Converting surfers to active registered users

[tama]

My site always shows active browsers who are checking out my forums. Problem is they are "guests" and do not register or post. After looking at my logs, I believe this is because most surfers are finding my site through the search engines and they are ending up on archived vBulletin pages which do not allow for posting/replying etc. Is there a fix I can make which will get these surfers over to the active thread and not the archived thread so they can post? Or is it possible for vBulletin to allow posting to an archived thread?

[rogerd]

One thing you could do that's quite simple is edit the archive template to make the link to the live thread bigger and more inviting. You could even use a graphic link.

[AjiNIMC]

Add a welcome note at the starting of each forum page, inviting them for signup.

I generally try to find their need when they come to the page and using the welcome message directs them to a dedicated page offering related help. This helps me to spend more time with the visitor. Also in this course I introduce them the signup process.

Please do not try to push things harder, let them surf but guide them and motivate them to signup.

AjiNIMC

[stanley2]

Ask the question to your self: “why aren’t they getting registered?” Possible reasons are: they are not getting what they want or they do not want to come in front of the discussion.

Remedies: Try to get closer to their needs. The method mentioned in the prev post is quite good.

Or, you can start interesting and relevant topics that attract visitors take part into the discussion.

Or, you can start something like:

“The 10th poster in this thread will receive a free e-book on web marketing”.

Let’s try it and come back here to share your experience.

[rogerd]

Tama, one thing to try to determine is whether these visitors are clicking through to the real forum pages or are navigating just in the archive. If they have a single pageview, of course, it could be as simple as not finding the content relevant to what they were really looking for. (Or, they found it on the first page and left.)

Once you understand their behavior better you'll be able to devise ways to improve stickiness.