{"id":627511,"date":"2024-07-12T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/"},"modified":"2024-07-12T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T13:00:00","slug":"the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/","title":{"rendered":"#The rise of forums: Why Google prefers them and how to adapt"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3fa8fe78f79\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3fa8fe78f79\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Discussion_boards_are_cool_again_Find_out_why_Google_now_prioritizes_them_and_how_to_foster_community_and_engagement_on_your_niche_website\" >Discussion boards are cool again. Find out why Google now prioritizes them and how to foster community and engagement on your niche website.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#The_long-tail_shift_from_niche_sites_to_user-generated_content_sites\" >The long-tail shift from niche sites to user-generated content sites<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#A_typical_Google_SERP_today\" >A typical Google SERP today<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Why_is_Google_favoring_sites_like_Reddit_and_Quora\" >Why is Google favoring sites like Reddit and Quora?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#How_Reddit_and_Quora_have_succeeded_where_others_failed\" >How Reddit and Quora have succeeded where others failed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#If_you_cant_beat_them%E2%80%A6_beat_them\" >If you can\u2019t beat them\u2026 beat them<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Follow_the_best_practices_above\" >Follow the best practices above<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Focus_on_your_specific_audience\" >Focus on your specific audience<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Build_a_community\" >Build a community\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Provide_definitive_answers_to_the_most_common_questions\" >Provide definitive answers to the most common questions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Go_deep\" >Go deep<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Make_it_the_place_the_leaders_of_your_industry_want_to_come_to_be_seen\" >Make it the place the leaders of your industry want to come to be seen<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Own_conversations_about_your_own_brand\" >Own conversations about your own brand<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Building_a_community_HubSpots_example\" >Building a community: HubSpot\u2019s example\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-rise-of-forums-why-google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt\/#Your_ultimate_goal_Make_Google_look_silly\" >Your ultimate goal: Make Google look silly<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Discussion_boards_are_cool_again_Find_out_why_Google_now_prioritizes_them_and_how_to_foster_community_and_engagement_on_your_niche_website\"><\/span>Discussion boards are cool again. Find out why Google now prioritizes them and how to foster community and engagement on your niche website.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\nIf you own a niche site, there\u2019s a pretty good chance that you saw something like this h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en between late 2023 and today.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"872\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Semrush-data-on-niche-site.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush data on niche site\" class=\"wp-image-444067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Semrush-data-on-niche-site.png.webp 872w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Semrush-data-on-niche-site-569x338.png.webp 569w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Semrush-data-on-niche-site-800x475.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Semrush-data-on-niche-site-190x113.png.webp 190w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Semrush-data-on-niche-site-768x456.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is Semrush\u2019s report for one of my own niche sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s not much to brag about these days on my site, but in 2022, there was. Google loved it. I ranked in the top 10 on my niche keywords and a wide range of related head terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I was pulling in a few hundred dollars a month in affiliate revenue \u2013 not exactly money I could retire with, but certainly enough to incentivize me to continue to work on my site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>How did I do it? I simply followed all the rules of white-hat SEO.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I chose a niche topic that no one else was covering very well.<\/li>\n<li>I chose keywords that people were truly interested in.<\/li>\n<li>I made sure that my information was original, up-to-date and accurate. I researched every article I wrote for weeks, sometimes months. When I checked the sites ranking alongside me in the top 10 on any topic, my content was always far superior to all of theirs.<\/li>\n<li>I published frequently.<\/li>\n<li>My users loved my content. My comments sections were active and my site was shared on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a>. I received a lot of compliments from people telling me they\u2019ve been looking for a site like mine for years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And then it all came crashing down. <\/p>\n<p>My niche site still ranks on extreme long-tail terms, but it\u2019s lost just about all visibility for head terms. And my affiliate revenue is down to pennies. <\/p>\n<p>What happened?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-long-tail-shift-from-niche-sites-to-user-generated-content-sites\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_long-tail_shift_from_niche_sites_to_user-generated_content_sites\"><\/span>The long-tail shift from niche sites to user-generated content sites<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll hear a lot of speculation about what happened, but <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sistrix.com\/blog\/core-update-reviews-update-november-2023-status-updates-and-data\/#Movements-among-the-Top-100-domains\">this report from Sistrix<\/a> tells you all you need to know. <\/p>\n<p>After the November 2023 core update, Reddit\u2019s organic visibility increased by 23%. Quora\u2019s organic visibility increased by 15.9%.<\/p>\n<p>That is just the tip of the iceberg. In 2023, Reddit\u2019s organic traffic increased by a whopping 253.3% between July 2023 and June 2024, according to Semrush.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Quora\u2019s organic traffic increased by 133.4%. The number of organic keywords that both sites ranked on increased by a similar margin.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"816\" height=\"524\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Quora-traffic-over-time-1.png.webp\" alt=\"Quora traffic over time\" class=\"wp-image-444069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Quora-traffic-over-time-1.png.webp 816w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Quora-traffic-over-time-1-526x338.png.webp 526w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Quora-traffic-over-time-1-800x514.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Quora-traffic-over-time-1-176x113.png.webp 176w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Quora-traffic-over-time-1-768x493.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 816px) 100vw, 816px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Other sites with user-generated content (UGC) also saw huge increases in the last year or two. YouTube saw an increase of over 450% in organic keywords.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve probably seen for yourself for any kind of \u201chow to\u201d search that YouTube videos occupy an increasing amount of positions in organic search.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon\u2019s Alexa Answers site saw an 813% increase in SEO traffic before someone at Amazon decided to put a robots.txt exclusion, likely to keep their public content from being scraped to train other LLMs like Google Gemini (good luck with that, Amazon).<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-typical-google-serp-today\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_typical_Google_SERP_today\"><\/span>A typical Google SERP today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of a typical SERP today for a recent search I did. (For context, my 8-year-old daughter has recently gotten me hooked on playing Minecraft with her.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Google-SERPs-how-do-you-defeat-the-ender-dragon.png.webp\" alt=\"Google SERPs - how do you defeat the ender dragon\" class=\"wp-image-444070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Google-SERPs-how-do-you-defeat-the-ender-dragon.png.webp 752w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Google-SERPs-how-do-you-defeat-the-ender-dragon-159x338.png.webp 159w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Google-SERPs-how-do-you-defeat-the-ender-dragon-282x600.png.webp 282w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Google-SERPs-how-do-you-defeat-the-ender-dragon-53x113.png.webp 53w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Google-SERPs-how-do-you-defeat-the-ender-dragon-722x1536.png 722w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>A few years ago, you might have seen at least one or two accounts from independent bloggers. <\/p>\n<p>No more.<\/p>\n<p>Now, YouTube results take up the effective above-the-fold space that the first few organic results used to occupy. <\/p>\n<p>The rest of Page 1 consists of user-generated content on well-established forum sites or well-known media sites.<\/p>\n<p>Independent bloggers are pretty much wiped out, even though their content is arguably more accurate, more detailed and written with more expertise and zeal.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: How to survive and thrive in a Google helpful content world<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-is-google-favoring-sites-like-reddit-and-quora\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_Google_favoring_sites_like_Reddit_and_Quora\"><\/span>Why is Google favoring sites like Reddit and Quora?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of speculation as to why Google is suddenly favoring forum sites. Since this is an opinion piece, I\u2019ll share mine: <\/p>\n<p>This is Google crying uncle.<\/p>\n<p>For years, Google claimed that it could distinguish between good content and poor content. Every time there was a core algorithm update, they\u2019d repeat the mantra, \u201cJust produce E-E-A-T, and we\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the problem. <\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say I spend 10 hours every day researching a topic, writing and publishing content. <\/p>\n<p>While I\u2019m doing this, hundreds of unscrupulous publishers are scraping my original content, using AI to rewrite it and publishing it as their own \u2013 perhaps even using others\u2019 content to improve on it. <\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ll do it all in a way that I can\u2019t issue a DMCA takedown (nor even realize what they\u2019ve done).<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re entering a world where \u201cexpertise\u201d and \u201cexperience,\u201d particularly for head terms, will be so commoditized that it\u2019ll be practically impossible for Google to discern them independently.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We all saw the recent leak of Google\u2019s ranking signals. One thing that immediately struck me when I went through that list was how easily so much could be faked.<\/p>\n<p>This is forcing Google to place greater emphasis on \u201cauthority\u201d and \u201ctrust,\u201d even at the expense of everything else.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know any industry expert who would cite sites like Reddit or Quora as authorities on their topics of expertise. <\/p>\n<p>Why is Google favoring them so much?<\/p>\n<p>It all goes down to a new \u201cA\u201d word: authenticity. For all their flaws, when you go to a site like Reddit, you know you\u2019re seeing real conversations from real people.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sure, you may need to take the scenic route to get to an answer, but the power of the crowd \u2013 along with platforms that foster free and open speech \u2013 usually gets you there.<\/p>\n<p>The most powerful LLM won\u2019t be the one with the best <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>; it\u2019ll ultimately be the one that is trained on the most useful data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why Google paid $60 million for access to Reddit\u2019s data, and assuming Reddit can continue to collect high-quality content, Google probably got a bargain.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-reddit-and-quora-have-succeeded-where-others-failed\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Reddit_and_Quora_have_succeeded_where_others_failed\"><\/span>How Reddit and Quora have succeeded where others failed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One question I hear often is, why doesn\u2019t Google just build its own forum powered by crowdsourcing? <\/p>\n<p>Well, they tried. Hard.<\/p>\n<p>Do you remember\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/googleblog.blogspot.com\/2006\/11\/adieu-to-google-answers.html\">Google Answers<\/a> (2002), Google Questions and Answers (2007) and Google Question Hub (2019)? Yeah, neither does anyone else.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These were desperate attempts by Google to use crowdsourcing to build its own library of knowledge.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The lesson they learned is that people don\u2019t come to Google.com to give answers; they come to get them.<\/p>\n<p>Some old-time SEOs might remember that Yahoo Answers was once a darling of Google organic search, but as Yahoo lost its way, so did Yahoo Answers. <\/p>\n<p>By the time it was dissolved in 2012, it was a cesspool of spam and fake accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Not coincidentally, around this time, sites like Reddit and Quora were taking off. How have these sites succeeded where others failed?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>They screen for real humans.<\/strong> Sites like Yahoo Answers and Google Question Hub died a slow and painful death because they were unable to keep spam and fake accounts in check, eventually losing all of their trust and credibility. Google essentially ended up outsourcing the task of figuring out how \u201chuman\u201d content is to other companies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>These humans have real conversations<\/strong>. Users on these sites are encouraged to engage in open and transparent conversation and dialogue. This opens up nuances and details of a topic that might otherwise not be covered on a site with static content. From a search and AI perspective, that opens up the extreme long tail that no one is covering.<\/li>\n<li><strong>These conversations use real words. <\/strong>On forum sites, you can always be sure that users are using words that your audience uses because they <strong>are<\/strong> the audience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They\u2019re constantly self-moderated.<\/strong> Sites like Quora and Reddit don\u2019t employ hundreds of moderators who constantly monitor every conversation. Instead, they create communities that self-moderate. For example, each subreddit has its own set of rules; if a user breaks a rule, both the moderators and the users themselves will quickly call that user out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-if-you-can-t-beat-them-beat-them\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"If_you_cant_beat_them%E2%80%A6_beat_them\"><\/span>If you can\u2019t beat them\u2026 beat them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Reddit and Quora have done many things well, but they aren\u2019t perfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The biggest flaw in both of them is the same as their biggest strength: they\u2019re both targeted toward a mass audience. This results in wildly inconsistent quality from one topic to another and one conversation to another.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the advice I give to every brand, large and small, that wants to be competitive in five years: Start your own discussion board or forum focused specifically on your industry niche.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, you\u2019ll get a lot of eye-rolling from people saying, \u201cWe tried that 10 years ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the world \u2013 and the cost-benefit equation \u2013 is much different today than it was then.<\/p>\n<p>Ten years ago, a well-designed forum might get you some organic rankings on the extreme long tail. However, whatever revenue came out of that traffic couldn\u2019t justify the cost of screening users or moderating and maintaining content.<\/p>\n<p>Today, from a cost perspective, you can bet that forum application developers are working hard to incorporate AI into their software to drive costs down.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tasks like screening users and moderating forums have traditionally required cumbersome manual work, but they are well in the wheelhouse of what AI can do.<\/p>\n<p>As for the benefits of maintaining your own forum, there are lots more today than there were then:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Google\u2019s sudden predilection toward forum sites isn\u2019t going away. That means that good forums will rank not just in the long tail but at the head as well.<\/li>\n<li>Through crowdsourcing, you can generate exponentially more high-quality content than paying an army of freelancers \u2013 at a fraction of the price.<\/li>\n<li>If you can be the one in your industry generating authoritative content from your most influential and passionate customers, AI LLMs will fall over themselves to learn from the kind of information that your community is creating.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of these benefits will happen only if you design and run your forum correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-follow-the-best-practices-above\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Follow_the_best_practices_above\"><\/span>Follow the best practices above<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Have zero tolerance for fake accounts, overt promotional content and spam.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Follow the \u201cbroken windows\u201d theory \u2013 if spam is allowed to fester on a given post for more than a few minutes, that\u2019s too long.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-focus-on-your-specific-audience\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Focus_on_your_specific_audience\"><\/span>Focus on your specific audience<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Do what sites like Reddit and Quora can\u2019t do: be laser-focused on your audience. <\/p>\n<p>The more precise, the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-build-a-community-nbsp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Build_a_community\"><\/span>Build a community\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cIf you build it, they will come\u201d doesn\u2019t apply here. You need to put yourself in your audience\u2019s shoes and ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You are asking them to spend their time and effort visiting, reading questions and writing answers. What are the benefits they\u2019re getting in return?<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s where you need to be creative.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do you allow a certain amount of self-promotion for users who consistently provide value to discussions? <\/li>\n<li>Do you do partnerships with well-known influencers in your industry?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Will your audience be incentivized by aspirational intangibles such as \u201cyour expertise will help others\u201d?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>If you operate a marketplace of some kind, can you provide greater visibility for those who contribute content? <\/li>\n<li>Can you gamify the experience to make it \u201cfun\u201d to see and be seen?\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: SEO for user activation, retention and community<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-provide-definitive-answers-to-the-most-common-questions\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Provide_definitive_answers_to_the_most_common_questions\"><\/span>Provide definitive answers to the most common questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your customer service team can rattle off a list of the most common questions people ask, both branded and unbranded. Seed your forum with these questions (and when people ask the same questions, dedupe them).<\/p>\n<p>Encourage open and transparent conversation, even if it\u2019s about a touchy subject. If they aren\u2019t having the conversation on your site, it\u2019s happening somewhere else.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-go-deep\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Go_deep\"><\/span>Go deep<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Seed your forum with interesting questions you\u2019re seeing on other forums or in search data, especially on hot and trending topics. Have your internal experts engage in the conversation as fellow enthusiasts and helpers.<\/p>\n<p>Create an environment where your community\u2019s conversations are richer and deeper than those at Reddit and Quora \u2013 to the point that users on those sites are citing the information they found on yours.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-make-it-the-place-the-leaders-of-your-industry-want-to-come-to-be-seen\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Make_it_the_place_the_leaders_of_your_industry_want_to_come_to_be_seen\"><\/span>Make it the place the leaders of your industry want to come to be seen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There aren\u2019t many experts who care to \u201cbe seen\u201d on Quora or Reddit. If you can attract the top names in your industry (many of whom are probably your existing clients and customers) to view your forum, that makes it a lot more appealing for other influencers to take notice with an acute case of FOMO.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-own-conversations-about-your-own-brand\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Own_conversations_about_your_own_brand\"><\/span>Own conversations about your own brand<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re a relatively well-known brand, try this experiment. Google the name of your brand + the word \u201cReddit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read the kinds of conversations going on about your brand. Then ask yourself: Why are these conversations going on on Reddit and not your own site?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The answer is almost certainly that they trust the Reddit community to give answers that are more helpful, transparent and insightful than anything your company provides. Fix that.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-building-a-community-hubspot-s-example-nbsp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Building_a_community_HubSpots_example\"><\/span>Building a community: HubSpot\u2019s example\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>HubSpot is a good example of a brand that has successfully built an active community in its niche. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what organic traffic and keywords to their forum look like.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"813\" height=\"524\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/HubSpot-organic-traffic-over-time.png.webp\" alt=\"HubSpot organic traffic over time\" class=\"wp-image-444071\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/HubSpot-organic-traffic-over-time.png.webp 813w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/HubSpot-organic-traffic-over-time-524x338.png.webp 524w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/HubSpot-organic-traffic-over-time-800x516.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/HubSpot-organic-traffic-over-time-175x113.png.webp 175w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/HubSpot-organic-traffic-over-time-768x495.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 813px) 100vw, 813px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>While the organic search traffic levels are a fraction of their overall traffic, it looks like they\u2019ve been pretty successful in hedging against the loss of traffic to their blog that we\u2019re all experiencing with UGC on their forum, following most of the best practices outlined above.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, HubSpot\u2019s forum <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20180314061207\/https:\/\/community.hubspot.com\/\">looks much the same<\/a> as it did when it started seven years ago, during the initial forum boom.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But as the economy soured and companies looked for places to cut, these were often first on the chopping block, citing too much cost for too little benefit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20141031022223\/https:\/\/www.americanexpress.com\/us\/small-business\/openforum\/explore\/\">American Express<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20190616020810\/http:\/\/community.homedepot.com:80\/\">Home Depot<\/a> used to have popular discussion boards and probably wish they could have some of that long-tail goodness back.<\/p>\n<p>Companies that stuck with their forums and grew them will find themselves in an enviable position as AI becomes thirsty for deep content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-ultimate-goal-make-google-look-silly\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Your_ultimate_goal_Make_Google_look_silly\"><\/span>Your ultimate goal: Make Google look silly<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is my conclusion to everyone who has seen their niche site plummet in the rankings in 2023. Make Google look silly.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a niche site and you\u2019ve seen your rankings plummet, it\u2019s not time to give up. Instead, double down on establishing yourself as the authority on your topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Go onto forums like Reddit and Quora and offer your expertise (keeping it concise, helping their users, but pointing readers back to the most helpful content on your own site).\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Start a discussion forum of your own and attract a group of fellow enthusiasts to maintain it.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Cover your topic with more enthusiasm, insights, and accuracy, which will make conversations on Reddit and Quora look like child\u2019s play.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Simply put, everyone who has grown reliant on Google for organic traffic needs to face facts. The gravy train is over.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Our number one job should be to run our sites in a way that delights users and explores aspects of our topics in new and different ways \u2013 which is what we should have been doing all along.<\/p>\n<p>You want your site to become so authoritative for your topic that it\u2019s cited on Reddit, Quora, social media, AI and anywhere else people research your topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If Google figures it out and starts ranking you again, great. If they don\u2019t, you\u2019ll still be fine, but they\u2019re the ones who\u2019ll be in trouble.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n    About the author<\/p>\n<div class=\"information\">\n<div class=\"author-module\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 text-center\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/04\/Steve-Liu.png.webp\" alt=\"Steve Liu\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\n                                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-9\">\n<div class=\"about\">\n<div class=\"name\">\n                            <strong>Steve Liu<\/strong>\n                        <\/div>\n<div class=\"row g-2 pt-2\">\n<div class=\"col-auto twitter\">\n                                    <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/follow?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fsearchengineland.com%2F&amp;region=follow_link&amp;screen_name=SteveLiuSEO&amp;tw_p=followbutton&amp;variant=2.0\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-x-twitter\"><\/i><\/a>\n                            <\/div>\n<div class=\"col-auto\">\n                                    <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/steve-liu-42431234\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a>\n                                <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                        Steve Liu has been in the SEO world since 2004 in the halcyon days when a dollar\u2014and a good title tag\u2014went a long way. Since then, he helped pioneer SEO strategy at 1-800-Flowers.com; established SEO strategies for clients at marketing agency DDB, including ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and Hiscox Insurance; and most recently served as VP of SEO for Shutterstock and Pond5. Currently, Steve is taking a short break from the corporate world and is looking to find ways to help small businesses and entrepreneurs with their SEO. You can follow Steve on X at @SteveLiuSEO or learn more at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/steveliu.com\/\">steveliu.com<\/a>.                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/forums-google-adapt-444065\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discussion boards are cool again. Find out why Google now prioritizes them and how to foster community and engagement on your niche website. If you own a niche site, there\u2019s a pretty good chance that you saw something like this happen between late 2023 and today. This is Semrush\u2019s report for one of my own&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":627512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/The-rise-of-forums-Why-Google-prefers-them-and-how-to-adapt-800x450.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[26293,5005,78070],"class_list":["post-627511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-google","tag-reddit","tag-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}