Every post in a forum is searchable online. Therefore, the more you post in your team's forum(s), the more likely your team is to show up in search results. A strong showing in search results can really boost your team's base. But not all forum posts are created equal.

Tips for Creating Great Forum Posts

1) Know your stuff. If you know exactly what you're talking about, post it in the forum(s). If you don't know, do the research or find someone more knowledgeable to write the post.

2) Keep it simple. Use brief, concise language, and keep your paragraphs to a max of four sentences. Your goal is to say a lot while writing a little.

3) Use what you write. If your post can answer a question, link the post in your reply. However, do not simply link-drop. Write a unique summary, then drop the link.

Discord is a black hole for content. Though great for organizing matches and events, nothing posted in Discord is searchable online.

Advanced Posting Tips

1) Be specific or "concrete" when posting. Replace words like "it," "them," and "they" with the subject/object to which you refer. Also, avoid phrases like "the game" and "the team" for the same reason. For example, use instead "Hell Let Loose" and "HLLTC," respectively.

2) Link your post to other posts. Linking your post to other posts in the forum(s) helps visitors discover other useful content. Linking your posts to quality information outside the forum(s) validates the content of your post and makes you a subject-matter expert.

3) Edit your post for relevancy. Editing for relevancy means including language or "keywords" commonly associated with the game or topic about which you write. Avoid cramming keywords, however, as cramming can negatively impact your post in searches.

Ultimately, the key to a great forum post is its usefulness for the reader. If a post is useful, the reader is more likely to comment, share the post, or link to the post for his or her own posts. This activity helps your post, which in turn helps your gaming community. Not all posts require this level of development, of course. For example, most posts in general discussion threads tend to be more conversational. But truly informative posts, specifically written to educate the reader, should be handled with care. When in doubt, write it once, write well, use it for life. Now, get posting, GOD-sSs-END (aka David Allen Farrell) Online Content Production plus Gaming Community Management