That makes sense, thanks for helping shed a little light on this.
How's everyone doing with SEO?
- Thread starter drastic
- Start date
My forum is only 3 years old, and it's a slow build. So the activity is there, but we aren't getting hundreds of clicks on threads and posts. That's why I was curious when I read this thread if there was anything I could do to help Google along since the higher ranked we are on Google the more people that will see us outside of the forum and then come into the forum. It's appearing to be a bit of a circle with Google in the middle.
DigNap15
Well-known member
What I found a great help (you may all know it of course) is to put some good keywords in the Board Meta Description.
Then I find that search engines just repeat whatever is in the there, as their sub heading!
Got to ACP > Options > Basic Board Info > Board Meta Description
Then I find that search engines just repeat whatever is in the there, as their sub heading!
Got to ACP > Options > Basic Board Info > Board Meta Description
drastic
Well-known member
I don't mean above the video, I mean ON the actual video player - like a banner ad that displays before the video starts. Not quite like VAST or VPAID, but more like a static ads users can close before watching the video.
drastic
Well-known member
Google knows based on a bunch of things, such as the platform the content is posted on.
In your case, if you're mostly images, then you'd want to do the following:
- image title tags match image file names.
- header titles that match your content.
- google image sitemap, and submit it to google webmaster tools.
those are some basics to help rank.
DigNap15
Well-known member
I am very annoyed with Google, and have reached the stage where I no longer want to play their games.
My forum is mainly about Opinion and Politics here in New Zeaand.
If you search for New Zealand politcs forum on....
Bing, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go and IXQuick we come up on page 1 in the top 2 or 3 listings.
On Google we go up an down like a yoyo from page 3 to page 6.
My forum is mainly about Opinion and Politics here in New Zeaand.
If you search for New Zealand politcs forum on....
Bing, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go and IXQuick we come up on page 1 in the top 2 or 3 listings.
On Google we go up an down like a yoyo from page 3 to page 6.
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drastic
Well-known member
that's completely normal. you're not guaranteed any position.
Thanks for the tips! Greatly appreciated.
DigNap15
Well-known member
Yes I should be gauranteed the position my forum is entitled to.
Here in NZ there are about 6 general forums
Two of them no longer do politics
So where do you think my forum should be?
Years ago Google listed the most popular websites (do no evil) that was what got everyone to use Google
Now they are more interested in adverts and censorship.
Ozzy47
Well-known member
It's their search engine, the only position you are guaranteed is the one they give you, not what you think you deserve.
⭐ Alex ⭐
Well-known member
Then use DuckDuckGo and forget that google exists
Also google likes specific keywords in your site title. Instantly went up 2 ranks by changing a keyword in my title. Try to see what the majority of the users type into google search to find your forums, and check if those keywords are in your site title.
Siropu
Well-known member
There is a SEO starter guide for Google, it is probably not a bad idea to follow their recommendations.
DigNap15
Well-known member
That is not really a helpful answer.
A search engine is supposed to give good results for the user, not what they want!
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DigNap15
Well-known member
How come 5 other search engines put my forum on page 1 in the top few results, with no work.
Yet Google expect me to spend hours on their Search Consoles etc and I go from page 2 to page 6 in one day, and then back again.
Well over half of the search results they give are out of date or irrelavent
I have used DuckDuckGo for the last year as a protest against Google.
Of course the problem is that 90% of users think Google is the only search engine.
Yet Google expect me to spend hours on their Search Consoles etc and I go from page 2 to page 6 in one day, and then back again.
Well over half of the search results they give are out of date or irrelavent
I have used DuckDuckGo for the last year as a protest against Google.
Of course the problem is that 90% of users think Google is the only search engine.
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⭐ Alex ⭐
Well-known member
Or they don't even understand the concept of a search engine and think google is the internet.
Don't give in to adding GA, I don't have it yet I'm ranked 1.
Mr Lucky
Well-known member
Well yes, and I do believe that is originally how they got so successful.
Back in the day of Yahoo I remember SEO was very much about stuffing keywords into meta and content, so sites who were doing that got ranked well. ie the SEOs knew how to manipulate things.
But Google came along and based the results on good content that was less manipulated by SEO and people found they got what they were looking for. Put very simply, Google was finding sites that worked better for what people were searching for, not just sites with keyword spam. So it basically took over as people were happier with the sites they found.
It has got harder and harder to SEO for Google - you can't pay for link farming it can see through that. You can't spam keywords it can see through that. So it looks for
- Good organic backlinks.
- Good quality content.
- Good useability.
- Good response (fast loading)
Don't get me wrong, I do not love Google, but it does deliver what people want. But having become a virtual monopoly it is also very bad IMO, too powerful and self serving but that is capitalism.
So true. When trying to troubleshoot issues, I often ask people what their operating system is or what browser they are using.
Often the answer is "Google"
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drastic
Well-known member
Not sure what your site is, but here's a few things that may help...
relative text based content on homepage, such as featured posts, blogs, some textual description above the forum list even, etc. The forum homepage, by default, is a list of forums, which doesn't really provide too much detail about the site.
inbound links - if you have friends with websites, maybe they can link to you.
basic seo checkups, like schema and making sure your header tags match the keywords you're looking to rank. A header tag saying "read this" will only do you good if you're trying to rank for the term "read this" - which is why i have NO idea why wordpress designers ever thought "read more" was a good idea for links on a homepage.
Perhaps the site is about Cool Cars, so you'd want your h1 tag to be relevant to that. Cool Cars Discussion etc...
sitemaps, get whatever sitemaps you can and submit them to google webmaster tools
focus on what content your users talk about more and give them MORE of that. whatever topics they are not talking about, just get rid of them. They don't really care for it, so no use having it to be honest. at some point your site/forum may start to become heavy in one topic and non-existant in others. That's OK too because your users are driving the conversation in the way that they enjoy.
make sure it's mobile friendly first. Google speed tests are looking for mobile users to have good or better access.
drastic
Well-known member
@drastic thanks so much for those tips! Hopefully soon I can be getting my forum to move up the Google ranks a bit.
it's a long game, that's for sure. nothing works overnight, or even works for the same people
I have friends with next to nothing for incoming links and 90 ads on every page saying "Google hates me" and I'm like yeah, we all do actually!!! LOL
I can't even get my own site to rank for much, but I'm in the news category and our content changes by the minute, so the only posts I have ranking are things that are more informative and don't change much over time.
Based on whatever your niche is, you might have a LOT more luck.
cover your basics and don't be afraid to experiment every few weeks!
DigNap15
Well-known member
Google engage in censorship.
They put me from page 1 to pgae 5 on a daily basis.
Today they removed the second line of the search result which read "Amercian and New Politics"
So on that basis, I am not going to play their games.
Five other search engines have my forum in the top 3.
They put me from page 1 to pgae 5 on a daily basis.
Today they removed the second line of the search result which read "Amercian and New Politics"
So on that basis, I am not going to play their games.
Five other search engines have my forum in the top 3.
