So, we are now trialling a few bits to give people an incentive to join. Since the site is integrated into vBulletin we can call vBulletin user variables very easily. We’ve now made it so that if a person is not logged in, they see the standard 468×60 Adsense banner, which has been on the site since we opened, plus another 468×60 banner that promotes the forums. Under these two adverts we have the text “(If you were logged in you wouldn’t be seeing these adverts. Login or Register Now!)”. We’ve also added a yellow “Alert” bar across the top of the page for guests, much like the default Internet Explorer information bar.

Since doing this, we’ve had a few more registrations on the forums however not a hugely satisfactory amount.

To help improve registration rates, I’ve been looking into vbSEO as its now a very popular product. After looking through it, its probably worth us purchasing it for WebmasterStash as it will improve the SEO currently in our forums.