The SPAM 4 is conducting a test to answer two questions:

SPAM 1
SPAM 2

This post is part of that test.

This post will contain two links, one in the message body and another in the message signature.

Each of these links will contain a unique string of anchor text which will be linked to web pages with no other inbound links.

Using this testing methology, we hope to be able to provide scientifically valid answers to these two questions.

For a full description of our testing methodology, please visit the links above.

Thank you for your participation in our study!

Message Body Test Link: Spam 3

Interesting, I do think they both have an effect, I mean there is no reason for them not to? Probably body links have do a tiny bit more than sig links as they come before signatures but still, there isn't much difference.

Good idea with this test. Testing is everything!
I think both have the same weight.

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Well it would be intersting if you had actually asked permission instead of spamming my board you *******!

Note 2 users, dont make the first post at forum a bunch of non sense and links you will be banned!

If people actually want to see this tested, let me know and I will test it, we will not be supporting this test as we dont approve of the tactics and dont appreciate spammers.

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please test - I think this is very important

I'm a bit confused here (came 2 l8?), WHAT IS THE TEST and y is it important ?

Spamming forums is a waste of time anyway, who cares, get quality backlinks and start beating out the spammers! If you spam forums sure you'll get some rankings for a little while but then you'll eventually pay for it. It wouldn't be a good thing for google to find a bunch of links and then watch 90% of them get taken down. It makes you look like a blogger and if they're watching that, you will pay for it eventually.

The test, even if I did not see the original one, must be about, if links in posts have weight, if sigs have weight, when they come from a forum.

Putting only links from forums to see if PR gets to the pages and if they move in serps with time...

Why is anyone going to "pay for it"? Forum links are still links. There is nothing underhand or "spammy" about them. Of course, it would be bad practice to simply base SEO on sig links, though, because it is such an inefficient method.

However, it should be noted that forum links began a process of extensive devaluing in September 2003. PR transfer is pretty negligable.

I hope no one minds too much, but I actually wrote a short article on signature links here:
http://www.business-talk.co.uk/showthread.php?t=474

The short of it is that PR from sig links is pretty negligable, and that although there are anchor text benefits, devaluing of same outbound links from a domain almost certainly is applied after a small number (I've seen reports of 20-50). So signature link benefits are pretty minimal.

There's a conspiracy theory that Google specifically discounts links under the "_____________________" line at the bottom of the post - but I personally think it's missing the point.

2c.

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from my experience forum links count as long as the post-pages URL's stays constant, I've posted links to sites and when the url CHANGED (FROM /forum/threads/?page=01....blablabla TO /forum/threads/?page=02....blablabla) my site free-fell on google's rankings.
A week l8r I posted new forum-posts on the same forum and after one day the site was up again - I've made no other change or submit.