[Marty]

Just wanted to ask you guys to help out GU a little. I notice a lot of you have links to your websites in your signatures. That's perfectly OK and is an excellent way of promoting your website. Please if you decide to have your link in the signature, please include the code below on your website somewhere and in exchange cross promote GU. Read below about advantages of listing your links in the signatures and how to properly structure them to get the most benefit.

<center><a href="http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community" target="_blank" title="Active Forum, Classifieds, Gallery and more."><img src="http://www.geckosunlimited.com/gu_banner.jpg" border=0></a></center>

As of this post, we have about 60,000 pages indexed in Google (up from 2000 pages 3 months ago). If a 1000 of your posts are indexed, then your signature is 'back linked' to your website 1000 times, from 1000 similar, but contextually different pages. Google will pay attention to your website much closer since now you have back links. Theory is that your back links are even more valuable if they are found in the context of a similar page (like GU). You can further improve the quality of your back link by providing a keyword or two with your back link. I suggest that if you choose to use a link in the signature you structure it in the following way to reap the most benefits from it, here on the forum and by having search engines index it. Use 10 words or less to describe what matters most to you. For example:

[url=http://www.MyGeckoWebsite.com]Gecko Palace - Crested Geckos & Vivarium Accessories[/url]


This will look like this:
----------
Gecko Palace - Crested Geckos & Vivarium Accessories

Listing your signatures in such a way, will make your signature worth much more to this community, google and you! Google will then hopefully rank you higher then other similar pages...which may mean that if someone is Googling for crested geckos, your site may come up before someone elses.

However, please return the favour and paste the HTML code above on your own web page and pay GU back with your own quality back link for the hundreds (or thousands) of back links that you may have indexed here.

I'm very keen on making GU the best that it can be and this will definitely move us in that directions. If no one does this, I may just make this a rule. Hope that sounds fair

Found an interesting snipit on another site

Originally Posted by Search Engine Optimization Resources

Each post that you make in a forum is now a back link to your site. Remember though not to spam and that your behavior in a forum can be extremely profitable or detrimental based on your attitude.

When posting in a forum, remember that you are in a public dome. If you are courteous, helpful, friendly, kind and post intelligently, you will get traffic from people clicking on your signature tag besides the back link. If the above does not describe you, then maybe you should avoid the benefits of a hyper linked signature tag?

Forums allow individuals to build trust and familiarity that is normally not present through the Internet. As trust grows, people will click on your signature tag and will purchase your product or service.

[Marty]

Sent an email to few of you with Signatures pointing you to this thread.... Sorry for the opening "Hi 234".... instead of username I picked user#

[spidergecko]

Originally Posted by Marty

If no one does this, I may just make this a rule. Hope that sounds fair

No. It doesn't. It's like forced banner sharing and this isn't a ranking website, it's a forum to share information. What better place to share information than a species specific site.

Maybe you can make working links available to paying members.

My site is very high in Google for two most important search phrases. I don't want this forum to overshadow me, or any of the other members who have worked hard at getting our websites to higher ranks in Google and other search engines. Your proposal would mean anyone searching for "Crested gecko" or "Cat gecko" would find this forum as the #1 hit, and not the member's dedicated website. No offence but GU is not always the #1 source of info for a species.

This is a great concern of mine and if I am mistaken, I would like the concern refuted.

[Marty]

No. It doesn't. It's like forced banner sharing and this isn't a ranking website, it's a forum to share information.

First of all, you're coming on a bit too overcritical without fully understanding the idea.

Let me explain it short and sweet.

1st of all, nothing is being destroyed here.... if you want your keywords diluted, then place your link on a forum about cigars and then make 10,000 cigar posts - then your gecko ranking would be destroyed. Content on GU is very much relevant to the websites listed in ppl's signatures - so no worries there.

2nd of all, nothing is forced here onto anyone, you can leave a link in the signature of can take it out. It's up to you, but probably the smartest thing to do for any active poster is to have a good link back in their signature back to their page, indexed over and over again by Google.

All I'm saying is that in exchange for all the signature links that everyone gets indexed in all the posts that you make, it would be nice if GU got a single link back from your web page.

Say you get 1000 posts indexed with your signature, GU gets 1 - how doesn't that seem fair?

Your proposal would mean anyone searching for "Crested gecko" or "Cat gecko" would find this forum as the #1 hit, and not the member's dedicated website.

Not entirely true, but of course my idea is that if we have 60,000 posts indexed that GU would come up for anyone looking for gecko information. At the same time if your signature says for example "Crested Gecko Halloween Outfits" (dumb example but current with the time , but unique keywords to you) if anyone is looking for "Gecko Halloween Outfits" your site would get hit 1st.... it would get hit 1st because it would have a lot of link backs contextually associated with your website. How does that benefit you??? Say you have 20 pages on your website.... You have 1000 posts with a link back to you on GU. Hopefully that's enough for Google to think that if anyone is looking for gecko Halloween outfits that you should be listed first. Of course, if there are 50 other pages that do the same thing, then you got yourself an edge.

sorry, it was supposed to be short and sweet. Search engine optimization is very tricky, and Google ranking is really an enigma, so we can only try to do our best, but there are no guaranties for anything. It's all up to you, you're not forced to do anything, but the whole point was that if you link back to your own site from GU, over and over and over again, extend the courtesy back and link back from your site to GU (once!). I'm not plotting some type of a scheme here to take over the world

[Marty]

My site is very high in Google for two most important search phrases

Yes, of course you're listed #1 for spider geckos... that's because your domain scores you huge points. Ie. for the same reason GU is #1 if you search Geckos Unlimited or search for "Dracula's Castle" will yield Draculascastle.com as the 1st hit. Now if you search for Agamura, you will come up #4 ... interesting to see that #5 comes up with GeckosUnlimited post where you have your signature. Since you have only 13 pages indexed in google. I bet that the fact that you have your signature pointing to your site and the post is about Agamura persica Eggs and that there has been a link associated by Google between that post and your website had something to do with that.

EDIT: I'm speculating here, but I suspect that the egg post may be contextually more significant then then you page (and if it's not, it may be regarded as more because of the shear number of pages GU has indexed), since there is a link to your page on the post...google may have decided that your page must be a more valuable resource when it comes to Agamura info. Putting you a position ahead before GU.

[snotjello]

Actually, I think it's very fair and makes perfect sense. I can't imagine being opposed to the idea. That being said, my gekko interests are on the backburner right now due to other obligations and I'm not really frequenting this site. I'd like to stay a member, but out of respect for your request I will remove my link from my signature.

Thanks.

Snot-Marc

[Marty]

Not a problem... Since you're not a frequent poster, this doesn't really affect you all that much.

[Riverside Reptiles]

The fact of the matter is that Marty isn't forcing anyone to do anything. If you don't like the idea of linking back, don't put a link to your site in your sig. Then you don't have to link back. It's that simple. Many forums wouldn't allow you to post your web site url in your sig no matter what. I think it's generous that Marty allows us to post our home page url's at all and more than fair that he ask for a link back. Of course, like everything else, that's just IMHO.

[Marty]

OOPS!!! There was a typo in the code. Sorry about that. It's fixed now.

[Paul de Boer, Jr.]

I actually already have a link to Geckos Unlimited on my site. I have learned a great deal from the good people here and wanted to give the visitors to my site the same experience. I didnt even realize the thing about search engines, but its good to know

Marty, I don't think it would be a good idea to require it, though.