Many online forums on the subject of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are available. They are useful for learning about changing SEO practices and discussing how to best implement different techniques. However, some forums are preferable to others, depending upon their level of activity and the subjects they cover. Read on to learn about how to find the most useful SEO forums…

To start, you can get a list of these forums on any search engine by searching for “SEO forum” or “SEO + Forum”. If you prefer, the DMOZ.org web directory also has a useful list of SEO and other internet marketing forums, which can be found under the subcategory “Computers / Internet / Web Design and Development / Promotion / Chats and Forums”. The next step is to separately evaluate these sites to see which one best meets your needs, works well on your computer, and has sufficient activity to be useful.

Some ways of determining whether or not a forum is active include checking how many members there are, how recently new messages were posted, and how many users are currently logged in. Check to see if SEO categories you find interesting are covered – different forums include specific subjects like web directories, small search engines, Alexa rankings, blogging, specialized searches (image, news, product, etc) or domain names. They might also feature other marketing topics like affiliate programs, PPC, or banner ads.

Certain search engine optimization forums provide useful boards for particular activities like offering to sell SEO services, initiating link exchanges, selling web sites, requesting paid SEO services from other members, or asking for web site reviews. Other forums don’t allow some of these actions. Make sure the forum doesn’t have a lot of offensive posts or “spam”; some boards have too few moderators to find and prevent this behavior. Looking around the forum will also confirm that its pages load fast enough for your internet connection and it is compatible with your web browser.

After reviewing these factors on each forum you find, register for membership in the active forum which offers the most useful features for you. Evaluating the individual SEO forums in this manner before signing up will save time, which otherwise might be spent registering for forums which turn out not to be useful for one reason or another. Finally, don’t forget to save your password and bookmark the site’s URL after registration.