John Simkin Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 It has been pointed out that there has been a decline in Forum activity recently. One obvious reason for this is that we have passed the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination and there will now be fewer books, videos, conferences to promote. However, what we are seeing is a trend that will increase. The main reason for this concerns Google. At one time Forum’s were good places to post links that would improve the search-ranking of your website, etc. This is no longer the case. In fact, posting on Forums can have a negative impact on your search-ranking. The same is also true of Blogs. Officially, the reason for this is that Google has identified Forums and Blogs as being ways that websites have manipulated search-ranking. This is clearly true. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies used to email me on a daily basis offering links from thousands of Blogs and Forums. In the past this did change search-rankings but has not been true for nearly two years. Google did not know how to differentiate between genuine Forums and Blogs and those established by SEO companies so they decided not to count the links from these sources. If they The unofficial reason for this is that Google is involved in a commercial fight with social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. At one time links from these sites were beneficial. That is no longer the case. What does help you if you use Google+ or Google Communities. For example, I used Google+ yesterday to promote a couple of pages on my website. Type in “Michael Gove” and “Adolf Hitler” at Google and see what you get. By using Google+ you can actually compete with major international media corporations. Google have established Google Communities to compete with Forums. In time these will replace Forums like this one. To see an example of a Google JFK assassination community see the following that has been established by the Dallas Morning News. https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117695051214010077934?cfem=1 If you are interested in communicating with a mass audience you have to play by Google rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 I have now Google+ my John F. Kennedy page. Type in "John F. Kennedy" into Google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Josephs Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Did that John... and neither Spartacus or the Ed Forum are on the first 15 pages... Mary Ferrell is on page 13.... !! You may want to talk to Google+ about this John... if you were expecting to show up in the search.... The 6th Floor Museum is on page 2. FYI DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Did that John... and neither Spartacus or the Ed Forum are on the first 15 pages... Mary Ferrell is on page 13.... !! You may want to talk to Google+ about this John... if you were expecting to show up in the search.... The 6th Floor Museum is on page 2. FYI DJ Google gives different results depending on the country from where you are doing the search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I can see a downward trend happening. That said, Facebook and You Tube seem to both be doing very well, interest and views wise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) John---my blogs come up prominently when you do a Google search of my name (is that what you mean?) I DID notice several of my "opponents" have literally disappeared on me since 11/22/13. Even when prompted, they don't come out to "play" LOL. You might be on to something, John Edited January 22, 2014 by Vince Palamara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Prudhomme Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Budget cuts, Vince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Legislation against Net Neutrality in the US? Edited January 23, 2014 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Robert- LMAO! On the one hand, it's a little sad to hear about a drop off. Then again, if it means less trolls on my You Tube channel, less Blaine disciples attacking me on Amazon, and less DVP (although he does have a charm- I sense a kind soul there),I guess it's ok (DVP is a huge Kennedy fan, so I suppose he's not all bad) I did notice a (big) drop off in out-of-the-blue messages I would get in my e-mail, as well as stranger Facebook requests. Man, I am glad my book came out when it did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 To gain maxim exposure for your views you need to be near the top for key searches such as the "assassination of JFK". You have to be aware of the words that people type into Google about the assassination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I am always near the top for "Secret Service JFK", to the poiint where it adds my name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Prudhomme Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 (edited) Just a thought, John. The front page of this forum has eight pinned threads and only six active threads below it. If you'll notice, no one has posted to the majority of these pinned threads in over six months. Granted, three are locked but, a locked, pinned thread has the word "stale" written all over it. In contrast, Duncan's forum not only has more threads to the page, I've never seen more than one or two pinned threads on the front page. Judging by the numbers of guests and members listed at the bottom of the page, activity seems to be growing there instead of declining. Edited January 23, 2014 by Robert Prudhomme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Palamara Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I know I rarely, if ever, venture past the first two pages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Just a thought, John. The front page of this forum has eight pinned threads and only six active threads below it. If you'll notice, no one has posted to the majority of these pinned threads in over six months. Granted, three are locked but, a locked, pinned thread has the word "stale" written all over it. In contrast, Duncan's forum not only has more threads to the page, I've never seen more than one or two pinned threads on the front page. Judging by the numbers of guests and members listed at the bottom of the page, activity seems to be growing there instead of declining. Very good point. I have unpined several of these topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Prudhomme Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Excellent! It looks like a much busier place now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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