A forum on your primary domain name (implications)
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Hi there
What are the pitfalls of putting a forum on an already busy ecommerce website from an SEO perspective?
I wouldn't use a sub domain, I would add the forum on the primary domain in an attempt to help build my inbound link portfolio.Some pro's and cons that come to mind...
Pros - Lots of (hopefully) great user generated and relevant content - Lots of potential landing pages off the back of the above
- Targeted community
Cons - Dealing with potential negative forum posts
- Constant moderation
- Possible issues with potentially 1000's of (what Google may consider) low quality pages on a domain name / site which currently fairs well in the SERPs
The last con would be my primary concern.
Anyone have any experiences with this? Or any advice at all.Many thanks
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Hey
If you consider what a low quality page actually is
- tiny amount of content
- no content
- spammy
- near duplicate
- external duplicate
- internal duplication created by CMS
- etc
Then, really, a forum post should not really be low content as it should be relatively unique due to the various inputs from different folks.
That said, I don't see forums doing so well as they may once have done and you do need tight moderation for it to be effective.
Really, I would try to think of this outside of the SEO mindset and if it adds value for your visitors AND you can handle the inevitable management then it should be a good idea. If you are adding it purely for search and landing pages, then some smart blogging may be a better option.
Hope that helps
Marcus
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