Discovering Relevant Forums with Google: An Innovative Approach
In a notable shift last month, Google announced its decision to replace the Perspectives filter with the new Forums filter. While this decision comes just months after the introduction of the Perspectives filter in May 2023, it presents an excellent opportunity to explore how to leverage specific filters and conduct vertical searches on Google. This can be especially useful even for keywords that typically do not display the filter options at the top of the search results page (SERP).
How to Activate the Forums Filter
Activating the Forums filter is a straightforward process. All you need to do is append &udm=18 to your search URL.
For instance, if I search for “SGE” on Google, I typically do not see any forum results. My original search URL looks like this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=sge&gl=us&hl=en
However, by adding &udm=18, my refined URL becomes:
https://www.google.com/search?q=sge&gl=us&hl=en&udm=18
With this simple addition, the Forums filter is suddenly active, enabling you to access a wealth of discussion-based content relevant to your search.
Why Utilize the Forums Filter?
There are multiple reasons to harness the power of the Forums filter, particularly for SEO purposes.
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Effective Link Building: For those engaged in link building, this filter eliminates the need to manually search for forum discussions related to a specific keyword. Gone are the days of sifting through queries like “{keyword} Powered by phpBB“.
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In-depth Keyword Research: Forums serve as a goldmine for understanding your target audience’s interests and preferred terminology. For example, examining the top ten forum discussions for the keyword “iPhone” reveals community sentiments — such as dissatisfaction regarding the shade of the latest blue model, which appears almost white. These insights could be easily overlooked if you rely solely on the traditional Google search results.
Conclusion
By activating the Forums filter on Google, you can tap into valuable discussions that provide deeper insights into your audience’s thoughts and needs. Do you find this method practical? We’re eager to hear your thoughts! What other applications do you envision for
One response to “Discovering relevant forums using Google effectively”
This post offers a fantastic insight into utilizing Google’s new Forums filter! One aspect that could add further value to this discussion is the potential for monitoring trends and sentiments over time. By regularly accessing forum discussions using this filter, marketers and content creators can track shifts in user perspectives, allowing them to adjust their strategies more effectively.
Additionally, combining the Forums filter with tools like Google Trends could enhance the depth of keyword research. By identifying trending topics in forums while simultaneously analyzing interest over time, one can pinpoint not only current discussions but also anticipate emerging trends.
Furthermore, engagement with these forums allows for building relationships within communities. Participating in discussions can not only provide real-time insights but also establish your brand’s authority in specific niches. This two-way interaction builds trust and can lead to organic link-building opportunities beyond mere keyword targeting.
It will be interesting to see how others are planning to incorporate the Forums filter into their strategies. Let’s share our experiences to maximize the potential of this new tool!