Just how active or “lively” are YOUR online message board or forum discussions these days?
Do they seem to attract or draw in both NEW participating posters, as well as “lurkers” who visit passively, just out of interest in the topic itself, the mode or direction of the discussion thread, the ongoing level of animated passion displayed, stimulating use of logical argument, etc?
Obviously, visitors not so challenged or entertained are simply not going to stick around very long, are they?
And just as importantly, how often do they RETURN, based on your own web traffic indicators, or tracking software?
Did you know that one of the best, proven ways to attract or lure in additional, NEW traffic or visitors to your website via your online message boards is to have someone “instigate” a series of DEBATES on relatively current controversial topics, sub-topics, issues, etc, and have them actually PARTICIPATE in the discussion by skillfully and incisively interjecting and posing relevant, fundamental questions regarding popular assumptions, long-held beliefs, myths, etc; posing questions specifically designed to hit as many “hot buttons” as possible underlying and associated with these topics?
The whole objective here is to boost both new and ongoing repeat traffic directly to your message boards, and through them, to the rest of your site’s web-pages, articles, ads, offers, member subscriptions, etc.
Rather than paying upfront for all those traditional banner ads, links on other websites, pre-selected ad words/pay per click, etc, perhaps it’s time to consider a fresh option like this that takes smart advantage of your site’s message board pages that you are already hosting taking up valuable web space and make them work FOR you in the process of providing an online forum for your visitors and members.
Here are some comments from an article I found on the value of enlisting the debating format on your existing message board-forums as a valuable tool to attract more internet traffic to your site. It was appropriately titled “Debate on Message Boards and See Traffic On Your Own Website Get Moving” by Ava Ingram (excerpts from the “Technology Trends” section of primidi .com, 10/19/2010).
“Many boards are topic specific which is even better for the website managers because it allows them to target the most appropriate audience for their advertising…
However, if you want to get the most attention you can, you may want to consider starting a debate of some sort. When people involve themselves in debate on a message board two things can happen. First, those that care about the issue will likely read and post in response. The more sensitive the issue, the more readers and responders the posts will have.
Secondly, those who really don't care about the issue will read the debate anyway because everyone loves to see a good argument going on…. Posters will be likely to return to your site for more debate opportunities.”
Also, message board forums often generate separate web-pages in and of themselves whose titles or topic headers are indexed and searchable by Google and many other major search engines. Thus, someone already interested in or passionate about that particular topic being debated on YOUR message board forum, can find your site (even if they have NEVER HEARD of it before, and click on the link to that debate topic thread webpage…BINGO!..INSTANT, NEW TRAFFIC/MORE “HITS” that will likely stay for a visit, probably even participate (post) and RETURN!
And the more traffic, the higher the page rank; that’s a cumulative side-benefit, a virtual win-win, no-brainer!
The more controversial, in-depth debates taking place on YOUR message boards should tend to attract more traffic than the mere “milquetoast” discussion forums present out there belonging to other product or niche-competitive websites trying to snag traffic in purely conventional ways, and often appealing only to a very narrow, topic-specific interest group.
Of course, you will have to give all this some time to work, get indexed on the search engines, etc before you see any noticeable increase in actual traffic or “hits” to your message board pages, increased postings, return visitors, length of their stay per day or per online session, new member sign-ups to the message board forums, etc.
It might also behoove you to beware of all those ads targeting webmasters that promise or guarantee to “deliver” several thousand visitors (“hits”) to your website for mere pennies on the dollar. (You know, the ones that usually advertise on webmaster forums under threads like “How to Increase Your Web Traffic”.)
The key word to watch out for here is “deliver” vs. “attract”…The use or choice of the word “deliver” implies a Machiavellian mindset in which “the END Justifies the MEANS” ; pretty much “anything goes” just to get you those temporary hits.
There is a good chance that the tech-savvy tactics they use may well be ethically questionable tricks to “force” an internet user to click onto a link just to ESCAPE from a webpage, close out some unwanted, obnoxious, intrusively disruptive window, pop-up box, etc, literally “shanghaiing” them to your site.
The result is more likely a resentful,” captive visitor” who is not only highly unlikely to return, but may well harbor a very negative perception of YOUR website , associate it with approving all this and having to desperately resort to sleazy sales tricks to snag just one more unsuspecting visitor. He might even complain in an online blog, message board, or who knows where else?...Is such “publicity” a risk or liability you really want to assume?
True quality traffic will come of its own free will because of interest or honest curiosity of CONTENT. The real content would be the topic of the debate or the title of the webpage indexed by the search engines indicating that there previously exists genuine information, offers, or activities on your site or message boards that they are ALREADY intentionally seeking out. And that’s the only true, valuable quality type of traffic or visitor that you should always strive to attract: VOLUNTARY VISITORS!
Actually, I am seriously considering providing just such a service myself for webmasters or site owners who already HAVE message boards set up, but just don’t have the time or inclination to get that immersed in it. Just a crazy idea, but it might just catch on. At any rate, I hope all this proves helpful to those wanting to try this approach on their own, especially those “gadflys” like myself who love to argue and stir things up. (I prefer the term “Debator-Gator”)
All feedback is welcome...Let me know how this works for you, traffic-wise. I may be contacted via e-mail at: infoshareguy@toast.net or my local phone number, 281-568-5180 after 3 pm CST (Houston, Tx, USA)
Howard G. Lehrman, Blog Author
