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Last Updated on September 29, 2022 by Arif Chowdhury
A forum is an ancient way to collaborate with similar-minded people. A web-based forum started in 1994. Since then, it has become trendy among internet users. However, upon the arrival of social media like Facebook, its popularity slowly reduced. Though even after that, nowadays, there are millions of users still using forums for personal or business purposes. The USA alone has more than 550 million active forum users.
In this article, I will talk about forum backlinks & will give you a massive forum list. But, the question is, what can you do with “forum backlinks”? Before we begin, remember that forum backlink is not “do-follow.” It means it will not pass any link juice to your targeted website.
However, a link is a link. You are supposed to get thousands to millions of targeted referral traffic from it. It doesn’t matter whether it is a no-follow; if you can place a link in the correct forum & among the targeted audience, you will get a stream of visitors. Yes, this is it. Your target is referral traffic, not a do-follow backlink. If you are okay with it, then let’s continue.
How did you suppose to use the forum to get massive backlinks?
It is a tricky part. You cannot just visit a forum & suddenly post a link from your site. If you do, it will count as a spam thread or comment & most probably; the forum admin will remove that link and ban you from the forum temporarily or permanently.
If this is the case, how are you supposed to do it? Simple, you must familiarize yourself with that forum’s rules & regulations. First, open an account by reading their terms & conditions. It will take some time, but do it. They will send you an email confirmation upon activating your account.

Now, visit every section & read how they communicate with each other. Every section has its own rules. You will find it at the top of every section. Read it thoroughly. You cannot post a link to your first thread or comment most of the time. You may have to post at least 30-50 comments before you are eligible to do that. However, even after that, without any reason, you may not post a link.

Golden Rule: When building forum backlinks, do not chase for high domain authority (DA), as you will not get any link juice from forum backlinks. Thus, check how many visitors a forum receives, as you target high referral traffic.
My advice is – to use our free forum submission sites list first, try to start a conversation & then, when people ask, post your link. It will be better & looks natural. Also, search other discussions & see how other people post links on the forum thread. It will help you to understand their way of acting.
So, let me show you the high da forum list for backlinks in 2023.
Recommended Reading: 400+ High DA Guest Posting Sites for 2020 (Massive List)
120+ High DA forum list (verified)
List | Forum Name | DA | Monthly Traffic | Link |
1 | Microsoft Answers | 99 | 1.10 Billion | answers.microsoft.com/en-us |
2 | Google Webmaster Community | 99 | 92 Billion | support.google.com/webmasters/community |
3 | Cpanel | 94 | 2 Million | forums.cpanel.net |
4 | Oracle Communities | 93 | 30 Million | community.oracle.com/hub |
5 | Shopify | 93 | 62 Million | community.shopify.com/c/Shopify-Community/ct-p/en |
6 | Stack Overflow | 93 | 274 Million | stackoverflow.com |
7 | Cprogramming | 61 | 979K | cboard.cprogramming.com |
8 | OVH | 93 | 125K | forum.ovh.co.uk |
9 | Parallels | 92 | 2 Million | forum.parallels.com |
10 | MySQL | 93 | 5 Million | forums.mysql.com |
11 | 000Webhost | 93 | 2.4 Million | 000webhost.com/forum |
12 | Republic of Gamers (Asus) | 93 | 104 Million | rog.asus.com/forum/forum.php |
13 | The Verge | 93 | 56 Million | theverge.com/forums |
14 | The Guru of 3D | 80 | 4.7 Million | forums.guru3d.com |
15 | Hawk Host | 47 | 613K | forums.hawkhost.com |
16 | Mac OS X Hints | 86 | 3.4 Million | hints.macworld.com |
17 | AMD | 91 | 19.4 Million | community.amd.com |
18 | Ubuntu | 79 | 1.1 Million | ubuntuforums.org |
19 | Gentoo | 77 | 627K | forums.gentoo.org |
20 | Skyscraper City | 86 | 8.4 Million | skyscrapercity.com |
21 | Host Gator | 91 | 4.8 Million | forums.hostgator.com |
22 | Dynamic Drive | 69 | 120K | dynamicdrive.com |
23 | ASP Net | 84 | 2.1 Million | forums.asp.net |
24 | Caspio | 58 | 625K | forums.caspio.com |
25 | Web Developer | 56 | 81K | webdeveloper.com |
26 | Webmaster World | 82 | 152K | webmasterworld.com |
27 | Video Lan | 90 | 7.3 Million | forum.videolan.org |
28 | Mozilla Zine | 74 | 371K | forums.mozillazine.org |
29 | Digital Point | 74 | 205K | forums.digitalpoint.com |
30 | Web Hosting Talk | 67 | 266K | webhostingtalk.com |
31 | Sitepoint | 87 | 4.1 Million | sitepoint.com/community |
32 | Ultimate Guitar | 89 | 62 Million | ultimate-guitar.com |
33 | Utorrent | 91 | 28.7 Million | forum.utorrent.com |
34 | XDA | 92 | 22.8 Million | forum.xda-developers.com |
35 | World of Warcraft | 91 | 29 Million | us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow |
36 | Kaspersky | 91 | 11 Million | community.kaspersky.com |
37 | Stat Counter | 88 | 3.4 Million | forum.statcounter.com |
38 | Warrior Forum | 68 | 333K | warriorforum.com |
39 | Wicked Fire | 50 | 42K | wickedfire.com |
40 | Black Hat World | 59 | 2 Million | blackhatworld.com |
41 | Audacity Team | 83 | 3.2 Million | forum.audacityteam.org |
42 | Techsmith | 79 | 2.7 Million | support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/community/topics |
43 | Moz Q&A | 91 | 3 Million | moz.com/community/q |
44 | BitDefender | 87 | 6.1 Million | community.bitdefender.com/en |
45 | Foxit Software | 85 | 3.5 Million | forums.foxitsoftware.com |
46 | Whatismyip | 84 | 3.9 Million | whatismyip.com/questions |
47 | AVS | 76 | 3.4 Million | avsforum.com |
48 | MikroTik | 80 | 2.7 Million | forum.mikrotik.com |
49 | Apache Friends | 91 | 1.3 Million | community.apachefriends.org/f |
50 | Pagalguy | 53 | 1.1 Million | pagalguy.com |
51 | Filezilla | 87 | 1.5 Million | forum.filezilla-project.org |
52 | Notebook Review | 82 | 866K | forum.notebookreview.com |
53 | Daniweb | 70 | 814K | daniweb.com |
54 | Daemon Tools | 76 | 1.3 Million | forum.daemon-tools.cc |
55 | Mtbr | 68 | 2.5 Million | forums.mtbr.com/forum.php |
56 | Adblockplus | 88 | 76 Million | adblockplus.org/forum |
57 | Blenderartists | 64 | 1.4 Million | blenderartists.org |
58 | Hockeydb | 66 | 1.7 Million | hockeydb.com/vb |
59 | VB Forum | 56 | 663K | vbforums.com |
60 | Superherohype | 80 | 1.3 Million | forums.superherohype.com |
61 | Thai Visa | 76 | 2.3 Million | thaivisa.com |
62 | Purseblog | 71 | 2 Million | forum.purseblog.com |
63 | Tech Support | 67 | 284K | techsupportforum.com |
64 | XAT | 85 | 1.3 Million | forum.xat.com |
65 | RPG | 68 | 845K | forum.rpg.net/index.php |
66 | After Dawn | 74 | 1.1 Million | forums.afterdawn.com |
67 | Core77 | 82 | 1.2 Million | boards.core77.com |
68 | Maxthon | 77 | 482K | forum.maxthon.com |
69 | Omnigroup | 78 | 330K | discourse.omnigroup.com |
70 | Lawnsite | 46 | 495K | lawnsite.com |
71 | Vtiger | 57 | 308K | discussions.vtiger.com |
72 | Caspio | 58 | 625K | forums.caspio.com |
73 | Quora | 93 | 544 Million | quora.com |
74 | Forex Factory | 60 | 8.9 Million | forexfactory.com |
75 | Delphi Forum | 61 | 1.1 Million | delphiforums.com |
76 | CBR Community | 87 | 46 Million | community.cbr.com |
77 | Garden Web | 67 | 514K | gardenweb.com |
78 | Media Monkey | 70 | 335K | mediamonkey.com/forum |
79 | Sanparks | 71 | 279K | sanparks.org/forums |
80 | Luminous Landscape | 68 | 198K | forum.luminous-landscape.com |
81 | Ummah | 54 | 230K | ummah.com/forum |
82 | Free Website Templates | 50 | 46K | freewebsitetemplates.com/forums |
83 | Axis History | 57 | 249K | forum.axishistory.com |
84 | Wilders Security | 68 | 510K | wilderssecurity.com |
85 | Kirupa | 57 | 174K | kirupa.com |
86 | Ask About Money | 39 | 238K | askaboutmoney.com |
87 | Wysiwyg Web Builder | 57 | 125K | wysiwygwebbuilder.com/forum/index.php |
88 | Chef Talk | 53 | 299K | cheftalk.com |
89 | Devx | 73 | 57K | forums.devx.com |
90 | UK Business Forums | 59 | 167K | ukbusinessforums.co.uk |
91 | vBulletin | 79 | 75K | forum.vbulletin.com |
92 | Discourse | 76 | 268K | meta.discourse.org |
93 | phpbb | 89 | 317K | phpbb.com |
94 | Simple Machines | 74 | 143K | simplemachines.org/community/index.php |
95 | Xenforo | 83 | 346K | xenforo.com/community |
96 | Mybb | 60 | 279K | community.mybb.com |
97 | Flarum | 47 | 68K | discuss.flarum.org/t/blog |
98 | Invision Community | 67 | 148K | invisioncommunity.com/forums |
99 | Tech Republic | 88 | 7.5 Million | techrepublic.com/forums/software |
100 | Patient Info | 75 | 7.6 Million | patient.info/forums |
101 | Health 24 | 90 | 21 Million | news24.com/health24/Experts |
102 | eHealth | 60 | 76K | healthboards.com/boards/index.php |
103 | Medhelp | 65 | 564K | medhelp.org/forums/list |
104 | Growth Hackers | 65 | 219K | growthhackers.com/posts |
105 | Affiliate Fix | 37 | 71K | affiliatefix.com |
106 | Afflift | 35 | 105K | afflift.com/f/ |
107 | Affilorama | 51 | 68K | affilorama.com/forum/ |
108 | Dream Team Money | 41 | 70K | dreamteammoney.com |
109 | SEO Forum | 57 | 213K | seo-forum.link-assistant.com |
110 | dbPoweramp | 67 | 144K | forum.dbpoweramp.com |
111 | Forumosa | 47 | 167K | tw.forumosa.com |
112 | Dpreview | 88 | 8.9 Million | dpreview.com/forums |
113 | Photography Talk | 54 | 329K | photographytalk.com/forum |
114 | Flickr | 91 | 56 Million | flickr.com/help/forum/en-us |
115 | Fredmiranda | 58 | 703K | fredmiranda.com/forum |
116 | Talk Photography | 44 | 181K | talkphotography.co.uk/forums |
117 | Amateur Photographer | 66 | 213K | amateurphotographer.co.uk/forums |
118 | The Photo Forum | 49 | 84K | thephotoforum.com |
119 | Photo | 82 | 605K | photo.net/discuss/ |
120 | Discuss Cooking | 45 | 145K | discusscooking.com/forums |
121 | ChowHound | 79 | 3.3 Million | chowhound.com/community |
122 | eGullet | 60 | 303K | forums.egullet.org |
What is the difference between blog & forum backlinks?
Unlike other backlink generating methods, i.e., guest posts, article submission, broken link building, link swap, blog commenting, social bookmarking, etc., you will not get any do-follow backlinks from forums. And also, search engines like Google give little value to even high-quality backlinks from forums. However, you will get at least 500% more traffic than any other backlink-generating method.
Do you know why? Because in the forum, people are highly engaging in conversation. Thus, posting a relevant link at the right moment will give you an instant boost in referral traffic, which is kind of impossible on a blog or website.
For example, let’s say you have a backlink from a blog post on the X.com website. This website has high organic traffic, let’s say over 1 million. Now let’s say that blog post where you have a backlink gets around 100K visitors per month. So the possibility of getting traffic from this backlink is a maximum of 500-1,000 per month. Or even less.
Don’t believe me? Use a tracker in your blog post link, then test this out. You will be surprised by how much less traffic you get from links. It is because people are not likely to read the entire article/blog post. Most of the time, they simply skim your article for specific information. Then, when they get it, they will simply leave.
According to research, 55% of your visitors spend less than 15 secs on your page. Another study shows that only 20% of your visitors read the entire article while 80% simply pass it by reading only the headlines.
Quick Note: If you are looking for referral traffic, build a strong forum backlink profile for your site. Or, if you want organic traffic, create a strong backlink profile from your blog & website.
As you can see, the truth is – you are not supposed to get lots of traffic from blog or website backlinks. So then, what are you supposed to get? Well, backlinks from relevant blogs or websites will increase your website authority, allowing you to rank higher on search engine result pages (SERP). Therefore, getting backlinks from those places will give you a permanent boost in ranking & you are supposed to get lots of organic traffic from search engines.
Now the opposite things will happen when you get backlinks from forums. As you are not going to rank in search engines, you are supposed to get lots of referral traffic instantly. However, ensure your page SEO is optimized correctly; otherwise, even after all the hard work, you won’t be able to rank in search engines.
Quick Note: Forum posting is still marvelous for acquiring referral traffic but do not bother to chase for directory submission or article submission site lists. A small business usually does not have enough budget for an expensive link-building campaign; in that case, use the guest post option to acquire quality backlinks.
Why are forum backlinks cheap & effective?
You already understand the difference between forum & blog/website backlinks. Now, let me tell you why forum backlinks are much cheaper & effective than blogs/websites.
When you want to generate backlinks from a blog/website, you must be ready for lots of patience. If you have started your backlink generating campaign, perhaps you already know about it. You often have to wait for days to months to get a single backlink from a high-authority website. If you send an email to 1,000 people, only 50-60 of them will reply. Still, there is no guarantee that they will give you a backlink. Some might ask you to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to get a backlink.

It is a frustrating & long waiting task. However, getting a backlink from a forum is relatively easier & cheaper. All you have to do is – open an account & post your link at the right time. If they have some requirements for a new account, i.e., at least 50 threads must have to post. Then upon completing this task, you are free to start your backlink campaign.
Let me recap what you have learned here:
How to get backlinks from a forum?
- First, open an account using email.
- Then, read forum requirements before posting anything.
- Read other threads & comments to familiarize yourself
- Start a conversation before posting your link
- When someone asks, only then post your link (safest way)
- Use signature to showcase your link in every comment & thread
What should you expect from forum backlinks?
- Mostly no-follow backlinks
- Even if some forum gives you a do-follow backlink, it won’t pass link juice.
- Much easier & cheaper to get backlinks (instant)
- You will not get rank in search engines from forum backlinks
- You will get lots of referral traffic (instant)
- Irrelevant link posting will cause your account to be a temporary or permanent ban from the forum.
One more piece of advice I want to give you – among the best forum submission sites list, hand-pick some and make a list based on your business niche. Now participate in those forums regularly and build a reputation in those communities; thus, promoting your business products will be easier.
I hope you have learned something valuable by reading this guide. The difference between blog & forum backlinks. Why is it cheaper & effective? Why should you use it? When should you use it? And what you should expect from it.
Executive Summary.
Most of the time, people are wrong about forum link building. Some think it will give them many backlinks, increasing their website authority. Others believe it will provide them with nothing. Instead, it will jeopardize their overall authority ranking.
All of them are wrong. Many people once used forum backlinks to get rank higher in SERP. And that’s why search engines implemented no-follow backlinks in the forum to prevent it. And that’s why you are not supposed to rank higher in authority. So even if some forums provide you with do-follow, it doesn’t matter.
Therefore, your task is to use forum backlinks to receive thousands to millions of referral traffic. The good news is – it is relatively easier & cheaper than general blog & website backlinks. However, if you want long-term growth in search engines by increasing your rank, do not waste time in forum link building.
Further reading on Cliobra: I assume you want to grow your site authority by using link building technique. Do not forget to check my other guides about link-building strategies “How to Create Backlinks for My Website Free? 10 Shocking Methods” and “Keyword Optimization Insight & Why It’s Important?”