A forum on your primary domain name (implications)

[bfrl]

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

[Marcus_Miller]

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