Include a Menu Item on the Niche Sites Linking to the Forums

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   eugbugposted 8 years ago

   Now that the niche sites are up and running, wouldn't it be a good idea to add a "Forum" menu item on each site to link to the relevant topic forums on HubPages? (maybe there is a link already, but I can't find it).

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2. 0

   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 8 years ago

   I thought the whole idea of the niche sites was to distance them from Hubpages. Wouldn't linking them as you suggest negate that?

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   1. 65

      eugbugposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe, but  as it is, hubs on the niche sites link to "related" hubs on Hubpage.com so there isn't a complete distancing from the existing site.
      The alternative is that new forums could be added to each niche site. It would be a useful feature for readers who wish to post general, non hub specific questions, and they could benefit from the knowledge and experience of all authors on a site (rather than just posting a comment/question on individual hubs).

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   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 8 years ago

   Somewhere (but I'm not sure where - and I may have dreamed it) I read that in the long term the "related" hubs would only link to other articles within the same niche site. (The current links being a temporary measure until there are sufficient articles on each niche site.) So any links to the "mother-ship" would cease to ensure Google sees each niche as a separate entity.

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4. 86

   Jayne Lancerposted 8 years ago

   I recently read in a staff forum post (don't ask me to find it) that HubPages may consider adding niche specific forums to the niche sites. I can imagine (subscribed) visitors would be able to participate in these.
   
   The niche sites seem to be geared more towards visitors than users.

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5. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   What Jayne said.  The forums are for Hubbers, not readers.  We are still based on the "mother ship" and will continue to be, so I don't see much need for a link from the niche sites. I'd prefer they be linked to the main site as little as possible.

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   1. 65

      eugbugposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The HubPages Community Forums, yes, but what I meant were the topic forums. So for instance there is a "Home" Forum which could be linked to from Dengarden, "Body Art, Tattoos & Piercing Discussions" from Tatring etc.

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         They're still on the main HubPages domain and they're still mainly intended for Hubbers not readers - you have to be a member to use them and the vast majority of members are writers, not readers.

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