesn’t naturally fit into the forum discussion—is a big red flag for search engines.
• Fake Forum Profiles: Creating fake user profiles or using automated tools to post links.
• Paid-Link Schemes: Paying forum owners/members to include your links.
• Forum Commenting Bots: Employing automated bots to flood forums with your links or comments, a practice that is both unethical and likely to get you penalized.

Reason #3. Your Website’s Reputation Can Be Irreversibly Damaged

Forum link building can lower your website’s reputation. Since every link built leaves a digital footprint, search engine algorithms can easily trace them.

So, your spammy forum backlinks can eventually do more harm than good. You should focus on driving high-quality content on social media platforms instead.

3 Alternatives to Forum Backlinks for Building Backlinks

1. Guest Posting as a Component of SEO

As the name suggests, in guest posting, you write a high-quality, value-driven, and relevant blog for someone else’s website.

Data claims that 60% of guest bloggers write about 1-5 guest posts per month to drive traffic. Plus, guest posting is reportedly the third most popular technique for backlink building:

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So why is guest posting effective? Here’s why: It is a win-win situation for all parties.

Guest posting helps the writer increase exposure and gain quality backlinks to their website, whereas the website owner benefits from original content that can drive higher traffic.

Pro tip: Scout for websites with the section: “Write for us” or make a pitch to high-authority websites that offer guest posting opportunities. Plus, include a byline with your post, along with a backlink to your website.

2. Skyscraper Technique

The Skyscraper Technique is essentially a content marketing strategy that’s understandably gained popularity as it helps create high-quality, link-worthy content.

The name “Skyscraper” basically implies the idea of building something bigger and better:

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Here’s how it works:

Step 1: You start by researching popular content in your niche. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or BuzzSumo can help in this regard.

Step 2: You redraft the content with meaningful insights that are backed by the latest research/engaging visuals. For this to work, you must first analyze what makes the content sticky, understand its gaps, and take notes.

Also, make sure to include better visuals, such as infographics and recent research.

Step 3: You reach out to the website owner to link to your optimized content (instead of the original content).

But remember, don’t stop at outreach. You must promote your content through various channels (think social media, email lists, and so on) to increase traffic, quality backlinks, and your content’s search engine rankings.

3. Broken Link Building

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In broken link building, you basically find broken links on high-authority websites and provide a replacement with a link to your content.

Now, since the broken link can negatively affect the website owner’s SEO and the reader’s user experience, most websites will accept your ‘replaced’ link as long as the content is valuable and relevant to the website and its target audience.

Here are some tips on how to find broken links:

• Look for websites within your industry/niche with a greater number of external links.
• Leverage a tool like Ahrefs to quickly find if there are any broken links on those pages.
• Connect with the website owner to suggest an alternative link that links back to your content.
• Personalize your outreach email to convince the website owner and be patient—broken link building is time-consuming but effective in the long run.

Your Forum Backlink Journey Needs a Professional Touch

Here’s the long and short of it: Leveraging forums for backlinks, such as Reddit backlinks or Quora backlinks, will only get you limited results.

What you need is an expert’s assistance in creating an ongoing forum backlinks strategy that’s complemented with ROI-driven forum profile backlinks—and this is where I come in.

Connect with me to supercharge your backlink forum approach and remove the guesswork as well as skepticism that often comes with using a backlink forum for link-building.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Are forum backlinks nofollow?

It depends. In some cases, yes. In others, forums may use nofollow backlinks to protect their website from spammers.

Irrespective of which side you’re on, nofollow forum backlinks can be a valuable asset for your SEO strategy. Here’s how:

• One, you can drive footfall to your website and target genuinely interested users with clickable content.
• Two, you can boost brand awareness and build authority by actively participating in niche-specific forums.
• Three, you can diversify your backlink profile and improve your website’s SEO.

2. What are some examples of forums for backlinks?

Some examples of forums for backlinks include Reddit backlinks, Quora backlinks, and niche-driven forums such as Stack Overflow (programming), Warrior Forum or Digital Point (digital marketing), Moz Community (SEO), etc.

3. What is forum commenting in SEO?

Forum commenting in SEO involves:

• Participating in online forum discussions
• Leaving comments on forum threads/posts to create backlinks to your website
• Offering in-depth responses and valuable insights into the hot topics

Forum commenting should be done ethically, as spammy comments can negatively impact your reputation.