Petition for a Signature Line on HubPages Forum

1. 0

   Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

   The forum is a great place to hang out and chat, but it could be so much more if each of our posts had a Signature Line.
   
   A Signature Line can be many things, a snippet, a thought, a tag line, and it could also be a short list of links to your hubs.  A max of four backlinks would be nice as a signature line.
   
   If you had a signature line, and that signature line was used to promote your HubPages, for each post that you made, it would equal a "free" backlink to those hubs that you have listed in your signature line.
   
   So, if you had 100 posts in the forums, that would give 100 backlinks to each hubpage you have listed in your signature line.  If you have a 1000 posts in the forums, You Would Have A 1000 Backlinks to each of your listed hubs.  Wouldn't that be nice?
   
   Thus, I propose a Petition for a Signature Line on HubPages Forum.
   
   Make your Forum Posts worth something.  A backlink, via signature line, would also make the forum pages more popular.  Wouldn't you post more if you knew that each post was worth a "free" backlink?
   
   If you think a signature line, in the forum, is a good idea, please post a comment, "Sign the Petition". 
   
   Please keep this topic professional, clean, and kind.
   Thank you, Wag
   
   P.S.  Tell a friend...

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2. 0

   Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

   I'll be the First on the list.  Wag

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3. 60

   mel22posted 14 years ago

   IMO Signature lines jumble up the page worse the requoting!

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      Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      It could also mean Free Backlinks.  Each of your posts could be worth traffic and a higher search engine ranking.

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   mel22posted 14 years ago

   of course if it was immedialety under the avatars and was small I would vote for it! Something non-distracting !

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      lyricsingrayposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      for sure my votes in

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   Justine76posted 14 years ago

   cant people allready click on your avitar to visit your profile? if they dont want to do that, why would a signature line be any diferent? just wondering, i dont know a whole lot about backlinks.

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      Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Backlinks are like gold.  The more you have, the better.  I have a page with 300 backlinks on one site and that page now ranks on page 1 with google.  This is not the case for all pages, it is based on a lot of different things. 
      I see that you have over 1800 posts, that could mean a lot of first page rankings for some of your pages under many keywords.
      
      P.S.  Tell a friend...

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         Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         so its more to do with search engines? then the actual right here...stuff? hmmm....

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   Bovine Currencyposted 14 years ago

   Awesome idea.

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      Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you.  Tell a friend to check out this petition.  Wag

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         Bovine Currencyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I will tell my friends... do me a favour?

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7. 0

   Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

   A signature line could be the best thing to happen to HubPages Forum.  Free Backlinks with each post.

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      Uninvited Writerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      And more spammers will visit! Yippee!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Exactly.  We already get a free backlink to our profile because our name is hyperlinked.  That raises the PR of our profile, which in turn has links to our Hubs.  You don't get two bites at the cherry!
         
         It would just encourage people who only want to post to get the signature juice.No thank you.

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         rmcrayneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yup.  More non-contributory forum postings. 

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            Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Are you saying that this post is "non-contributory."   If so, I beg to differ.  This post made me the forum whipping boy for the last few days.  I am sure that the constant floggings that I have been given has made many gleeful for the outlet.  Not to mention, I have learned a great deal about this forum.  All of which, will serve me well in future postings.
            
            I thank you all for your replies/posts, the "good, the bad, and the ugly."  It was all very informative.

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8. 0

   pgrundyposted 14 years ago

   I don't much care for signature lines--especially those moving ones that take up most of the page. They're distracting and trashy looking IMO.

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      Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The signature line can be limited.  So many words, so many links, so many pixels, or "X" amount of space.  They can be kept proffessional.
      
      As for spammers,(Uninvited Writer) they can be a problem, but also manageable.  If a person spams, a report system can be set up that could report them and worn them of their spamming.  If not corrected, they could be banned.

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9. 0

   Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

   
   Yes, and no.  The backlinks are more important.  They help more in the big picture as far as search engines and page rank, but, if you have a page or hub listed in your signature line, the reader of your post can go directly to it instead of to your profile.
   
   If a person goes to your profile, they may not go to any of your pages.  If you had a 'sig' line, with that page in it, and they click on it, they would skip your profile and go straight to your page.  Giving you more page traffic.  Not profile traffic, that does little good.  If they like your page, and wish to see more from you, they can go to your profile from your page.  Thus it is post to page to profile or other page.  Not profile to page, maybe... 
   
   It works great in other forums and can work great here too.

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10. 0

    Justine76posted 14 years ago

    OHHHH I am slightly slow this morning...thanks for the explaination/clarificaiton.
    It seems like a good idea? It wouldn't really be of any benefit to me personally, but if it would help others out...Im for it.

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11. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    This is not a cheap backlinks kind of place. I'm totally against it. Im with Uninvited Writer, just encourages more spammers. HubPages isn't really about the forum activity, it's about the writing. If you write great hubs believe me the traffic will find you.

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       cosetteposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       i agree.
       
       no backlinks (or signature lines).
       
       
       
       
       Amen!

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          Ivorwenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Well said.

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       tantrumposted 14 years agoin reply to this

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       Lily Roseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm with Nelle and UW - it's completely unnecessary and ugly and distracting.

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       Lily Roseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm with Nelle and UW - it's completely unnecessary and ugly and distracting.

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          hublimposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I agree also. Too many links in the forum would distract from the discussion itself.

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    bloodnlatexposted 14 years ago

    This is a horrible idea.  Almost as bad as becoming 'Followers'.

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13. 66

    relacheposted 14 years ago

    I say "nay" to the signature line concept. 
    
    More clutter and spam would be of no benefit.

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14. 60

    Bovine Currencyposted 14 years ago

    actually no, I won't beg

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15. 0

    ryankettposted 14 years ago

    NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!
    
    If you want the backlinks, then write the hubs, I dont want to read the same boring signature 100 times a day.... I would sooner quit the forum. We have a profile, which should have a higher PR than any forum thread, so use that.

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       AEvansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I concur!

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          earnestshubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Me three.

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             Sue Adamsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Me four.
             
             Forgive me if I'm mistaken but I thought that valuable backlinks came from highly trusted sites outside of hubpages, i.e. directly from the search engines. A signature line in the forums would only increase internal traffic which isn't worth a lot if we are trying to get outsiders to click on our ads.
             
             Besides, I agree with Misha,ryankett, AEvans and earnestshub, if enough interest is generated from forum posts people will soon jump to your profile and find out what you are about. Keep the forums clean I say.

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                tantrumposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                Agree with everybody.
                It's a big NO!!!

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    Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

    For those of you that say "Nay":  I would like to ask you to take a look at this forum topic found in the " Critique Me..." section of Squidoos' Forum:  Its my 1st Lens! My Maine Coon Cat is LOST  Please take Note that the comments left from many of the other people who post have links at the bottom of their post.  Each is a "free" backlink for them.  This helps a great deal in SEO (search engine optimization) 
    
    The forum is clean and professional, with little to no spam.  The signature line is allowed not only to help the author and reader, but also to help the site.  The site, Squidoo in this case, get's more traffic when the page creator recieves more traffic.  A snowball effect if you will.
    
    Please do not say "If you want the backlinks from a signature line, and they have it, use theirs."  I already do. 
    
    The point is, a signature line can be done properly, look good, help the authors, readers, and Hubpages.  It is a Win, Win, Win proposition.
    
    If you would like to see proof, as to how well this tactic works, please copy and paste this site http://www.squidoo.com/besthelp
    into this Backlink Checker tool.  When you have done that, scroll down you and will see all the backlinks that come from the Squidoo forums pages.

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       cosetteposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       it's about image, and HubPages is a breed apart from other 'writing for money' sites. numero uno, in fact. which is why i pour almost all of my free time into writing for HubPages - they are worth it. putting crap in signature lines over and over again, especially links, will drag down the forum in my opinion and make us all look cheap.
       
       sorry if that offends you but that is my opinion.
       
       best regards.

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       ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Becoming like Squidoo is exactly what nobody wants. This site gets more traffic than Squidoo, and more traffic per page of content. You are talking like we dont know what backlinks are, this site is successful enough without signatures in the forum. If you dont like it, then go and post on Squidoo, its not like any of us know who you are anyway. If you want backlinks then join a bookmarking site.

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17. 82

    Whitney05posted 14 years ago

    Waste of space. Adds clutter.
    
    No thanks.
    
    If you want a backlink, write a hub about the site/product and add ONE link. By the way, even with 1000 forum posts, you're getting 1 useful backlink essentially because it's to the same main domain.

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       This simple statement, you just made, could have been worth four free backlinks.  With all the posts that you have, over 2200, that would be 8800+ backlinks to your pages.  That could be a lot of free traffic and high ranking on search engines for a little clutter that most people, when you get used to it, do not even knowtice.  It would also help your fellow Hubbers.

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    Ivorwenposted 14 years ago

    If you want a signature line to give you backlinks, I suggest you join some Yahoo groups and begin chatting with people there... Or you could answer questions on Ask Yahoo.  I am sure some would be more than happy to find your links and may even follow them through...
    
    I would hate to see this forum become a place for people to spam even more. 
    
    BTW, from what I have read, I believe you author score has to be above 75 for you links to be do-follow... might want to work on that, instead of petitioning for more backlinks.

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    1. 0

       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I do chat in other forums and the backlinks help.  Thanks for the tip on author score of 75+.  I'll work on that.  The thing is, I could be killing two birds with one stone here.  As I chat, I can be building up backlinks.  So could you.  If you took a look at the link I provided in a previous post, you will see that it can be done, and done well.  If it is spammers that you do not want to see, that can be taken care of with a report system. 
       
       A signature line can help all of us, to include Hubpages.  As of yet, I have not heard an unselfish objection to the idea.

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          Ivorwenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          "Please note that advertising and promotional posts in the forums will be deleted and may result in the closing of your HubPages account. Do not start threads for the sole purpose of promotion or posting links. Please use the Forums in the spirit of community! ..."
          
          The 'rules' concerning the use of HubPages' forum are one of the things I love about it.  If that seems selfish to you, I'm sorry, but I don't think changing it would improve the community.

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    KCC Big Countryposted 14 years ago

    I'm not interested in a Signature Line either.
    
    I think profiles are highly under-used.  Beef up your profiles, folks.  This goes for me too.  I plan to revamp my own and make it better. 
    
    For the originator of the thread....you have 4 sentences and a woof in your profile....try working on that first.

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20. 0

    Janettaposted 14 years ago

    No thank you!! Very few people would use them anyhow here in the forums, as it is used only by fellow hubbers. If someone is interested in your hubs, they'll go to your profile via your avatar or name. We get plenty of links elsewhere in the site, such as on the topics page, through the hubbers page and via the hubs section all found at the top. Sorry, but I am definitely against this signature line thing

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       "Very few people would use them..."  From my experience, that statement is not true.  Many people would use them.  But even if they didn't, search engines would use them.  This would help all those who use the forum a great deal.  "We get plenty of links elsewhere in the site,"  Not so much.  I did some backlink checking on many of the "Highly Rated" pages, and found that most of them have "0" backlinks. Matter of fact, none of them had any backlinks.  That's not good.   
       
       Yes, I need to improve my hub score.  Yes, I need to have a better profile.  So ya'll can stop the personal attacks.   I agree with you, but I think you are doing yourselves a great disservice, even harm to others, by saying "Nay" to the signature line for no good reason.

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21. 66

    relacheposted 14 years ago

    Wag the Dog,
    
    Your personal HubScore is so low, that all of your outgoing links on your Hubs are marked "nofollow."  You don't get ANY backlinking benefit from this site anyway.

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       That is good to know.  I will be working on that soon.  Thanks for the info.

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    Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

    Was the "Woof" too much? 
    
    Your right, I do need to work on my profile.  Thanks...

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       KCC Big Countryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       No, the Woof was adorable.....just beef the rest of it up.  As I said, I need to work on my own as well.  Some hubbers have novels for profile pages.  Although I thing that is excessive, I think we all need to do a bit more to promote ourselves on that page.  I get a lot of hits on my profile page.  I'm wasting the space if I don't utilize it better.

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    Dao Hoaposted 14 years ago

    I think it is clear that we have more NAYs than YAYs.
    
    CASE IS CLOSED

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Sad to say, but I think you may be right.  You know what they say, "No good dead goes unpunished."
       
       I am 100% sure that a signature line would help all of us, in so many ways.  Unfortunaletly, the big dogs have spoken, and once again, it's the little guy that takes the fall.
       
       I guess what they do not know, will hurt the rest of us.
       
       Selavi...

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          Dao Hoaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I am sorry!
          
          I am new to this, but from what I saw in many threads. We quote of a quote of a quote a lot. So it is very tiresome to see it again and again. It will make the very long post longer!

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    tantrumposted 14 years ago

    I have almost 8000 posts. Would you like to borrow some B L from me ?

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    readytoescapeposted 14 years ago

    Might not be a bad idea if perhaps the tagline was placed as a caption under the Avatar. Otherwise I agree there would be too much static on the forum page

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       That would have been fine too, but I think the big dogs are done with this chew toy.  It's shredded...  A bigger dog than me would have to fight this fight.  I have other means and ways of getting backlinks.  This was just an idea to help others who post on this forum.  Most of whom do not know the value of a backlink, where to get them, or how they work.
       
       Status quo, is the word.  No need to change, even if it helps...
       Sorry.  I tried.  Wag

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          Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          If you take a moment to check out the Hubs of some of those against the idea (Relache, Nelle etc) you'll find you're wrong.  Very wrong.  Nelle just had her first $1,000 month here - I think she knows what she's doing.  Whereas I wonder whether you do, as all your backlinks on HubPages are currently no-follow - do you understand the significance of that?
          
          There's a balance to be struck here.

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             ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             He is incredibly patronising to be honest, like we dont know what a backlink is! The sooner he heads back to his spiritual home (Squidoo) the better...

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          ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          We all have other means and ways of getting backlinks, do you think that you are special or above people? Hubpages is one of the internets most comprehensive sources of SEO information and education, you are insulting people and the site. This site achieves a lot more that Squidoo, that is proven.

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             Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             I am better than some, worse than others.  I am not saying that squidoo is better or worse, it is and it isn't.  Same with hubpages, it has it's pros and cons.  And I think that one of the cons with hubpages is that it does not have signature lines in it's forum. 
             
             You say this "He is incredibly patronising to be honest, like we dont know what a backlink is! The sooner he heads back to his spiritual home (Squidoo) the better..." about me and act as if you are all kindness and light. 
             
             I tried to discuss this topic.  You are the one who came out swinging with...
             "NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!
             
             If you want the backlinks, then write the hubs, I dont want to read the same boring signature 100 times a day.... I would sooner quit the forum. We have a profile, which should have a higher PR than any forum thread, so use that." 
             
             Just because I do not agree with you, you need not yell at me.  I became a little sour because I was being attacked without cause.  You on the other hand, where just rude.
             
             I have nothing against you and I wish you the best.  You do not see it the way I do, and that is fine.  But do not act as if you are the one who was offended.  Because you sir, are the offender.

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          cosetteposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          it's not about "big dogs" vs. the lone chihuahua it's about hubbers respecting hubspace. this site is such that it is different than so many other like-minded sites. which is why it is the best. i have visited sites where people use signature lines and frankly it just makes them look tacky, and they are very distracting. i never click on them just on principle.

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    Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

    I vote no.  More spam.

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       rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       enough spam already. this isn't myspace.

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    blue dogposted 14 years ago

    nine hubs in seven months.  you're searching for backlinks?

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Funny story about that, I did join about 7 months ago, but I was working on one of my other pages at the time, so I did not do anything with it.  Then, I forgot all about it.   One day, I was going through some old email and found the confirm letter.  I had no idea what it was.   Kind of a "Duh" moment.  So I clicked on it to see what it was. Looked like fun.  I figured that I must have signed up for some reason, I do not recall what it was, but I figured I would give it a shot.  I like it.  Much easier than some of the other pages I work on.  So, in truth, I have been on here for about a month and a half.
       

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          Quilligrapherposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Hi Wag. Welcome to Hubpages.
          
          I'm sure you already know that many writers here in Hubberville are aware of the value of backlinks. I don't think that there was one comment above that downplayed the connection between backlinks and traffic.
          
          However, one of the nice features about writing here is the way we interact as a community. The forums are a place where we gather to exchange ideas with each other, not to promote ourselves or our work. We do business in our profiles and in our hubs.  I think using a sig line(s) feature in the forums introduces an element of commercialism that adds nothing to the topics being discussed. Personally, the idea is very much like my bring my laptop to the family dinner table.
          
          Most of the posts I read above seem to favor keeping the forums as a place to go when we are not trying to earn a buck. Your idea may well be a good money making strategy but it's just not appropriate for Hubpages.

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             Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Wag, do you get the message now?  I'm pretty sure the explanation above pretty well sums it up, for all of us.

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    Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

    I always post links to my HubPages profile on every other profile I have on other writing sites. And vice versa I post links to them on my HubPages profile. That seems to work well enough for me.

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    Cagsilposted 14 years ago

    Signatures lines are not needed.

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    Professor Ericposted 14 years ago

    I let my tenderly worded posts sell the links for me, not quantity. =]

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    thisisoliposted 14 years ago

    This is a quite interesting subject...
    
    A lot of the Nays say the backlinks have no value, which is very, very wrong. While forum backlinks are relatively weak, tehy can be a great way to promote a website, or particular webpage.
    
    On the other hand it is nice to partake in a forum without huge signature spaces and the like.
    
    A lot of people write on Hubpages for backlinks, so forum posts would benefit these people greatly, there is a rather close knit community here however who would discount the backlink value, simply because they view the forum community as sacred ground.
    
    In my personal opinion, if you want backlinks from forum posts there are plenty of sites which can cater for your needs, no one is forcing you to use this website.  The choice on backlinks is down to the owners, if they enable signatures with backlinks, it will benefit a lot of members, however it may affect the quality of the website.
    
    I do think this forum is fine as it is though, there are plenty of ways to get backlinks this does not need to be one of them.

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       That my friends, is a very good, honest, and well thought out response.  You covered all the bases without letting your emotions cloud your view.  Your points are valid, strong, and approptriate.  Though I do disagree on the quality issue.  I think that signature lines would enhance the quality, but, that is an opinion, as we all have the right to have. Thank you thisisole.  Thank you very much.  You made my day, and I have had a rough day.  Wag

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32. 65

    Mishaposted 14 years ago

    No, don't need it. My vote is firmly against.

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    Rayalternatelyposted 14 years ago

    invite more spammers and back link 'experts'; that would be just dandy!

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34. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    Sue, Signature lines generally let you put a link to another website. That's what the OP wants, come here post a thousand times and get a link to another website. The link doesn't necessarily mean a link to somewhere in HubPages. So his external website get's a link everytime he posts.
    
    That's why many of us say that it would just increase spamming and nonsense. HubPages is a very highly trusted website in Google's eyes - that's why we get great traffic on our hubs - and that's why he wants a signature line. It's a lot easier to write posts than to create high quality hubs.

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       It could be set up so that only Hubages links are allowed to be placed in the signature bar.
       
       Yes, posts are much easier to write than hubs, but, for you to imply that my hub are not high quality, thus poor quality, is not very nice.  And from the hubs that I have seen of yours, you seem to be a very nice person.  So that strikes me as odd...
       
       As for the spamming, steps can be taken to stop that.  As for google, I am not sure how they would rate the backlinks, no one can tell you that, but, from what I have seen in other internal forums and internal backlinks, the backlinks count and do help in scoring the page as far as SEO goes.
       
       If you do not like the idea, that's fine, but there is no need to slander me in the process.

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35. 59

    darksideposted 14 years ago

    Sigs can work. I've used them to my advantage. However talk about it being advantageous to the benefit of linked hubs through search engines is incorrect. It's an internal link, it will do nothing to increase the SEO value of a hub.
    
    It has been brought up before and HP HQ have said that they won't have sig spaces.

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       thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Internal backlinks do have a huge amount of value for a website, a lot of my freelance SEO work has been in internal backlinking, which not only increases page rank and traffic immensely, but also increases SERPS and traffic destination optimization.  IBO (Internal Backlink Optimization) is an often underestimated, or even ignored part of SEO work. I know consultants (Programing and optimization) who earn annual salaries of £70,000 plus from major websites simply for IBO work.
       
       That being said though, internal backlinks on forum posts will have limited (But not non-existant) value.

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          darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Internal links are necessary for navigation and also directing traffic flow, but if a segment of the SEO industry are calling them IBO's they are doing so to create cushy jobs and justifying their own existence.

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             thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             If that were true you could say the exact same thing about external backlinks. Internal backlinks have just as much SEO power.
             
             If you are in such blatant denial of a powerful SEO technique then it is your own concern, not mine.  I have leveraged IBO on many of my sites and have seen the benefits in both internal traffic direction and major boosts in organic traffic.

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                darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                Internal links (and they're internal links not 'backlinks') do not have the same SEO power as a link from an external site.
                
                I'm surprised, even shocked, that anyone would suggest differently.

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36. 61

    Randy Godwinposted 14 years ago

    No!

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37. 93

    habeeposted 14 years ago

    Wag, I just read one of your hubs, and it was well written and informative. Your proposal, however, doesn't sound like a good idea.

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38. 0

    Wag The Dogposted 14 years ago

    You make a good point, and what is wrong with bringing your laptop to the dinner table?  Just kidding...
    
    But I do like the idea of killing two birds with one stone.  I have also been know to eat and work at the same time. 
    
    But, I do see that most people on here do not care for the idea of a signature line.  So I am not going to push it.  I have said all that I can say.  I still think it is a good idea and that it would help all of us.
    
    Oh well.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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39. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    More importantly I think HubPages central has gotten the point that there is no great support for the idea of signatures. Heck I'm here more than most to make money - a lot of money. But I can do it without commercializing the forums.
    
    I have found the past few days interesting though. What this community can get agitated over - almost instantaneously. Sigs and Fans vs. Followers. It is indeed fascinating what a broad range of hubbers find important.

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40. 78

    Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

    That was referring to all the spam that will increase...not this posting. I'm sorry we didn't all agree with you.

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Agree.  Disagree.  That is fine with me.  I am more than happy to present my case.  What 'chaps my tail' is the personal attacks and down right rude attitude some posters have twords an idea, just because they don't like it.
       
       If 'you' do not like the idea, state your case, like thisisoli did. He made his points and stated his opinion whithout making snide comments or making peronal attacks.
       
       I do tend to get a bit snippy when someone yanks my chain.  For that, I am sorry.  I was just trying to defend my idea. But I did not mean to slam anyone.  If I did, I do apologize.
       
       

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       1. 71

          Quilligrapherposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Unfortunately, rudeness prevails here as it does in many other social settings. Far too many posters are verbal bullies who rely upon insulting rhetoric because they are too lazy to take the time to express the reasons for their positions.  These trolls can not be prevented from posting in the forums but they can be prevented from highjacking the discussion.   Simply ignore their posts.  Nothing is more irritating to a bully then being ignored.  Trolls want to argue and they need to be noticed.  Give them what they want and they will never leave.  The best way to have a meaningful dialog with other posters is to just keep your comments on topic. Treat the posts of all the trolls on both sides of the issue as background noise and just tune them out.  No one should feel obligated to reply to any post just because it was directed at him or her.
          
          Sorry, for the off topic post.  Feel free to ignore it. 
          Q.

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          Leta Sposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Cute puppy!

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          rmcrayneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I was in no way attacking you, and certainly had no intention to be rude to you.  I don't know enough about SEO and links to know how much merit your idea has.  On the surface, it sounds like an interesting notion.  I just think that there would be a serge in spam traffic, with spammers promoting their interests that have dubious merit.

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41. 0

    lyricsingrayposted 14 years ago

    I want to bring this thread back because the idea is smart and creative and for those who havn't seen it, lets keep going  

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       Wag The Dogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       R U Kidding me? 
       
       Are you a "Ya" or a "Nay" for signature lines in the forum?  Before you answer, if you say "Ya" let it be known, your in for a heck of a fight.   But if your hot little red shoe can handle it, go for it.
       
       I'll sit back and watch the train wreck.
       
       

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42. 62

    Bredaviesposted 14 years ago

    I think this is a good Idea. I'm for it.

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43. 81

    thisisoliposted 14 years ago

    While internal links might not have the same power one on one to external backlinks, however internal backlinks are more numerous and can always be conditioned to your own needs.
    
    The whole Tagging trend came about from IBO, are you denying the value from that?
    
    Take http://www.clearviewwriting.com/internallinkexample.jpg
    
    This has started to receive over a hundred organic page views every day, and the only marketting I have done on this is internal backlinks.
    
    Everything else has grown out of this.
    
    I am shocked that anyone can discount the power of Internal Backlinks, they have both PR and traffic value, as well as traffic optimization value.

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       darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       My problem was the suggestion that "Internal backlinks have just as much SEO power".
       
       I know how important it is to have good navigation, and linking keywords to appropriate articles, for the benefit of the visitor, but I find it hard to believe that what should be common practice for a webmaster would spawn an IBO industry.
       
       I went over a friends website because apparently people weren't sticking around long, and I immediately saw the problem, within three clicks, from one page to the next on the most obvious links, a person was in and off to another site. Talk about a traffic leak. Now this isn't Search Engine Optimisation, fixing it had nothing to do with Search Engines, or getting traffic. But keeping it.
       
       I'll read more up about it, but seriously, calling internal links 'backlinks' doesn't make sense.

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    thisisoliposted 14 years ago

    I fully agree that internal links are important to keep traffic on to your website!
    
    If you check out the Google registered backlinks on most of my hubs you will find that they are nearly all based on internal links, and I have just hit the two thousand daily visitors mark!
    
    A single high quality backlink will always have more power than a single internal backlink.  However a good internal linking network is a significant tool in SEO.

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