I was thinking about how how to get the most from the shoutbox the other day and this popped up in my head. One concern I had was that some members spend so much time in the shoutbox and spend less time on the forums, that this is taking away from the forums.... but overall they are happier and with them spending more time on the site that is good.
However the shoutbox is holding no SEO benefits for my site.
1. I have it hidden to guests.
2. I prune the shoutbox from time to time.
And the shoutbox does not hold these benefits:
1. Post count
2. Not able to search for shouts from the main VB search.
Now I was thinking how to fix this while keeping the shoutbox hidden to guests and while still being able to prune the shoutbox.
I then thought of how another shoutbox in the past used to handle their archive. By memory it used to once a day take a snapshot of all the shouts from that day and post them in a specific forum to a new thread. (Keep in mind what I am about to share could be an option to turn on or off, not a default setting, the archive you guys have still holds a place for many).
The above brings along SEO benefits for those who do not want the shoutbox showing to guests.
If this was possible I would have these options to myself (if these were made).
1. I could have it post the shouts to my general chit chat section to a specific thread which I could either keep closed or open.
2. I could create a new forum, and have it post new shouts: as they happen, Every hour, once a day, once a week etc. to a new thread and keep that thread going for 'x' amount of time (day, week, month etc.) before it is closed and then a new thread would be started.
Note: This now solves the post count problem, I could either have post count enabled or disabled in that section giving me total control.
Note 2: This also solves the searching problem from within vbulletin main search.
Note 3: This solves the SEO problem I am facing with having the shoutbox disabled to guests (and I would not change that for several reasons)
Note 4: This also creates members more accountable for their shouts since they can now be warned/infractioned for specific rule breakages better.
This would be a nice Pro feature if added. Hope you consider it.
However the shoutbox is holding no SEO benefits for my site.
1. I have it hidden to guests.
2. I prune the shoutbox from time to time.
And the shoutbox does not hold these benefits:
1. Post count
2. Not able to search for shouts from the main VB search.
Now I was thinking how to fix this while keeping the shoutbox hidden to guests and while still being able to prune the shoutbox.
I then thought of how another shoutbox in the past used to handle their archive. By memory it used to once a day take a snapshot of all the shouts from that day and post them in a specific forum to a new thread. (Keep in mind what I am about to share could be an option to turn on or off, not a default setting, the archive you guys have still holds a place for many).
The above brings along SEO benefits for those who do not want the shoutbox showing to guests.
If this was possible I would have these options to myself (if these were made).
1. I could have it post the shouts to my general chit chat section to a specific thread which I could either keep closed or open.
2. I could create a new forum, and have it post new shouts: as they happen, Every hour, once a day, once a week etc. to a new thread and keep that thread going for 'x' amount of time (day, week, month etc.) before it is closed and then a new thread would be started.
Note: This now solves the post count problem, I could either have post count enabled or disabled in that section giving me total control.
Note 2: This also solves the searching problem from within vbulletin main search.
Note 3: This solves the SEO problem I am facing with having the shoutbox disabled to guests (and I would not change that for several reasons)
Note 4: This also creates members more accountable for their shouts since they can now be warned/infractioned for specific rule breakages better.
This would be a nice Pro feature if added. Hope you consider it.
