Firstgens.com

I agree with Jeff 100%. FirstGens has always been open to any and all makes of hot rods like Royce out on the west coast and his Skylark. We are just car guys plain and simple. I think part of the problem is that our site is called FirstGens and although its inception was meant to be for 67-69 Camaros that may be part of the issue. The way I see it the name FirstGens does'nt really state that we are all about Camaros or any other make/model of car. So maybe people don't come here because the name does'nt scream Camaro and maybe they don't come here because they think it is only about Camaros? I know you can Google Camaros and wind up here that way but I am sure we miss out on a lot of traffic. Team Camaro is a catchy name, it clearly states it is about Camaro's and the "Team" part of the name draws you into like you are part of a group. TC has been active much longer but it works. We just don't have the traffic today to that will create the activity that TC does on their site. I was also looking over at NastyZ28.com which is the 2nd Gen Camaro site I frequent a lot since I own one and the activity there is signiifcantly higher(mayve more so than TC) but they have something like 30,000 members compared to our 695.
We have a great core group of guys here at FG but the half dozen or so that are here regularly don't have enough going on to create the activity of the other sights. I an not sure what the answer is to get more to come here and I wish I could do more than point out what our shortcoming are but I can't at the moment......I will be thinking more about it though!

A big issue is how the sites meta tags are set up...which ineffect takes pionts away on search engines.
Way too many parameters.
Is the site regist at the seach engines along with xml site maps made up and added to the root?
Does th host allow or only partically allow search bots? many dont.
Has Admin put the time into increasing ranking over several months? (I willl not discuss this part on line)
Also note the urls not ending in html yeah bots can read it but having code in so php urls get converted to html makes a big difference to bot.
example go into forums /downloads/links (not gallery) at kakariki.net and see the difference in how the urls are handled

The problem is not membership, it is growth of active membership which hinges on how search engines crawl and how they crawl....
From there one gets visiters looking for info, and if that is here and interest /tools etc suitable then they will move from visiting over several weeks to months, then participating.
Thereis some excellent info here but it is not easy presented..this is what brings participation.
And some good basic steps...even if several yrs old now, still applies the phpbb and phpbb2
Google Steptoe SEO

Yeah before some of u start out on the "arrogrant Steps BS"
I know what Im talking about and not only that, have and still do it with similar sites with smaller niche sitting up #1 or at least top 5 of all search engines anywhere in the world.
I Have owned and Admin my own servers for around 10yrs now...And done the same for others where they have taken on board my suggestions early in the peice.
Steps.

I don't see anyone addressing the issue of the members who were here and posting regularly?
Why not I ask?
More members is great for long term but you still need the existing guys to be here and to answer the questions and to contribute to make it a wanna be place to hang around!!
Remember, this forum was going along nicely and with some stiff opposition too.....what happened?
Answer that and you have the solution chaps, my two pennies.

One of the reasons I started my workbench thread was because the site had become slow in regards to posts/traffic so I thought it might help generate some posting/traffic. I'm working on another non Camaro project and might post it too......

David F.

We have great base of guys with all levels of knowledge and experience. We also have over 380 Members who have never posted a single thread/reply
Maybe I need to post a sticky along the lines of "we've all been there, there are no stupid questions" thread. Those of us who post frequently have been working on cars since we were kids and eventually got that project/driver we always wanted. Perhaps that is intimidating to a younger guy who grew up in the last 20 years and never turned a wrench but wants to learn. If you've never done an oil change, would you ask how to do it in public, or just hope there was a thread you ran accross that told you how?
Please guys if you are reading this thread and have never posted, ask anything. Everyone can use more knowledge. And this group is eager to share what they know.

Don, I'm a mod on our local Camaro Club forum and we too, have hundreds of registered users who have never posted on a topic. I often wonder if they think they have to register to read the forum or what ???? We have very little traffic outside the club members and there are only a handful who use the forum to ask questions or seek help/advise. I originally joined the local club for access to parts and info and have ended up being 1 of 2 who know the most and help others !!! I hosted a "tech" session a couple Saturdays back to change out the entire front suspension and steering on a '69 to tubular arms and an AGR sector. Between me and the other gearhead member, we've built and changed out engines, transmissions and had several suspension sessions over the last few years. 2 years ago, we joined forces in my shop and changed out the front subframe on a '69 Z11 for an aftermarket with r&p steering, tubular arms, coilovers and splined sway bar and then installed an LS1/4L60e along with completely rewiring the entire car. I've also taken over the club apparel and drag that to meetings/events, so I'm quite involved with it...
I have to be at the monthly membership meeting tonight at 6:30. We are getting our new club hats from the vendor and I get a FREE meal aout of it...

Hey Mitch, I've read your posts and thanks. Hell I've read everything ever posted here.
I hope you get a good meal & thanks for the input