Should we link to archives from footer?

**Yogesh Sarkar** · 09-26-2007, 12:10 AM

I have come across quite a few forums (almost all running vbseo), which have links to their archive pages from the footer of their forum i.e. they will use 1,2,3,4… numbers at the footer and link to archive pages. Does this helps google spider content easily and increases PR of the threads?

**Brandon Sheley** · 09-26-2007, 04:45 AM

We had them for the better part of a year here, I've removed the archive all together but if we did have it still, I'd add the archive links that vbseo does for you.
but ultimately, I would go without the archive.

**Yogesh Sarkar** · 09-26-2007, 04:58 AM

My forum's archive is setup to act more like a sitemap, with the link to the thread pointing to the actual thread. Of course I would have to manually add these links because I don't have vbseo, but I don't mind the effort if it is actually worth it.

**James** · 09-28-2007, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon

We had them for the better part of a year here, I've removed the archive all together but if we did have it still, I'd add the archive links that vbseo does for you.
but ultimately, I would go without the archive.

Sorry to ask a dumb question, but why shut your archive off? Doesn't this affect your links in the SEs? I get around 15-25 entries a day coming through my archives.

Maybe I am confused, I am not a SE expert, but maybe I am looking at this all wrong.

Oh BTW, I turn of the vBSEO links on the bottom of my forum. It just looked messy to me.

09-28-2007, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

Sorry to ask a dumb question, but why shut your archive off? Doesn't this affect your links in the SEs? I get around 15-25 entries a day coming through my archives.

Maybe I am confused, I am not a SE expert, but maybe I am looking at this all wrong.

Oh BTW, I turn of the vBSEO links on the bottom of my forum. It just looked messy to me.

Archives were meant to be a quick and easy way for Search engines to find your content without having to look through the actual forums with templates for it.

The problem with them however is they can be looked at by some (maybe all, who knows) search engines as duplicate content as what is inyour actual thread. So those 15-25 links could just as easily be 15-25 links to the actual thread if you turned off your archive.

That is my thinking with it, and I just don't want to risk duplicate content. Also, for some people who don't know what the archive is and don't see the "view original thread" link they may stray away from the site since its so boring looking.

10-10-2007, 03:37 AM

Could you tell me where the archive is turned off?

Thanks.

**Brandon Sheley** · 10-10-2007, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spondishy

Could you tell me where the archive is turned off?

Thanks.

It's in your vboptions, under "Archive settings" I think.

10-11-2007, 03:44 AM

It's

VBOptions > Search Engine Friendly Archive

**Yogesh Sarkar** · 10-11-2007, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket 442

Archives were meant to be a quick and easy way for Search engines to find your content without having to look through the actual forums with templates for it.

The problem with them however is they can be looked at by some (maybe all, who knows) search engines as duplicate content as what is inyour actual thread. So those 15-25 links could just as easily be 15-25 links to the actual thread if you turned off your archive.

That is my thinking with it, and I just don't want to risk duplicate content. Also, for some people who don't know what the archive is and don't see the "view original thread" link they may stray away from the site since its so boring looking.

Duplicate content problem can be easily countered by making the archives point to the actual thread (for reference see my forum archives). This way they act more like a sitemap, rather than become a source of duplicate content.