A tech support forum my friend and I are attempting to get going.
www.onlineteksupport.com
Haven't really customized the look that much, we like the standard template.
meh
~Abyss
Any comments?
Particularly if you have any suggestions for themes.
Actually the theme is fine. I have always noticed that really non gfx color themes work well for tech support sites.
Though, I am not sure if you need the portal. Might be better to just start right on the boards.
Also, I would wait until you have a good member base before posting google ads. You arent going to make anything off them in the beginning anyways and people will understand you adding them when you get larger since you have to pay for servers.
Finally, jump starting forums like that arent easy. Your going to have to make a ton of posts between staff to get some google going otherwise its a tough tough road.
Just some thoughs,
Bryan
Thank you for the comments.
I took your advice on the ads and have removed them. I will also try to get the staff to start posting stuff. What do you think they should post? (Tips & Tricks, General Questions, Random Chat?)
Yeah, googling around a bit to get into the swing of things might be a good idea. There are a lof of really common issues out there and getting some good google listings on those will help a lot. Also I am not sure if your an expert with SEO. But the best way to get good search rankings is to link up with other "High Quality" tech support sites like Linux Questions.org etc. they will help you get indexed immensely.
Random chat wont help so much you need to think about keywords you want to get hit on. And try to look for gurus off other forums that can help members get help. Going to be a bit part.
Tell me what you think about that, Ill think of more.
Yeah... I'm not familiar with getting indexed and such :\
Search Engine Optimization is just something you pick up over time. There is no "Quick" way to become an SEO expert it just takes time and experience. None the less here are some articles that helped me a lot:
http://www.bruceclay.com/web_rank.htm
They really have some good stuff there.
How does the shoutbox ruin it?