Why the vBulletin archive is useless and counterproductive

step 1) ignore pagerank.

step 2) vboptions - SEF archive -> turn off
step 3) vbseo cp - turn off archive re-writing
step 4) disallow the archive/ folder, and possibly sitemap/ if you used that as a re-write in robots.txt

Originally Posted by briansol

step 3) vbseo cp - turn off archive re-writing

I think it's necessary to be more specific than that. There is no "off" setting. There is several options in the vB's Archive Options section and I hope you can guide us to the best ones, in your opinion.

Archive Options:

301 Redirect vB's Archive Thread Pages
Rewrite vB's Archive Thread Pages
Rewrite + 301 Redirect Archive Pages
Keep vB's Archive default settings

Rewrite Archive Root:

/archive/index.php/
/archive/
/sitemap/
Custom

Invert archive thread display order: Yes or No

I have the option, "Keep vB's Archive default settings," since I have the archive turned off in vB Options. Because the directory is still on the server, I have the rewrite set to /archive/, although I think this could be set to anything because I have it turned off in vB Options. The invert choice is the same - it doesn't matter because the archive is turned off.

That said, I still don't know if my choices are correct because I am not the expert and like others, need specific direction. I appreciate all the help I can get.

R'gards,

Jim

Thanks to both Brian and Jim!

I would also like to have included in the directions 'how to test where the site traffic is coming from' in regards to the archive versus the main pages of the site (with specifics on how to do it and why it is important to know before disabling the footer archive links, etc.) I saw this bit of information in another thread here on vbseo and think if it will effect people's traffic in a negative way, we should make sure they are aware in the step by step instructions.

Though, I *think* I understand what to look for in Google analytics, others may not really understand exactly what to do or look for in this regard. (And I know that is not part of what vbseo does, but it is something that effects a site when considering this change to the default settings in vbseo)

Again, I appreciate the effort that this takes, but to have this information easy to understand and follow for a novice is invaluable. It makes using this product that much more fun and beneficial.

Cheers,
BD

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You would need to add code such as the following to your archive pages only. See attached.

Originally Posted by eJM

I think it's necessary to be more specific than that. There is no "off" setting.

good point.

I meant:

Keep vB's Archive default settings

as effectively, this bypasses vbseo from doing anything with the archive.
Thus, the re-write type (ie, you chose /archive/) doesn't do anything, and nor does the invert (Asc/DESC) display option.

Thanks, Brian, that helps a lot. I guess I had mine set right and can quit worrying that I didn't.

Jim

I have disabled the archive, but I still notice the links in the footer (which basically just goto the forum home since the archive is gone). I disable the Footer Archive Links under Other Enhancements in vbSEO CP, is this the recommended route?

Originally Posted by thealpha

I have disabled the archive, but I still notice the links in the footer (which basically just goto the forum home since the archive is gone). I disable the Footer Archive Links under Other Enhancements in vbSEO CP, is this the recommended route?

I get the same result after diabling the Footer Archives. Please advise as to what is going on??

Thanks,
Jason

Originally Posted by thealpha

I have disabled the archive, but I still notice the links in the footer (which basically just goto the forum home since the archive is gone). I disable the Footer Archive Links under Other Enhancements in vbSEO CP, is this the recommended route?

Yes, you should choose 'Do not add Links to Archive Pages' if the archive is disabled.

im interested to hear what joe and juan say about this option??


is it recommended to turning the archive off???

My personal recommendation is for no archive at all. Of course, for forums that are already indexed for some time, and have traffic going to the archive, shutting it down could cause interruption in traffic.

The problem is that *if* you have traffic going to your archived pages, your site is NOT optimized and it's clearly demonstrating that by sending traffic to these lower value pages.

Ideal situation: no archive.

not sure if this info helps or not but going but Site Usage...

with vb archive:

7,257: Visits
26,210: Page Views
3.61: Pages/Visit
55.75%: Bounce Rate
00:02:32: Avg. Time on Site
74.55% %: New Visits

without vb archive:

8,092: Visits
27,847: Page Views
3.44: Pages/Visit
14.04%: Bounce Rate
00:02:15: Avg. Time on Site
78.52% %: New Visits

the above is for overall Site Usage, not just for the forums.

the vb archive has been off about 2 - 3 months now

edit: the stats are monthly

soo to sum it up: the vists, page views and new vists have all increased. the bouce rate has gone down loads which is really good. and the new visits have gone up too which is good also. the only downside is the avg. time on site has gone down, though only by several seconds or so....

if one of the vbseo staff would like to look into my sites google anaytics more to find out wether removing the vb archive is better or not please pm me. im not too good with google anaylatics and havent really the time to learn it or want to atm.

Originally Posted by Chris Powell

if one of the vbseo staff would like to look into my sites google anaytics more to find out wether removing the vb archive is better or not please pm me. im not too good with google anaylatics and havent really the time to learn it or want to atm.

[How To] Determine How Much Traffic is From Your vBulletin Archive Pages with Google Analytics

I did this:

1. in admincp - vboptions -> disabled the archive.
2. in admincp - vbseocp -> changed it to Keep vB's Archive default settings
3. Kept it to /sitemap/ I didnt change this setting.

Now I have not made any changes to my robots.txt
- Is this step really needed?

Should I delete the archive folder? Or is this not needed?