[BSMedia]

Originally Posted by Contra Fates

I'm currently stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have about $200 that I wish to use on my forum, but I'm not sure what to use it on. I realize that the discussion of 'should I buy VBSEO' or not is well overdone, but my question is which would be the best investment for myself, VBSEO or a new professionally designed skin?

The Situation:
1.) I realize that VB4 is around the corner, but my forum is a smaller one with slowly building traffic. Some of the biggest forums I've visited have VBSEO, and have incredible activity. The problem is that my forum is currently hosted on a shared server, and I'm afraid that VBSEO might be too hard on my server. That, and I keep hearing that VB4 will have vbseo functions built into it. If it's true, will it have the friendly url rewrites in it?

vBSEO doesn't add members, activity, posts, or threads to your forum. Its ability to enhance your "SEO" is some what questionable now as well as it seems that search engines have passed their strategies and major selling points up.

2.) My forum skin was just a free one that I customized to start off with, but I believe it's time for a fresh new skin. My fear is that once VB4 is out, that the coding for it will be entirely different, and any of the money I've invested in the new skin, will be for nothing in a few months or whenever VB4 finally comes out. Then again, this is also my fear with regards to purchasing VBSEO, especially if it's main features are built into VB4.

if your budget is tight and you don't have spare cash, wait for vB4 before dropping money on a skin. vB3.x skins won't work on vB4 and will have to be rewritten.

3.) I realize that different forums have need for different things, so I should let you all know that my forum is a Japanese Entertainment one, with a demographic of teenage-mid 20's. The main focus is video games and Anime. My audience is part of the reason why a new stylish skin is even thought to be important, and also why VBSEO may or may not be helpful to a forum like mine, considering the subject matter.

I'm in real need of advice. =( The link to my forum is below, and I'd be grateful to anyone who could give me some input!

http://www.risingstarforums.net/

Again, vBSEO doesn't add to your forum activity, don't beleive their sensationalistic marketing that makes you think get vBSEO and you'll earn $1400 a day and 600% increase in traffic, it doesn't happen like that.

For the record, more of the largest vBulletin sites on the internet don't run vBSEO that do. Out of the top 25 vBulletin sites, only 4 use vBSEO. source