Interaction and Content Building lead to more Website Visitors - It's well worth the effort

Companies could find that integrating forums and other social spaces into their website designs helps drive traffic, it has been suggested.

Econsultancy blogger Kevin Gibbons indicated that visitors are likely to head to a site repeatedly if there is an interactive element to it, which will help inspire loyalty.

However, in order for this to be a success, strategic website design is crucial, as people need to ensure they know exactly where to go if they want to leave a comment.

"If your sub categories are jumbled and confused then visitors won't know where to browse for answers or leave their own questions," he highlighted.

Mr Gibbons also advised website owners to make sure they set out rules to users, which give them the right to delete posts if they contravene the guidelines.

Arbitrarily removing posts is not good practice, he stressed, as people will soon lose interest and faith in the site they are airing their views on. 

"You must remember that a forum isn't your space, it's theirs," he added.

The Duchess of York recently proposed that a worldwide online forum should be set up for mothers to air their views.

Source: Econsultancy for 10 golden rules for building social network forums