I would think that registering in forums just to create a profile with a hyperlink and then not posting in the forums would not be worth the effort.

Nobody would even know you exist on a forum unless you make the occasional post, so nobody would look at your profile and, hence, the URL in your profile.

Ideally, you make some posts that contribute something, people get curious about your background, and then a few people might check out the URL in your signature, even fewer would be curious enough to go further and check out a person's profile.

Or am I missing something?

I think registering alone in forum won't increase traffic. In order to other people visit their site, they still need to post and put their t sig.

google recognize forums links and don't importance it as a quality links !!!

"If the registration process was too complicated, he wouldn't have been seeing the increase..."

Good point alwaysworking!

JeffHeaton - can you send me link to your site?

I have just join this forum and want to know that how is it work i also want to know how increase traffic any one can tell me i will be very thankful

Amin

Increasing traffic IS a benefit of belonging to forums. But most do not seem to realize this is a long term process. It's kind of like dating for a while before you you commit to a serious relationship. gatonet

It could be a sleeper bot which will spam you in days, months, or years. Or SEO bot - there may be a homepage or a signature with a URL.

Could be bots or people that will wait and post later... either to build up age recognition for future spamming efforts.... or legitimate people who just want to be members everywhere and will post when they have time.

No SEO juice at all just signing up.

Forum can help you generate traffic, but it also depends on how well your posts are which keeps people become interested of your backlink. There's a lot to learn to become a successful blogger.