In my recent article, I provided info on [B][URL="http://www.vbseo.com/f2/how-replace-showpost-links-permalinks-max-out-search-engine-crawling-efficiency-31454/"]how to remove showpost pages from your forum[/URL][/B] to dramatically increase crawling efficiency.

[B][COLOR=Blue]However, before you do so, you should first find out if you are getting any search traffic to your showpost pages and (if so) how much.[/COLOR][/B]

[B]We can do this with Google Analytics[/B]. If you do not use Google Analytics, then you may be able to find an equivalent method in your stats software.

[LIST][*]Login to Google Analytics.[*]Select your forum's stats.[*]Select "Traffic Sources".[*]Then click "Keywords".[*]Use the date range selector to see stats for the previous 30 days.[*]Find the "Dimension" label at the top of the keyword list.[*]Select "Landing Page" from the dropdown.[/LIST]
Now you are viewing all of the pages of your forum that received hits from search engine searches. [B]Our goal is to find out which of these pages are showpost pages.[/B]

[LIST][*]Scroll to the bottom of the list and find the "Find Landing Page:" label.[*]Keep "Containing" selected.[*]Now enter "showpost.php" into the text box and hit "Go".[/LIST]
[B]The page will redisplay and will show any showpost pages that received search hits in the last 30 days[/B]. If you have been vBSEO enabled for a while, this list will most likely be empty. This is because showpost.php will only match the old vBulletin formats, not the newly vBSEO rewritten formats.

Depending on what rewriting format you used for your showpost pages, we can still usually find them in the stats. In the default formats, we often use the thread title + "[B]-post[/B]" in order to distinguish showpost pages from the actual thread page. So you can search for this as well.

[LIST][*]Now enter "-post" into the text box and hit "Go".[/LIST]
If you still have your showpost pages enabled, you may find some search hits to these pages (provided the format you are using includes "-post").

[LIST][*]Now take a look at the list.[/LIST]
[B]How many different showpost pages are still getting hits? Is the traffic significant?[/B]

If the traffic is a lot, you have various options. However, [U]you should not proceed with disabling showpost pages immediately until you have decided on a strategy[/U]. If this is the case for you, please create a thread at vbseo.com to discuss it with the vBSEO Total Support Team.

[B][COLOR=Blue]If you are not getting much or any traffic to the showpost pages, then why keep them?[/COLOR][/B]

You can dramatically increase your crawling efficiency and gain other SEO advantages by removing them. Since they are not yielding traffic, it's an easy decision in that case. :)

[B]Are you making the best use of Googlebot's time?[/B] If not, you are negatively impacting your SEO. One way to ensure that the time Googlebot spends on your forum is not wasted, is to get rid of inefficient, non-unique content. My focus here is on [B]showpost pages[/B].

While they are not "exact" copies of any other page on your site, all of the post content is already displayed on your thread pages. So they are [I][U]partial duplicates[/U][/I].

[B]If you want to find out how to remove them, check out this article:[/B]
[URL]http://www.vbseo.com/f2/how-replace-showpost-links-permalinks-max-out-search-engine-crawling-efficiency-31454/[/URL]

[I]Before you go ahead and do it, you should understand how much of Googlebot's time you are actually wasting. Let's do so first with an example.[/I]
[B]
Let's pretend you have a forum with:[/B]

[LIST][*]10,000 threads[*]1,000,000 posts[*]20 posts max per thread page[/LIST]
In this example, including multi-page threads, we could [I]guestimate[/I] there would be about 50,000 thread pages in total. [U]You can determine this exactly using your sitemap generation reports[/U].
[B]

What percentage of total pages are actually thread pages with unique content?[/B]

[LIST][*]50,000 / (1,000,000 + 50,000) * 100 = [COLOR=Red][B]4.8% Unique Only![/B][/COLOR][*]In this example, the crawling efficiency is ONLY 4.8%. [U][B]It is 95.2% INEFFICIENT![/B][/U][/LIST]
[B]
How does that inefficiency delay SEO result for you?[/B]

[LIST][*]Let's say Googlebot crawls 1,000 of your pages every single day.[*]If you enable showpost pages, how long would it take to complete?[/LIST]
[quote]1,050,000 pages / 1,000 Per Day = 1,050 DAYS... [B][COLOR=Blue]OR ALMOST 3 YEARS![/COLOR][/B][/quote]
[LIST][*]If you remove showpost pages, how long would it take to complete?[/LIST]
[quote]50,000 pages / 1,000 Per Day = 50 DAYS... OR [B][COLOR=Blue]JUST UNDER 2 MONTHS![/COLOR][/B][/quote][U][B]Now you can understand the impact of 95.2% inefficiency (in this example) can have on your SEO. Check out some other factors here.[/B][/U]


[B]Formula for Your Forum's Average Crawling Efficiency
[/B]
Where:

[LIST][*]P = Total Posts (Public)[*]T = Total Thread Pages (Including multi-page threads). Get from sitemap generator report.[/LIST]
Find out the total number of thread pages you have (including multi-page threads) from your sitemap generator report (T). Use the following formula:

[SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue][B]Crawling Efficiency = T / (T + P) * 100[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[LIST][*]At vBSEO.com we use 15 posts per page.[*]Our sitemap generator reports 19,571 showthread pages total (public).[*]We'll guess that 60% of our 187,000 posts are public, so 112,200.[/LIST]
[B]Our efficiency is 100%[/B], because [I][U]we replace showpost links with Permalinks[/U][/I].

However, if we did NOT do this, our efficiency would be approximately:

[quote]19,571 / ( 19,571 + 112,200) * 100 = [B][COLOR=Red]14.9% Crawling Efficiency[/COLOR][/B] OR 85.1% INEFFICIENCY.[/quote][B]If Googlebot hits only 1,000 of our pages a day:[/B]

[LIST][*]We would be completely re-indexed with [B][COLOR=SeaGreen]20 DAYS[/COLOR][/B] since we have Permalinks enabled (replacing showpost).[*]If we kept the showpost pages in place, it could take [B][COLOR=Red]4 to 5 Months![/COLOR][/B][/LIST]

[B][SIZE=4]FACTS:[/SIZE]
[/B]
[LIST][*][B][I]PageRank Withdrawal Syndrome[/I] (PWS): [/B]You see many people asking how to increase their Google PageRank, with an expressed urgency that shows they firmly believe it to still be the ultimate SEO factor.[*][I][B]Insider Wrath[/B][/I][B][I]yopia (i.e. Anger + Near Sightedness)[/I]:[/B] You see a lot of SEO insiders dismiss it as worthless, and then tell you to just build links. ;)[/LIST]
Well - as it turns out, [B][U][COLOR=Blue]Google's Visible Toolbar PageRank[/COLOR] [/U][/B]is [B]*NOT*[/B] as important as you might think. It's also [B]*NOT*[/B] completely useless! It's also not the same as pure "[B]link value[/B]".

[SIZE=4][B]

Why is the force of gravity so great between you and PageRank?[/B][/SIZE]

For those experienced in [B][I]Searchologi[/I][/B]*, it should be a no-brainer as to why less experienced webmasters still focus on PageRank in their SEO discussions.

[I][SIZE=1]* Google trademarked the version ending in "Y" ;)[/SIZE][/I]

[B]Here is why:[/B]

Larry Page and Sergey Brin made [I][B]it[/B][/I] the foundation of their infamous [URL="http://infolab.stanford.edu/%7Ebackrub/google.html"]search ranking algorithm[/URL].

The problems with having [B]PWS[/B] are that (1) the search ranking algorithms have been changed and improved over time, and as such (2) the [I]visible toolbar PageRank[/I] is not an accurate reflection of a page's ranking for specific terms.

[SIZE=4][B]

You're Talking about "Visible Toolbar PageRank" - But You Call It Just "PageRank"[/B][/SIZE]

Yes - that's what you see (scaled from 1 to 10) when you have the Google toolbar installed in your browser. The little green bars you hope to see span deeply from left to right.

It is [B][I]supposed[/I][/B] [B][I]to[/I][/B] indicate the popularity (based on the # and quality of inbound links) Google assigns to your page.

[B][COLOR=Blue] Toolbar page rank is a largely inaccurate, cosmetic indicator of pure link value.

[/COLOR][/B]Certainly there may not be a very *strong correlation* between visible toolbar PageRank and how well a page gets ranked, but there certainly is some relationship.

While toolbar PageRank is not going to be the biggest determining factor in your web rankings, it's not chosen completely at random. If you have a PR of 10, you are going to get some traffic. :)

Having some PR indicates that you have *some* [U][B]link value[/B][/U], but it does not indicate how your site/page will rank since [B][U]there are 100s of SEO factors taken into consideration.[/U][/B]

If you have it, that's good. If you don't, do not be discouraged. Keep building link value.
[B][SIZE=4]

What is "Link Value"?[/SIZE][/B]

We know that incoming [B]links [/B]*from* other relevant sites, *to* your site have [B]value[/B] for SEO. Hence, [B]link value[/B].

Let's not confuse this with PageRank anymore. Real "link value" can only be measured by [B]results[/B]. If you build relevant links to your page(s), they can get ranked high enough for specific search keywords, and can deliver you Web traffic.

It's *NOT* just the [I][B]rank of the page[/B][/I] that is a factor. If it was, then every keyword on the page would receive about the same amount of traffic.

The fact is, [B]a page is going to be ranked largely term specifically[/B] in the end. It will probably generate traffic for only 1 (or very few) keywords. All the others will be ignored (i.e. won't rank or won't deliver traffic).

Toolbar PageRank doesn't care how you got to the page, whether by a search, via a link from another site, or directly entering the URL into the browser. Therefore, [I][B]it is certainly NOT search term specific[/B][/I]. But neither is link value.

[B][COLOR=Blue]Link value is the amount of favoritism given to a page because of the relevant links point to it, a large factor in the ranking calculation, and may be keyword specific.[/COLOR][/B]

So - how can we expect something that is "page specific" to impact a calculation that is "term specific"?

Well - we can expect *some* influence, as overall link value for a page will be a factor (of some degree). But other factors such as the anchor text in links pointing to the page will be more heavily influential in determining which of the terms on the page will allow it to rank, and at what position in the SERPs.

[B]In other words, your page may have more link value for one keyword than for another (think: anchor text).[/B]

[B]Link value is invisible[/B]. It is also not specific to Google. All search engines who take linking into consideration have their own process for assigning pure link value. You cannot determine the amount of link value your page has received for a particular term. And the only way to know that you are successfully building link value is to see a measurable increase in search traffic to your page!



[SIZE=4][B]How does PageRank or "Link Value" Work for Forums?[/B][/SIZE]

Over time, you *will* see visible toolbar PageRank flowing into your sub forum and thread pages, but more importantly you should think of it as representing some of the [B][I]invisible link value[/I][/B] that is fully achieved only with [URL="http://www.vbseo.com/f2/pin-tail-seo-donkey-link-consensus-14029/"][B]link consensus[/B][/URL] and [B]external relevant link building[/B].

[COLOR=Blue][B]Focus more on "link value" than your actual PageRank (visible in the Google Toolbar).

[/B][COLOR=Black][B]So - just build relevant links.[/B] Be happy if you see some green PageRank in your toolbar. But realize that PageRank is just a blinking light. Underneath it all lies the mysterious link value. :)[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[FONT=Arial]Most likely, [B][COLOR=Blue]YOU[/COLOR][/B], like many of us at one time or another, [B]are guilty[/B] of this:

You build a forum about cars, and you want to rank #1 for the term "cars", right? Or a forum about computers, and you want to be #1 for "PC", sound familiar?

There was a time (over 10 years ago now) when you would have a better shot at competing for top terms on the Internet. Search engines were much easier to manipulate, and the content explosion was just beginning.

[B]That time is over.[/B] Search engine algorithms are getting tighter, and it would require a top blackhat SEO expert and a *WHOLE LOT* of resources to even get close to the top of the results for the Web's top search terms. Nowadays, hundreds of thousands of webmasters have realized that [B][COLOR=Blue]a new business model[/COLOR][/B] was emerging, and jumped into the [B]forum industry[/B].

They now start and manage communities that continue [B]self-perpetuating[/B], that is, building themselves up with new activity and content like armies of rapidly reproducing ants... albeit really smart ants with computers and Internet connections. We refer to this as[B] user generated content[/B]. :)

However, given what we now know about [B]the long tail[/B], would you be surprised to know that most forum admins are still taking a 10 year old approach and targeting traffic for their top, highly competitive terms?

In fact, let's not even call them [B]highly competitive terms [/B]anymore. Let's call them [COLOR=Blue][B]dead terms [/B][/COLOR]!

That is, they might as well be dead to you, disowned from your interest. Why? Because if you are a mere mortal on the Internet, you are not going to get even near page #1 of the SERPs for the Web's most highly searched, highly sought after, and most lucrative terms! Forget them. They're [B]dead terms[/B].

Correct formula? [COLOR=Blue][B]Focus on the search long tail[/B][/COLOR], and choose terms to target in your link building campaigns in which you have more reasonable expectations of moderate success. :thumbsup:
[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial] Your search long tail can be measured very easily. The main metric you should be considered with is [B]how many different keywords do you get traffic for?[/B]

You can determine this with your [URL="http://analytics.google.com/"]Google Analytics[/URL] account or other stats program. You should also be tracking your process using your [URL="http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/"]Google Webmaster Tools account[/URL]. [URL="http://www.vbseo.com/f2/google-webmaster-tools-recommended-all-vbseo-customers-21230/"]Here[/URL] is how vBSEO customers can make efficient use of their Google Webmaster Tools account.

When this number is growing, you are [B]effectively growing your search long tail[/B].

[B][COLOR=Blue] You can also determine the average # of search hits per term. The lowest this #, the more powerful your search long tail is likely to be.[/COLOR][/B]
[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]
The search long tail at vBSEO contained more than 18,000 search terms in the last 30 days.

[SIZE=3][B]Example A: NOT Long Tail Dominated / Search Traffic for Top Terms[/B][/SIZE]
[/FONT]
[LIST][*][FONT=Arial] You have 100 keywords delivering traffic.
[/FONT][*][FONT=Arial]Your top 3 keywords get 10,000 hits.[/FONT][*][FONT=Arial]Your remaining 97 keywords get 1,000 hits total.[/FONT][*][FONT=Arial]10,000 hits / 100 keywords = [B]100 hits per keyword[/B][/FONT][/LIST]
[FONT=Arial][B] Analysis:[/B] The above is a very high # of average hits per keyword, and accurately indicates that this search traffic is more dominated by top keywords than long tail search keywords.
[B]
[SIZE=3]Example B: Long Tail Dominated[/SIZE][/B]
[/FONT]
[LIST][*][FONT=Arial] Now, let's say you have 2,000 keywords delivering traffic and you get 30,000 hits from all keywords.[/FONT][*][FONT=Arial]30,000 hits / 2,000 keywords = [B]15 hits per keyword[/B][/FONT][/LIST]
[FONT=Arial][B]Analysis:[/B] The above is a lower average # of hits per keyword, indicating it's more [B][COLOR=Blue]long tail dominated[/COLOR][/B]. However, a bigger long tail can lower the average significantly, even as low as 2-5 hits per keyword.

In fact, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch [URL="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050314-164653"]mentions a long tail search metric[/URL] indicating:

[B][SIZE=3][COLOR=Blue]Top 50% of All Unique Search Keywords = 80% of Total Hits[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]
Keep this in mind when you are looking at your stats the next time. [B]If you see your total # of search keywords growing, you are seeing vBSEO help your forum capitalize on the long tail search phenomenon.[/B]

If the trend continues, you are going to be positioned to get [B]*a lot*[/B] of traffic! :)[/FONT]

There is a lot of buzz about the "[B]search long tail[/B]". You might also have heard it called the "[B]search tail[/B]", "[B]keyword tail[/B]", or simply "[B]long tail[/B]". Here is:

[LIST][*]a nutshell introduction to this phenomenon,[*]a summary of why it is important to your forum success, and[*]a summary how the positive benefits are magnified by vBSEO[/LIST]
[IMG]http://www.thelongtail.com/tail.jpg[/IMG]

The concept of the "[B]lon[/B][B]g tail[/B]" was popularized in 2004 in a Wired magazine article by [URL="http://www.thelongtail.com/"]Chris Anderson[/URL], and subsequent book title called "[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Future-Business-Selling/dp/1401302378"]The Long Tail - Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More[/URL]".

The book investigated how large online vendors (like Amazon, Netflix, or eBay) with huge selections of products, are actually generating the bulk of their sales from the total combined sales of less popular items... instead of just selling a huge amount of only their most popular products.

[B]That means selling a few copies each of thousands of different items, adds up to many thousands of sales.[/B]

[COLOR=Blue][B]For forums that equals getting a few visitors for each page for thousands of different pages, adds up to a huge amount of traffic![/B][/COLOR]

Forums are perfect habitats for the long tail species. :) This is because of "[B]user generated content[/B]".

As your forum grows, your members create all of the content. Over time, the content grows and many thousands of different keyword variations are discussed.

So the content is covered. The only question is, how you can help encourage the long tail effect?

Fortunately the solution is quite simple: [B]You must optimize every page of your forum individually only for the keywords it contains[/B].

The idea is to try to get ranked for many terms that will deliver a small amount of traffic each. If you focus solely on your top 5-10 keywords, and optimize each page for these terms, you will NOT achieve long tail results. Not only that, you're unlikely to have success with search engine traffic at all.

vBSEO provides the [URL="http://www.vbseo.com/purchase/"]solution[/URL] you need for long tail results. Our software instantly optimizes every page on your forum individually.

The result is striking. Install vBSEO and you will notice that your traffic will begin to grow. However, check out the # of different keywords that are behind that traffic growth. You will find the number of keywords will start to grow each month! :)

[B] Discuss long tail search here:[/B]
[URL]http://www.vbseo.com/f4/how-long-your-search-long-tail-22108/[/URL]

[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=7][COLOR=YellowGreen][B]Web eyes for success?
V - B - S - E - O will help
Bring forum clicks[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

What is your vBSEO Haiku? :)

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=4][B]Perhaps it's more of a not-so-secret advantage! But that doesn't stop people from being creative...[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]

I just finished speed reading another forum, and zero-ing in on threads related to vBSEO.

One particular post jumped right out at me - and I'm confident you will find this interesting. :)

[B] The situation:[/B] A user was asking for vBSEO reviews. One person responded saying that they were a vBSEO customer, installed vBSEO, and saw no effect... basically summarizing it as a waste of time.

To me that's shocking. We do not get many bad reviews. So - I did what I always do... I decided to check out the site to see what was wrong.

[B] FYI[/B] - We have actually had cases where customers have only 50% completed their install process (example: forgot to import the plugin)... and let vBSEO run (or not run) like that.

As you can imagine... that's not going to help SEO-wise. It's also a part of the reason we've launched our [URL="http://www.vbseo.com/installation-service.html"]install[/URL] and [URL="http://www.vbseo.com/upgrade-service.html"]upgrade[/URL] services.

But - there are 1000s of professional forum admins, earning high monthly incomes with successful forums, who just do not touch code. They specialize in forum management and profit making, and let us geeks take on the tech parts.
[B]
So back to my story[/B] - what did I find glaringly wrong with this customer's site? Can you guess?

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue][I] Nothing...[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]

Nothing in particular was wrong with the site. It was installed & configured correctly, had a nice template, & good forum descriptions, etc.

[SIZE=4] But I did happen to check out our license database... and discovered that this customer has [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=4][COLOR=Black][B]NOT ONE... But FIVE vBSEO Licenses[/B][/COLOR] bought throughout the course of the year:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]

3 before and 1 after the registration date of the forum that supposedly didn't do so well. :)

Then the cosmic paint brushes jolted down from high and painted a clear picture of what was happening here.

[B]The competitive advantage[/B]: It may be speculation - but I think it's fair to propose that this user was trying to scare his competitors away from using vBSEO! Method? Give cold feedback in review threads.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=4][B][COLOR=Blue] So - while he keeps building new forums and adding vBSEO - he hopes that you won't! And that's how he keeps his secret vBSEO advantage.[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]

But what's the real competitive advantage?
[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][B][SIZE=4][SIZE=2] Be first. Be fast. Be better.[/SIZE]
[/SIZE][/B]
SEO takes time. Don't put it off. Start ASAP.

If you're fast... and you start now:[/FONT][LIST=1][*][FONT=Verdana] You WILL have an awesome chance at getting a head start on your current and future competitors in the same niche[/FONT][*][FONT=Verdana]You WILL ensure that you avoid losing the race by letting them get the jump on you[/FONT][*][FONT=Verdana]You WILL have your search engine optimization working for you.[/FONT][/LIST][FONT=Verdana][B][COLOR=Blue][SIZE=4]Did you know that many customers have reported that their big jump in traffic occurs a few months after installing vBSEO?[/SIZE]
[/COLOR][/B]
[B] If you start now... a couple of months could mean February 2008. That would be great New Year's surprise.[/B]

One key factor that a lot of people overlook is that vBSEO is limited to helping forums running vBulletin! But they are not your only rivals.

Remember the rest of the BILLIONS of pages on the Web? We don't make a version of vBSEO for them!

So don't forget that you'll be jockeying for position in the search engine race... against *every* other website online... not just other forums.

If you have vBSEO now - congratulations. As always, we would love to hear your stories of success.

If you don't have vBSEO yet - you should really begin gathering some info to help make your decision. We are standing by to answer any questions you may have before choosing to come on board and [URL="http://www.vbseo.com/purchase/"]get vBSEO enabled [/URL]in plenty of time for 2008. :)

[/FONT][CENTER][URL="http://www.vbseo.com/purchase/"][FONT=Verdana][IMG]http://www.vbseo.com/images/vbseo_box/vbseo_3.1_light.gif[/IMG][/FONT][/URL]
[/CENTER]

I just visited a forum and noticed something interesting. [B]See attached.[/B] :)

The user has vBAdvanced CMPS on their homepage.

Even though we use vBA here at vBSEO.com, I'm still not a big fan. Its rigid style just does not look great. Quite often it's hard to visually lock-in on anything due to an excess of ugly little modules like useless calendars and other link "boxes".

But this designer did something cool:

[IMG]http://www.vbseo.com/blogs/joe-ward/attachments/36d1196623757-ocean-links-make-sure-visitors-can-find-your-forum-emphasizing-forums.gif[/IMG]

[SIZE=6][COLOR=Blue]They blew up their "Forums" link to about +4 sizes.[/COLOR]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=7][B]RESULT:[/B] I saw it instantly.[/SIZE] :)

So - while you may or may not be a fan of this site's template... they are successful in making sure you knew where their forum is located.

I visit hundreds of forums every month. It's frustrating when I get to a site with a homepage (vBA powered or otherwise) and I cannot find the forum link. I know the forum is there. I'm looking for it and I'm having trouble.

[SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue][B] Imagine what that means for the casual web visitor who lands on the site...[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[B] We're really talking micro-seconds here.[/B] You have to make sure your users find whatever they are looking for (or whatever you want them to look at) quickly... or you will lose them.

Sometimes it takes several seconds to find the forum link. As you can imagine, that is definitely not going to help make your traffic sticky or boost your member conversions.

[B] Take a look at this site:[/B]
[URL]http://www.tnagaming.org[/URL]

Browsing around a bit, you will see that they are pretty good at drawing attention to stuff, including their PayPal donation status. :)
[B]
[SIZE=4] The key takeaways here are:[/SIZE][/B][LIST][*][B]Step 1.[/B] Make sure you know which stuff is most important to your users[*][B]Step 2.[/B] Make sure your visitors can find it with their eyeballs... in microseconds... on every page on your site preferably![*][B]Step 3.[/B] Make sure your assumptions in Step 1 about "what" is most important to your visitors is correct. How do you know? Test it... move stuff around... see how it impacts your member conversion, posting activity, etc.[/LIST]