Are signature links on irrelevant forums a potential problem?

[ozsubasi]

Although I am active on the three real estate forums that I could find that are not niche, these forums themselves are not very active, so I find I spend most of the time I have available on SEO related discussion sites. I have read differing opinions on what the effect could be of having tons of signature links from sites that are not relevant to mine, and even the suggestion that such links (especially from SEO sites) could be a signal to Google that would not be favourable. So as a precaution I have removed most of my signatures but am still active on those forums.
I was wondering what the opinions are here on this?

[ozsubasi]

If not relevant to your site the links may be devalued by Google. Links should look (and ideally be) natural. Diversity in where the links come from and diversity in keyword, do follow/no follow etc. is recommened..... and of course content is key. Internal pages should have links too.

Thank you but you have answered questions I didn't ask All I am talking about here is signature links from a forum that is not in the same subject field as the site linked to.

---------- Post added at 02:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------

Try to get links from relevant places and resources.

Thank you but I explained I was already on some relevant forums.

Google likes diversify links and if you're getting few links from different niche still it's ok but don't try to get it in excessive number else it could consider as spam by Google.

So, would Google consider it spam to post a relevant comment but with an irrelevant signature? That is what I am asking.

---------- Post added at 03:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 PM ----------

I have just re-read the above posts. Both say that links should come from relevant sites yet also that there should be diversity in where they come from. It is this kind of contradictory advice that is the basis of my question.

[Mike-H]

You asked what the effect would be. Now I am not google but as I answered the links may be discounted or devalued meaning little or no effect. (just my 2c)

You want diverse links for real estate - guest articles on real estate sites, add constructive comments to real estate blogs, real estate forum discussion, create comment on your site that someone in a conveyancing/legal firm would link to naturaly. Add to that the usual article subs, press release, directory links etc. and you have more diversity than just forum links.

[dare651]

I've tried link building on sites using forum profiles only and it usually doesn't work. Although I think it has some effects. I would recommend using other link building techniques. The more/diverse, the better.

[ozsubasi]

You are quite right in your opening statement and I apologise for not clarifying my answer. You did respond to the question, and it was the rest of your comments I was referring to.
I already have diverse links within the real estate category, I am questioning specifically the value of forum links that are not within it. This doesn't just apply to my particular field, it could be anything, I could be a florist or a dog breeder for example. Surely it would be unnatural to only have links from relevant sites? If Google simply doesn't count them then I guess it doesn't really matter.
I am not expecting a definitive answer just some views and perhaps some sources to support them.

---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 PM ----------

I've tried link building on sites using forum profiles only and it usually doesn't work. Although I think it has some effects. I would recommend using other link building techniques. The more/diverse, the better.

I am not saying that I don't get links from anywhere other than forums, and I am not talking about profiles but signature links. say for example (and this is just an example, the figures are imaginary) I had a non SEO related site that had 2000 links, and 500 of them were contextual signature links from 10 different SEO forums. Let us also say that the other links presented a balanced link profile.
Given that kind of scenario, Google could give those 500 some kind of value, maybe discount them altogether, or maybe it could indicate that I am doing something it may not like (whether or not I actually am). That is the kind of scenario I am asking about.

[keyon]

if Google simply doesn't count them then I guess it doesn't really matter.

It's easy to get carried away thinking about everything Google might look at. In most cases I think we end up thinking too much...about things that probably don't really matter.

[ozsubasi]

It's easy to get carried away thinking about everything Google might look at. In most cases I think we end up thinking too much...about things that probably don't really matter.

That is a very valid point. However, although I haven't had the unnatural links email from Google my site was hit by the penguin update. This situation is just one of the possibilities I am exploring.

[LD]

I am not expecting a definitive answer just some views and perhaps some sources to support them.

IMO - go about your normal day. Do you comment on sites that are irrelevant to your business site? Not a big deal. Why?Those links may or may not be devalued, but the fact remains, you are building your link profile at a steady pace and you are "doing what you want to do". If one is looking for multiple forums to create multiple profiles to facilitate multiple signature sources for that so-called "balanced" sig profile, ones time could be better spent elsewhere. Again, IMO, don't put all that time and effort into something that may or may not work. Do what you want to do. Comment where you like to comment/post.

[Noble123]

Links from irrelevant forums just lead to the high bounce rate due to the non targeted traffic and further this leads to lowering in organic traffic. That's why it is always recommended to go for the relevant sites while building backlinks.

[ozsubasi]

Links from irrelevant forums just lead to the high bounce rate due to the non targeted traffic and further this leads to lowering in organic traffic. That's why it is always recommended to go for the relevant sites while building backlinks.

I think that people on forums can work out from the anchor text (and in many cases there is surrounding text as well) in signatures what the linked to site is about. If they saw mine which for example said "properties for sale in Altinkum" they would not be expecting it to be an SEO related site. Although I accept that it is just possible that someone on a non related forum might be interested in what it is I am selling, I think in most cases they just take a peek as I do sometimes just to get a handle on the person who is writing, i.e. it isn't real traffic and yes quite possibly could lead to a higher bounce rate. But that would be the same for a related site. I don't agree with your position that a high bounce rate leads to a lowering in organic traffic, but there are already threads on the subject of BR so I won't go into that further here.

---------- Post added at 05:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:28 PM ----------

IMO - go about your normal day.

What you are saying is pretty much the way I looked at things before the recent update. Things seem to be returning to some extent now, so I think I will leave it a while longer and if that continues I'll gradually start putting the signatures back and see what happens.