Are forum signatures still relevant for SEO?

Beverly Level X³

June 10, 2012, 8:47 pm

15

Write the reason you're deleting this FAQ

Are forum signatures still relevant for SEO?

Since Penguin update came out, many people have been saying that forum signatures are no longer relevant for SEO.

Though i can't say for sure, I've heard that forum signature lines (links) were targeted as they are replicated from one post to the next and usually from one forum to the next. So in some ways, forum signatures could be viewed as link spam.

I have read that these forum signature links are being discounted in relevance in search engine results. Though I believe there are some ways to get around this, maybe by varying up the content of the signature line from one forum to the next and not using the same anchor text in every forum signature line.

So for example if you're promoting a kitchen cabinet site (or blog) and your anchor text on Forum A is 'buy kitchen cabinets', then the forum signature on Forum B could be ' kitchen cabinets reviews'. The point is to keep things changed up, not the same for all forums.

Or, simply not attaching a forum signature in every forum post. And, most forums give you that option.

Perhaps, just attaching a forum signature on the first post only for a forum would be enough to gain a reliable and relevant backlink. Rather than attaching the signature over hundreds of posts and then having them all discounted (as in not counted) for purpose of backlinking.

What are your thoughts on signature lines for SEO? Are they still relevant for SEO? Do you still use them since Penguin update?

Comments

Please login or sign up to leave a comment

Join

Beverly

But there is some indication (on Google webmaster blog) that anchor links that don't pertain to the material on the page they are linking from are dismissed by Penguin update as being irrelevant or spam links. They gave the example of a fitness article that had anchor links to do with pay day loans. Couldn't forum signatures be interpreted in the same way as often times, they are linking from pages not related to what the link is about? Was just thinking that getting links back from forums relating to your site's niche (or at least posting only on subforums with related content) might be one way around this.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Corzhens

I thought that forum signatures are not really backlinks but only reference for a reader that they can click and give your site instant traffic. But now it seems that a forum signature is also considered a backlink? If I have been a long time member of a forum and I had been posting regularly then I have so many backlinks in that particular forum since my signature always appears on each of my posts. Will that not constitute excessive backlinks for my site?

7 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

mqss

It depends on how developed forum is. I have signature links on local webmaster forum, homepage PR5 and many subfolders with PR3 and PR2, so I always get few PR2 backlinks on every update.

Forum signatures can't hurt your site, Google knows better.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

veldabowser

Forum posting can work really well, but it’s really time consuming although at the same time, it can give you some great insight into your market.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Beverly

It depends on how developed forum is. I have signature links on local webmaster forum, homepage PR5 and many subfolders with PR3 and PR2, so I always get few PR2 backlinks on every update.

Forum signatures can't hurt your site, Google knows better.

Do you vary up the anchor text on signature links or keep it the same from one forum to the next?

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

mqss

Do you vary up the anchor text on signature links or keep it the same from one forum to the next?

Different from forum to forum, although I'm very sure Google knows what forum signature links are and that their primary mission isn't developing site's SEO, but direct marketing to other forum members.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

robertman11

I use forum signatures all the time. I love them. They work well for ranking and clicks.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Beverly

I use forum signatures all the time. I love them. They work well for ranking and clicks.

And signature lines still work for you, even since the Penguin update when most spam backlinks were discounted? You didn't lose all your backlinks from forum signatures?

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

robertman11

Yea. Make sure you post quality topics about what your signature links are about and the link juice is still great.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Tommy Matalino

I have read that even though forum signatures still work, its importance gets lessen after the recent Panda and Penguin update. Is that true?

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Beverly

I have read that even though forum signatures still work, its importance gets lessen after the recent Panda and Penguin update. Is that true?

Maybe it depends on whether or not you are linking from a related forum back to your site in the signature line.

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Tommy Matalino

Maybe it depends on whether or not you are linking from a related forum back to your site in the signature line.

What do you mean?

14 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

vinaya

As long as the forum has a good page rank, forum signature can add value to your site. When you get backlinks from a good PR forum, your domain authority and page rank will improve. You also get a good traffic. However, if you link in low-quality forums, it might hurt your site.

8 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Corzhens

For me, the main advantage from a forum signature is that your link is exposed to the members in the community. That exposure can somehow give you traffic especially when the community is huge and the activity in the forum is dynamic. Posting a topic there or even commenting on a topic will give you the opportunity to be read and thereby have the opportunity for your signature to be seen.

8 years ago

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Process Time: 0.11526584625244

Possible Duplicate queries found!

Match	Count	SQL	Script
SELECT * FROM members_ledger WHERE ip = ? AND added>=unix_timestamp(NOW())-86400	1	SELECT querystring, added FROM members_ledger WHERE ip = ? AND added>=unix_timestamp(NOW())-86400	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/includes/security.php 398 fetchMemberLedger() include_once()
SELECT * FROM `questions` as q JOIN categories_faq as c ON q.catid=c.CATID WHERE (q.status=1 OR (q.status=2 AND userid='') ) AND q.quesid='14836'	1	SELECT q.*, c.seo as CatSEO, c.name as CatName, c.parentid FROM `questions` as q JOIN categories_faq as c ON q.catid=c.CATID WHERE (q.status=1 OR (q.status=2 AND userid='') ) AND q.quesid='14836'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/viewfaq.php 496 () ()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='147'	1	SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='147'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/includes/member.php 445 GetAllUserDetails() ()
SELECT * FROM categories_faq WHERE CATID='30'	1	SELECT CATID, seo, name, metatitle, h2header, metakeywords, metadescription, metaheader, parentid, image_name FROM categories_faq WHERE CATID='30'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() GetCategorySeoFromType()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID=147	1	SELECT googleplus_profile FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID=147	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 16914 GetGooglePlusProfileFromId() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faq as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=14836 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faq as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=14836 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM answers a, seoclerks.members b WHERE a.quesid='14836' AND a.userid=b.USERID and b.status='1' AND a.status=1 ORDER BY a.combined_votes DESC, a.date_answered asc	1	SELECT a.answer, a.USERID, a.upvotes, a.downvotes, a.ansid, a.parentid, a.combined_votes, a.date_answered, b.username, b.userlevel, b.profilepicture FROM answers a, seoclerks.members b WHERE a.quesid='14836' AND a.userid=b.USERID and b.status='1' AND a.status=1 ORDER BY a.combined_votes DESC, a.date_answered asc	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/viewfaq.php 1245 () ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78537 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78537 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=183045 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=183045 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78538 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78538 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78539 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78539 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78540 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78540 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78541 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78541 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78542 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78542 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78543 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78543 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78544 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78544 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78545 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78545 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78546 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78546 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78547 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=78547 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=142681 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=142681 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
SELECT * FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=159894 LIMIT 5	1	SELECT m.username FROM ratings_faqanswers as r, seoclerks.members as m WHERE r.USERID=m.USERID AND r.upvote=1 AND r.PID=159894 LIMIT 5	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 17159 GetVoters() ()
UPDATE questions SET total_views = total_views + 1 WHERE quesid='14836'	1	UPDATE questions SET total_views = total_views + 1 WHERE quesid='14836'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/include/functions/main.php 1765 update_Faqviewcount() ()
SELECT * FROM questions WHERE quesid!='14836' AND status='1' AND (question like '%Are forum signatures relevant SEO?%' OR question like '%forum%' OR question like '%signatures%' OR question like '%relevant%' OR question like '%SEO?%') -- ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 15	1	SELECT quesid, question, seo, userid FROM questions WHERE quesid!='14836' AND status='1' AND (question like '%Are forum signatures relevant SEO?%' OR question like '%forum%' OR question like '%signatures%' OR question like '%relevant%' OR question like '%SEO?%') -- ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 15	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() ()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='9' limit 1	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='9' limit 1	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_get_member_profilepicture()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='1323' limit 1	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='1323' limit 1	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_get_member_profilepicture()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='43' limit 1	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='43' limit 1	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_get_member_profilepicture()
SELECT * FROM members_ledger WHERE script='/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/viewfaq.php' AND querystring LIKE '%id=14836%' AND added>=UNIX_TIMESTAMP(NOW())-1200 GROUP BY USERID	1	SELECT USERID, username FROM members_ledger WHERE script='/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/viewfaq.php' AND querystring LIKE '%id=14836%' AND added>=UNIX_TIMESTAMP(NOW())-1200 GROUP BY USERID	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() ()
SELECT * FROM categories	1	SELECT * FROM categories	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() parseRedundantQueriesCache()
select * from categories_software order by name asc	1	select * from categories_software order by name asc	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_GetSoftwareCategories()
select * from categories_wanttobuy order by name asc	1	select * from categories_wanttobuy order by name asc	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_get_wantcategories()
select * from categories_wanttotrade order by name asc	1	select * from categories_wanttotrade order by name asc	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_get_tradecategories()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='147.jpg'	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='147.jpg'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() getUserProfileImage()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='600657.jpg'	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='600657.jpg'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() getUserProfileImage()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='2077.png'	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='2077.png'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() getUserProfileImage()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='9.png'	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='9.png'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() getUserProfileImage()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='43.jpg'	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='43.jpg'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() getUserProfileImage()
SELECT * FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='585810.jpg'	1	SELECT profilepicture FROM seoclerks.members WHERE USERID='585810.jpg'	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() getUserProfileImage()
select * from categories_faq order by name asc	1	select * from categories_faq order by name asc	/opt/clerks-staging/docroot/libraries/adodb5/adodb.inc.php 1899 CacheExecute() insert_GetFaqCategories()

Invalid SQL

count(*)	sql1	error_msg

Expensive SQL

Tuning the following SQL could reduce the server load substantially

Load

Count

SQL

Max

Min

Suspicious SQL

The following SQL have high average execution times

Avg Time	Count	SQL	Max	Min
0.513316	1	SELECT A.*, C.username, C.profilepicture, C.userlevel, C.ratingcount, C.rating, C.lastlogin, C.ip, C.lip, C.profile_data from posts A, seoclerks.members C WHERE A.active=1 AND A.USERID=C.USERID AND A.sold_out=0 AND category IN (37) AND gtags like'%AdSense%' AND type !=99 AND A.feat=0 AND A.catfeatured_upgrade=0 order by A.lastgigedit desc limit 0, 40	0.513316	0.513316