Having a minimum post count required to post links will solve this issue: spam from users and/or bots that make short and, most often, irrelevant posts, with their link, then leave the site forever. Simply use a plugin to stop bots and one-time users from spamming your forum with links.

The solution: No Links Allowed Plugin

It’s not what it sounds like, but it’s darn close. No Links Allowed is a plugin originally for MyBB 1.6 that only allows links to be posted if the user has met a minimum post count. It can be modified to work 1.8 if that is what you have. In addition, you can set what forums it affects and what forum groups are limited. Click here to download from MyBB.com .

Description of how it works (from the author):

It deny the use of click-able links to post them while creating a thread or posting a reply in selective forums only and only from selective groups until they reach min. post count.

Installation for MyBB 1.6 forums

Simply upload the plugin file: no_links.php in ./inc/plugins/ folder and activate the plugin via ACP > Plugin Manager.

Installation for MyBB 1.8 forums

It’s the same as 1.6 but edit no_links.php as follows.

Find:

“compatibility” => “14*,16*”

Replace with:

“compatibility” => “14*,16*,18*”

Don’t forget to configure settings

Find the user group IDs that you want to add the minimum post count requirement to and also the forum IDs you want the plugin active with. Below is a preview of the settings:

Why?

Spammy links will ruin your forum quick. Stopping one-time users from posting the url to their site by requiring a minimum post count will help keep your SEO strategy healthy. Google hates spam and so do your potential visitors.

I hope you found this post useful. If you have questions please drop a comment below 🙂