Site promotion ?

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

I have set "metatags" to the site, and subscribed to some search engines , now i believe this takes a bit of time to get in to the system Is this right does anyone know about this stuff

And does anyone have any ideas of how to promote this forum
Cheers Dave

[skrach86 0]

Oct 3rd ride out is a good place to begin. Get some small fliers made, go around the bikes at mat bath and then mfn.

[yankeedoodle 0]

good idea will.il volunteer to make some if you want dave

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@yankeedoodle wrote:

good idea will.il volunteer to make some if you want dave

that would be great M8 its just getting the site address right, some people have had problems , but this one seems to work /forum.htm

think it will get easier once the address is in the system ,

[eddie 0]

flyers stickers and business cards are a start dave , word of mouth is the best one though


so get stickers & rest made and ill have some ok ,. ,

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@eddie wrote:

flyers stickers and business cards are a start dave , word of mouth is the best one though


so get stickers & rest made and ill have some ok ,. ,

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

Just to let you know that I am still working on promoting the forum , I have submitted it to more search engines ,but i do think it takes time to get in the system as i have said , Next option is to pay a small fee which i did for my web site for work and i know that works , So just letting you know I am working at it




Think I am getting somewhere its starting to show up



And here

[stantheman 0]

was that a double sided rabbit hutch dave

[yankeedoodle 0]

haha nice one dave. will speak to you later and try and sort some ideas out eh

when i googled the forum when it first started I got all sorts of bizarre results lol

[jezza 0]

I could always put some flyers next to the exotic postcards that advertise services in the local telephone box.

on a serious note you could always ask people to put a link in their signature on other forums they are on e.g mcn, riff raff, bikers nite forums etc.

i think search engines search off key words when searching so you need to tag these in . at work our website is cotswoldstone.com which obviously comes fairly close to the top when people search "cotswold stone".

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

Printed the site address out and handed it to a few bikers today

[Guest Guest]

There are 2 ways to promote it via internet and via word of mouth (local area).

The search engines come and visit you! oh yes, there are yahoo, google and bing bots and they update their directory that way. You see them in the list of names online from time to time.

You can search the help forum for questions like these as they've been asked hundreds of times. http://help.forumotion.com/

Set up a facebook group, people on fb are always keen to join bike groups and then get them to join the forum from there.

Ask friends to put your forum in their status lines.

As already suggested people can put the forum in their signatures etc if allowed and interested on other forums.

Is it just you running this forum or would you have mates that can post on other forums?

I might mention it on a couple of girls forums whether they join has to be seen as a lot of them are not that interested in 'mixed/male dominated' forums.

Have you decided on a 'catchy' name for your forum or is that it??

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

I have done most of what you have suggested Laura, Has for posting on other forums i dont think it is fair to ask as they are bike forums too :| If/when things get bussy i will sort out moderators to help , Dont really want to go changing the name at the mo. but would think about it if this really takes off,
Thanks for your advice

[Guest Guest]

Good luck with it.

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

Done it we are there

[yankeedoodle 0]

great news mate. well done

[suzukijax 0]

Get stuff done through Vista print its all free and if / when you want to go up market you can start paying for better quality stickers cards calendars posters etc

[AsH 0]

I have put a link on my facebook account i have a lot of biking freinds with me organising a charity day every year for the last 7 i have set a page on facebook if anyone wants to join in next year have a look at the pics from this year

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Ryan-Holmes-Memorial-Fund/144448785565396?ref=ts

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@AsH wrote:

I have put a link on my facebook account i have a lot of biking freinds with me organising a charity day every yeae for the last i have set a page on facebook if anyone wants to join in next year have a look at the pics from this year

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Ryan-Holmes-Memorial-Fund/144448785565396?ref=ts

Thanks Ash

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

what do you think , take a few of these round the bike shops

[yankeedoodle 0]

nice one dave

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

wow wrote:

Set up a facebook group, people on fb are always keen to join bike groups and then get them to join the forum from there.

how do i do this Anyone help

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

done it


http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=161791343846565

[suzukijax 0]

I have joined and i will send out invites for my other biker mates asap

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@suzukijax wrote:

I have joined and i will send out invites for my other biker mates asap

Thank you

[yankeedoodle 0]

joined

[eddie 0]

joined it boss,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

so what else can i do then ,boys and girls I have printed the forum address out on bits of paper, but dont think its right to put them on peoples bikes , and if i am not on my bike but come across bikers ,I feel such a t**t going up to them to give them a bit or paper with the address on

[suzukijax 0]

Get some cards done and put them in your local bars cafe's supermarkets and bike shops

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@Davehutch wrote:

what do you think , take a few of these round the bike shops

just been to Hein Gericke , and performance motorbike tyres and put one of these up

[yankeedoodle 0]

nice one

[NFX 0]

DOMAIN NAME!!
How did everyone miss that out?, that should have been top of the to do list..
Pick something sensible and and easy to remember, people wont bother if they have to spend time thinking about how to type a complicated or long domain name, so dont use _ or - or anything confusing..
any suggestions? Davesbikeforum.co.uk?

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

or " hutch's motorbike forum " think you will find if you type in google it will come up

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

Made a ad for face book see if that brings any newcomers to the forum

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

And just had permission to put a ad on this page
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21472376494

[suzukijax 0]

[Guest Guest]

gumtree ad

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

f/book ad

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

gumtree ad

[yankeedoodle 0]

good to see you doin some work dave

nice job mate

[Guest Guest]

When you type in the forum name, it will come up in the search results. It's when you type in e.g 'bike forum', you want the forum in the top listings. It's also the site description you have the determines where it's placed in the search results.

Metatags are like tags on photos. So you what words like 'motorbike' 'bikers' and a few makes like Suzuki, perhaps 'choppers' 'streetfighters' 'bandits'... stuff like that will come up when you search for say 'suzuki forum'. There is also search results you get when you type in questions about a bike - it picks up words from the post in the board and then adds them to the search result.

The only way to get at the top is to BUY adwords from Google etc.

Advertising wise, word of mouth is always the best way. Early days to get cards done etc but it wouldn't hurt to make a poster at home and print some off and put them at your bike haunts/cafes etc. Oh and a facebook fan page will bring in the punters

[Stue11 0]

Yea Dave get some stickers flyers etc etc send some out to us and ile hand them out for ya no probs.

[Guest Guest]

Also the name is everything... how about The Hutch - biker forum or something like that?

How much is that ad on Facebook?

[Diane 0]

You need a good web designer, put in key words like UK bike forums, Bike chat, Bike friendly, Bandit forum, etc etc. The more key words will push you up the google search. I`ll ask Marks nephew (web guy in Tokyo) how you do it yourself. The site is good and easy to navigate.

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

NoZ wrote:

Also the name is everything... how about The Hutch - biker forum or something like that?

How much is that ad on Facebook?

you pay per click, that is every time someone clicks on your ad it cost you and you can set a limit that you want to pay each day , and you can stop and start the ad any time you want

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

@Diane wrote:

You need a good web designer, put in key words like UK bike forums, Bike chat, Bike friendly, Bandit forum, etc etc. The more key words will push you up the google search. I`ll ask Marks nephew (web guy in Tokyo) how you do it yourself. The site is good and easy to navigate.

Yes done all that Diane, But agree i could do with someone that knows more after all i am only a bricklayer

[peejay 0]

@Davehutch wrote:

@Diane wrote:

You need a good web designer, put in key words like UK bike forums, Bike chat, Bike friendly, Bandit forum, etc etc. The more key words will push you up the google search. I`ll ask Marks nephew (web guy in Tokyo) how you do it yourself. The site is good and easy to navigate.

Yes done all that Diane, But agree i could do with someone that knows more after all i am only a bricklayer

That's okay Dave I reckon that's the best trade for BUILDING A FORUM

[eddie 0]

@peejay wrote:

@Davehutch wrote:

@Diane wrote:

You need a good web designer, put in key words like UK bike forums, Bike chat, Bike friendly, Bandit forum, etc etc. The more key words will push you up the google search. I`ll ask Marks nephew (web guy in Tokyo) how you do it yourself. The site is good and easy to navigate.

Yes done all that Diane, But agree i could do with someone that knows more after all i am only a bricklayer

That's okay Dave I reckon that's the best trade for BUILDING A FORUM

hahahahahahahh

[streetfighter 0]

Dave get some stickers like the bandit forum to put on ya bike and helmets(crash helmet) ladies

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

270members now

well done Dave