- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
- Messages
- 2,005
My considered opinion...
Concerning this same topic, this is something I posted on another forum that I no longer participate on:
I sure can't speak with the authority of BSG, but I use the vBSEO script and thought long and hard about it before I made the decision. I've tried to start 5 forums of my own and most of them were failures. I still have 2 forums going and one of them is limping precariously with 1 foot in the grave (oddly enough, it's www.1FootInTheGrave.com).
My newest forum, the one I prob'ly have the most emotional investment in, is a vB forum called www.TheFloorPro.com. I have been involved in flooring forums for the last 6 or 7 years and seen most of them deteriorate to the degree that they just don't feel right any more. I feel partly responsible because I worked as a moderator and co-admin off and on at one of them. So TheFloorPro just has to make it.
Yes, $150.00 is a lot of dough. For a successful forum with some form of advertising, would your ad revenue cover your expenses (not just vBSEO, but the hosting and forum software, etc. too)? I would hope so. I have every intention of having a successful forum. I may not get rich on it, but it should pay the overhead and contribute to my income.
Maybe you don't make as much "per hour" as I do and maybe you make a lot more, but for every single person considering the expenses of a forum and website, you must figure your own worth into the equation. In my regular job I make $75.00 per hour or more (sometimes a lot more, sometimes less). Now, can I do, with my limited skills as a webmaster, the kind of coding, configuring and optimizing that vBSEO does in even 4 hours? Hell no!
I look at the cost of vBSEO as an investment. It does what I only wish I could do and it does it far better and faster than I could even if I was twice the webmaster I wish I was. To be sure, it's far too early in my situation to determine the effect. Heck, I ain't even ranked yet I'm so new. But there are some features that are apparent immediately and make it easier for a bunch of old fart flooring dudes to figure out what's goin' on in this new fangled forum.
I can do so much more with my time now. I can work on the graphics and prepare some quality content and that seemingly never ending task of just managing members. vBSEO has saved me plenty already. It hasn't brought income to the bank yet, but I haven't implemented any ads yet either. But I think when I do, it will be better than without the benefits of vBSEO.
From what I understand about established forums, it may be more difficult a transition to vBSEO than a very new forum like mine. The older forums may already have pages indexed and many members have links and Favorites/Bookmarks. Although vBSEO does redirects very well, there can still be problems to overcome. Newer forums don't have that disadvantage and I hope this gives me a better start in the right direction.
There are a great many talented people who can write their own scripts, mold their .htaccess files into works of Mod Rewrite art and collate keywords for every single page with a wave of their code wands. I ain't one a them people and don't know anyone who is -- and willing to do it for even a free carpet job. So, vBSEO is a huge bargain to me. I consider it a wise investment. I haven't even realized its full potential and already, as you can see, I'm a big fan.
Best R'gards,
Jim
Concerning this same topic, this is something I posted on another forum that I no longer participate on:
I sure can't speak with the authority of BSG, but I use the vBSEO script and thought long and hard about it before I made the decision. I've tried to start 5 forums of my own and most of them were failures. I still have 2 forums going and one of them is limping precariously with 1 foot in the grave (oddly enough, it's www.1FootInTheGrave.com).
My newest forum, the one I prob'ly have the most emotional investment in, is a vB forum called www.TheFloorPro.com. I have been involved in flooring forums for the last 6 or 7 years and seen most of them deteriorate to the degree that they just don't feel right any more. I feel partly responsible because I worked as a moderator and co-admin off and on at one of them. So TheFloorPro just has to make it.
Yes, $150.00 is a lot of dough. For a successful forum with some form of advertising, would your ad revenue cover your expenses (not just vBSEO, but the hosting and forum software, etc. too)? I would hope so. I have every intention of having a successful forum. I may not get rich on it, but it should pay the overhead and contribute to my income.
Maybe you don't make as much "per hour" as I do and maybe you make a lot more, but for every single person considering the expenses of a forum and website, you must figure your own worth into the equation. In my regular job I make $75.00 per hour or more (sometimes a lot more, sometimes less). Now, can I do, with my limited skills as a webmaster, the kind of coding, configuring and optimizing that vBSEO does in even 4 hours? Hell no!
I look at the cost of vBSEO as an investment. It does what I only wish I could do and it does it far better and faster than I could even if I was twice the webmaster I wish I was. To be sure, it's far too early in my situation to determine the effect. Heck, I ain't even ranked yet I'm so new. But there are some features that are apparent immediately and make it easier for a bunch of old fart flooring dudes to figure out what's goin' on in this new fangled forum.
I can do so much more with my time now. I can work on the graphics and prepare some quality content and that seemingly never ending task of just managing members. vBSEO has saved me plenty already. It hasn't brought income to the bank yet, but I haven't implemented any ads yet either. But I think when I do, it will be better than without the benefits of vBSEO.
From what I understand about established forums, it may be more difficult a transition to vBSEO than a very new forum like mine. The older forums may already have pages indexed and many members have links and Favorites/Bookmarks. Although vBSEO does redirects very well, there can still be problems to overcome. Newer forums don't have that disadvantage and I hope this gives me a better start in the right direction.
There are a great many talented people who can write their own scripts, mold their .htaccess files into works of Mod Rewrite art and collate keywords for every single page with a wave of their code wands. I ain't one a them people and don't know anyone who is -- and willing to do it for even a free carpet job. So, vBSEO is a huge bargain to me. I consider it a wise investment. I haven't even realized its full potential and already, as you can see, I'm a big fan.
Best R'gards,
Jim