Forum posting backlinks are a dying trend. We’re not sure how people can still be doing it in the year 2021. We would be curious to see what these webmasters are paying for forum posting backlinks on online communities, both large and small. Luckily, this is the year that you don’t have to do that anymore because we’ve created this post right here. Today, we’re going to discuss whether or not forum posting backlinks are black hat SEO, how Google recognizes them, and how much they can hurt your website.
Forum Posting Backlinks are Considered Black Hat SEO
One of the most important things for search engine optimization and overall business success is having high-quality inbound links. An incredibly important factor for both search engine optimization and business as a whole is to have high-quality inbound links. Some backlinks are good, and some are bad. The difference between the two is huge. Bigger than you might expect if you’re a newbie. Quality links lead to business opportunities. Low-quality ones, however, can damage your overall operation. This is what’s known as white hat and black hat link building:
Whitehat is the way to go if you want to make your site stand out in search engines. This link building doesn’t violate Google guidelines and gets fantastic results. Blackhat is something completely different. You’re manipulating the algorithm and cheating your way to higher rankings.
But you might be thinking, and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of Blackhat SEO. Rules are meant to e broken, right? What’s the worst that can happen? Well, you can create a spammy backlink profile, and your website might be affected forever.
Google Can Detect Forum Posting Backlinks Quickly and Easily
If you’re looking to take your SEO to the next level, Google knows all about your backlinks. Google (Googlebot) can easily track your backlink profile. They can see where you’ve landed backlinks from previously. It’s built into the algorithm. The Google algorithm analyzes links to determine, for example, how many links you have. Moreover, the algorithm can see where you landed backlinks previously because every link you build leaves a footprint throughout the internet, and it is very difficult to hide this. Thus, spammy methods of link building leave a trail. The new algorithm can easily see that you’ve built low-quality backlinks in the past.
You May Get Penalized for Creating Forum Posting Backlinks
If you want better rankings, you need to understand this: Google mentions explicitly on their Link Schemes Guidelines that you should not build backlinks on forums with over-optimized anchor text. In this new era, you must be cautious of the link-building strategies you employ. When people build links on forums to increase their site’s authority, they violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Doing so can land them in a lot of trouble with Google, including getting a penalty from Google, removing your website from the index, and losing all of your business in a day. The risk is not worth it, primarily when other strategies exist that offer equally good results but with no risk. Can you hide once you’ve done it? No, you can’t. These days, few people even post on forums.
The Bottom Line
You can use many things to build links: outreach, HARO, the skyscraper technique, and many, many more. Just keep in mind that forum posting isn’t one of those techniques. If you want to build links quickly, you’re in the wrong business. You need to learn to do it properly and how to do it right.
