Do links from forum threads that already rank move anything?

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Ayanseo

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Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
 
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i'd value a link from a ranking thread more for the actual visitors it can send than any guaranteed seo boost. if someone finds that discussion while searching for a solution and your link genuinely helps them, those clicks could be worth a lot. with nofollow and ugc links, the ranking impact is much harder to pin down. i'd track referral visits and conversions separately instead of judging everything by ranking changes.
 
The attribute part has a clean answer and the rest is messy.

Clean part: nofollow and ugc became hints rather than directives for ranking purposes in March 2020, so a link in a ranking thread is not nothing. It is just not something you can model as passing a fixed amount of anything.

Messy part: what I have been able to measure from those placements is clicks and brand, not position. A discussion sitting top five on a commercial query gets read by people already in buying mode, and it gets recrawled constantly because it keeps changing. Those two together move branded search volume for me far more often than they move the target page.

So measure it that way instead. Referral sessions and assisted conversions, plus branded impressions in GSC over a 60 day window, with the linked page frozen so nothing else explains the move. If you judge it by the ranking of the target URL you will never get a clean read, there is too much else in flight at the same time.

Worth separating the two cases too. A link in a thread that ranks is a traffic asset. A link in a dead forum page nobody opens is neither, and that is most of what gets sold as forum links.
 
Ayanseo said:
Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
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In my experience, the biggest benefit is referral traffic and getting your site in front of people who are already searching for that topic.

Nofollow links can still bring visitors and exposure, but I wouldn’t rely on them for ranking boosts alone.
 
RocketRank said:
Huh, so a link in a thread that ranks is really just a traffic asset. Hetneo saying dead forum pages give you neither rankings nor clicks hit me. I'll chase threads people actually read now.
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indeed, a live thread with consistent organic traffic may attract referral clicks and relevant visitors over the years to come. i would check if the thread ranks and attracts engagement before investing in a link from it.
 
Galeli M40 said:
Links from ranking forum threads can still be valuable for referral traffic and brand visibility even with nofollow or UGC tags

I would prioritize relevant threads with real engagement rather than chasing ******** links alone
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indeed, it is quite possible that a threead which is ranked and brigs real clicks can turn out to be more valuable than a random ******** link. i would analyze its organic traffic and relevancy first,
 
Ayanseo said:
Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
Click to expand...
My point is that prioritize ranking from forum threads for referral traffic and visibility first, treat any direct SEO list as a bonus until you have controlled data.
 
Google collects a lot of data through Chrome and Android devices. If a user clicks a forum thread and eventually lands on a webpage, Google records the destination and ranks it better regardless of whether it's a df or a nf link.
 
Ayanseo said:
Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
Click to expand...
The thread gets real traffic, the referral clicks alone can be valuable. Ranking benefits are harder to measure, especially with nofollow links.
 
Ayanseo said:
Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
Click to expand...
I have done some what better with forum link placements where i looks for click throughs and referral traffic while a top 5 placement is of no use without click throughs.
 
i don't know about ranking, and i doubt we will ever know unless google leaks, but for sure they are one good way to get targeted traffic direct to a site, in a regular pattern and velocity of clicks.
 
Ayanseo said:
Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
Click to expand...
Forum ranking of my website based on key words associated with buyer intent is more valuable for me than any backlink i could get randomly even if it is difficult to told SEO effects from the direct sales through referral traffic lol
 
ranking threads bring targeted referral traffic that converts well and user interaction signals from those clicks provide more value than basic link equity.
 
Ayanseo said:
Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
Click to expand...
this type of link is not really going to pass much link equity due to ugc or nofollow tags. real cash will come in the form of referral traffic that comes directly to ur prelander.
 
the referral angle is real but the bigger play is what happens when those visitors actually engage with your site -- G notices consistent traffic from a ranked forum thread differently than bounce-heavy paid traffic. it's indirect, but the behavioral signal compounds over time.
 
If it drives clicks to your website, it can be quite valuable. However, if it doesn’t bring any traffic to your site, it doesn’t seem to offer much value.
 
Ayanseo said:
Google has been surfacing forum and discussion results a lot more in the last year. Lots of commercial queries now have a Reddit or forum thread in the top 5.

That made me wonder about the links inside those threads. A link in a thread that already ranks and gets real clicks should be different from a link on a random forum page nobody visits. But most of them are nofollow or UGC tagged, and I'm not sure how much that changes things.

Has anyone tested this properly? Did a link from a ranking thread do anything for the page it pointed to, compared to a normal blog link on a similar site? And is the value more in the referral clicks than in the ranking signal?
Click to expand...
context of the link i think plays a huge role in this case.if there is already an ongoing discussion about the probllem, nd people decide to click on the link for help, then the link works anyway.but the hard part is to understand whether it is bcz of the link alone or other SEO processes as well.
 
GeeLark AI said:
In my experience, the biggest benefit is referral traffic and getting your site in front of people who are already searching for that topic.

Nofollow links can still bring visitors and exposure, but I wouldn’t rely on them for ranking boosts alone.
Click to expand...

No follow also worth to have as a percentage and still have ranking value its better than nothing and it works like good bacteria. I am speaking from the experience i am running 24/7 link building and spamming to death sometimes experimenting with churn and burns etc and after long way of lurking only do follow for my lists, links now i know that we need no follow as well. Its a very good ranking factor
 
a link from an old thread can still bring visitors if people keep finding it through google. the age of the thread alone does not tell you much.
 
A link from a ranking forum thread can drive qualified referral traffic and brand visibility, even with nofollow or UGC attributes.

Direct SEO impact is harder to prove, so I’d compare referral clicks, conversions, and ranking changes against similar blog links before drawing conclusions.
 
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