How to get more visitors on my forum

[BiafranpalaceLv3: Senior Member]

Computer Hope ForumBelow are some recommendations we've found useful for increasing the popularity and visitors of our forum.
Increase popularity of your site

As your site becomes more popular more users will begin to use your forum. If you have not already ready read through our promoting your web page section we highly recommend you start there. This page has a wealth of good information on promoting your web page.
Enable guest posting

Not all forums have guest posting enabled by default. Not all users enjoy the thought of having to register to post messages on the forum, enabling this feature can increase the popularity and use of your forums dramatically. If you start to notice an increase of abuse from guests this feature can be disabled at a later time.
Allow guests to view the forums

Always keep your forums public if you want for new people to join. It is very unlikely for someone who doesn't know what the forum is about or what's on the forum to register as a member. Also, make sure search engine crawlers can index pages on your forums.
Mention the forum on all your pages

Your forum should be a focal point on your web page, which is why it should also be mentioned on each of your website pages. For example, the Computer Hope navigation found at the top of this page and every other page has a link to our forum. mentioning the forums on your homepage is good, but not all visitors are going to get to your web page through the homepage.
Tip: Make sure your visitors can also get back to your homepage from your forums.
Create posts for popular topics

You can't expect visitors to create all the posts on your forum, especially when it is first starting. Therefore it is up to you to create some of the initial interesting, controversial, or otherwise provoking posts that make people want to respond or make a comment on the topic. It is also a good idea to set a daily, weekly, monthly schedule where you visit the forums and create an interesting post.
Start small

It is a common mistake for many users who create forums to create too many topics or channels. Don't overwhelm the user, especially if it is not needed. Start with a forum with only a few channels (4-6) and then as more channels become needed create those channels.
Participate on your forums

Forums require lots of maintenance and should be a place you frequently visit to create posts, respond to other posts, and make sure everything is running smoothly.
Participate in related forums

There's no better place to pick up other users who enjoy participating and commenting in forums then other forums. Try to visit forums that relate to your forums and participate on them. This does not mean visiting the forum and advertising your own forum. Visit the forum and create valuable posts that contain a signature advertising your own site or forum.
Keep your forum header small

As mentioned on our promoting a web page the average person gives each page they visit 4 or less seconds. If your forums have a large header (e.g. large logo, page name, big picture, large advertisement, or lots of empty space) that requires user to scroll before viewing you're boards, you're greatly decreasing the odds that they will read any of your posts or subscribe.
Hold competitions or give out prizes

A great way to bring in more subscribers is to give away awards and prizes to visitors who are participating on the forum.
It takes time

No site can expect to create a forum and instantly get thousands of users and posts. It takes time for users to visit, register, and participate on the forum. Keep working at each of the above suggestions and users will begin to visit more and bring their friends on.
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