where / how to add on forum

[Elizabeth]

Does anyone know if it's better for ranking to add a forum to my website as

www.forums.mysite.com

or as

www.mysite.com/forums.html

???

[Reprobate]

Does anyone know if it's better for ranking to add a forum to my website as

www.forums.mysite.com

or as

www.mysite.com/forums.html

???
I'll assume you're simply asking which looks or appears to be the best and you've got your heart set on a forum.

Typically when you install say phpBB it would either be in the root directory or a sub-directory. But the forum is an addition to your existing site so it would be www.mysite.com/forums/index.php (though one may debate whether you should call it 'forum' or 'forums').

Is there an advantage of having it as a subdomain? It depends on personal preference really.

If you set it up as a sub-domain of your site then you will still have the original address. So whether you type in www.mysite.com/forums/index.php or www.mysite.com/forums or forums.mysite.com it will take you to the same site.

The choice then is up to you which you'd prefer to use for your links and advertising. I'd suggest choosing one and sticking with it.

[Reprobate]

The other question is "should I add a forum to my website?".

[Elizabeth]

The other question is "should I add a forum to my website?".

Thanks for the feedback - which I may or may not understand. Are you saying that all of those versions lead to the same exact destination and are interchangable? And actually I'm asking if there's a difference in search engine rankings.

I'm open to hearing pro's and con's on the forum idea. I had initially planned to stick with just a blog until I get more traffic (following the motto "an underpopulated forum is a sad sight to behold"). However, then I was advised that adding one would be good for search engine rankings.

Everybody's got their 2 cents worth, I guess.

The bottom line, so far, is that I'm planning to password-protect a section as a support forum for members of my coaching program to discuss their projects back & forth with one another and with me. I hope this will be more flexible than the group phone call method we've used in the past. Whether or not I also introduce a public area any time soon is up in the air.

Part of my site's theme is "building a supportive community for healthy living" and a forum seems to fit that theme.

[Reprobate]

Thanks for the feedback - which I may or may not understand. Are you saying that all of those versions lead to the same exact destination and are interchangable? And actually I'm asking if there's a difference in search engine rankings.
Yes, each of them would go to the same exact destination.

Personally I don't think any would have an SEO advantage over the other, just be sure to make all your links to the site the same for the sake of continuity.

I'm open to hearing pro's and con's on the forum idea. I had initially planned to stick with just a blog until I get more traffic (following the motto "an underpopulated forum is a sad sight to behold"). However, then I was advised that adding one would be good for search engine rankings.
It would help with SEO because you'd have others contributing content.

Though if you get X amount of visitors to your site you may find only 5 to 10% sign up for the forum and of those only a small percentage will be active. But if you can make something of it by all means go for it.

How long are you willing to love it before it loves you back is the question :)

[Elizabeth]

Thanks. I think I got it. :D