How To Comment On Blogs Correctly

[Shopping4Coupons]

Here's a few tips I learned along the way on blog commenting I thought I would share. They are just my opinions so you may not agree they are the best commenting tips.

1. Don't comment just to comment, that's just comment spam.
2. Find a higher PR blog or at least one with lots of traffic.
3. Find a blog that has a "Do Follow" or "You Comment I Follow" tag.
4. Look for a post related to your blog or something you like and start there.
5. Add your name as your keyword, like for example I'm not going to type "Bruce" I'm going to say "Coupon Code Blog" or something like that. Adjust the name to match the page where you are pointing the link to.
6. In your web address you can point to your blog home page or better yet to a post of yours that is related to the post you are commenting on. Woa.. relative content with a keyword rich backlink. GOLD
7. Add your comment next, if you are going to spend all that time don't just say "Hi, I like your post" Say something with some good keywords in it like "Your post about blog commenting really helped me figure out the difference between blog commenting correctly and just wasting my time commenting on blog posts"
8. A positive comment is always better than a negative one. Don't forget there is usually someone on the other end moderating and could just hit delete.
9. If there is a button to get follow up emails on further comments to that post I would do that too just to be nice and maybe add a further comment to their blog later.

Most bloggers appreciate comments on their blogs, it helps add original content and it shows to them at least someone read their post and appreciated it by commenting about it.

Well I think that pretty well covers the things I figured out about how to make blog comments work to your advantage.

Now get out there and practice... ;-)

[Yimto]

I like to bookmark posts I comment on, because good bloggers will respond.

And that's the other side of the coin If you are a blogger, respond to your comments and they will come back for more!

[kathiemt]

Great thoughts! With respect to number 5, I always make sure I sign off the same way whenever commenting on blogs. It's about branding and people getting to see my name here, there and everywhere. I do change the URL as you suggest - I own several blogs and it depends on which blog my comment might be most relevant to.

I love blogs that have a 'subscribe to comments' plugin so that I know when others are responding to, including the owner of the blog.

[The University Kid]

Add your name as your keyword, like for example I'm not going to type "Bruce" I'm going to say "Coupon Code Blog" or something like that. Adjust the name to match the page where you are pointing the link to.

- Anyone comments on my blog with the anchor text as Coupon Code Blog, I'm going to change it or delete the comment. Sorry, but it's irrelevant.

I use my name nowadays to comment - 'Jason'. If the comments I leave are decent enough, people will click through to see the website behind the name. I occasionally use my website's name (The University Kid) for relevant niches.

[Shopping4Coupons]

I know what you are saying about the name, I was just trying to stress that if you can get a good keyword in there then all the better.

If your a blogger accepting comments I would guess you would rather have a good relative keyword anchor text on a comment rather than just a name.

In Wordpress there is also a way of adding a link within the body of a comment if your the admin. I attached a screenshot.

[rhyswynne]

Righty ho, congratulations shopping4coupons, as I got up to (respectfully) disagree with your post. I was reading this on my Wii, and couldn't be bothered struggling with my Wiimote to disagree. Here goes.

1. Don't comment just to comment, that's just comment spam.

I agree.

2. Find a higher PR blog or at least one with lots of traffic.

And miss out on a potentional reader? Like it or not, A-Listers won't read your blog, a guy who posts an amazing article that's just starting out will. One thing I regret is not commenting enough on small blogs because now they're huge.

3. Find a blog that has a "Do Follow" or "You Comment I Follow" tag.

The Dofollow movement is becoming spammy. As such you're comment needs to be good to get published, at least on my blog.

4. Look for a post related to your blog or something you like and start there.

Comment on a post you like, or you can offer an opinion too. Contribute, rather than comment. Trust me, you'll get more stroke that way.

5. Add your name as your keyword, like for example I'm not going to type "Bruce" I'm going to say "Coupon Code Blog" or something like that. Adjust the name to match the page where you are pointing the link to.

No no no no no no no no NO! Doing this will put you into Akismet-ville faster than you can say "Free Myspace Templates". Bloggers HATE this, and you do irreversible damage to your blog. Blogging started out as a personal activity, the google juice from comments is completely negligable, and - as Jason said, the best thing you can do is either put your name, or your brand.

6. In your web address you can point to your blog home page or better yet to a post of yours that is related to the post you are commenting on. Woa.. relative content with a keyword rich backlink. GOLD

Relevant link yes I agree, but the whole "keyword rich backlink" isn't necessarily that strong in google's eyes. It's one of the great myths of google. Basic SEO stuff and great content is horrendously more important than keyword rich backlinks.

7. Add your comment next, if you are going to spend all that time don't just say "Hi, I like your post" Say something with some good keywords in it like "Your post about blog commenting really helped me figure out the difference between blog commenting correctly and just wasting my time commenting on blog posts"

Even so, you'd find something to get deleted. Trust me, there's nothing worse than seeing people try to comment and failing miserably. I will ridicule you, then mark you as spam. If you're not going to contribute, don't contribute at all, especially as a first comment. Regulars I let slide a little bit because they're regular.

8. A positive comment is always better than a negative one. Don't forget there is usually someone on the other end moderating and could just hit delete.

I disagree with this. You stand by everything you say online. By no means stream abuse at the blogger (like a comment in my moderation queue at the moment), but disagree. I've got far more response commenting as "Rhys" on - say - John Chow.com disagreeing (and explaining why I disagree) with what he's said rather than under a keyword rich name and saying "Great Post John"!

I'm regularly featured on a hugely popular PR6 blog largely because I disagree with her. It's amazing how much she's gets offered for advertising but turns it down (one of the reasons I disagree with her). It's because I don't kiss her arse like a lot of readers that she notices me and likes me. Again, by contributing.

9. If there is a button to get follow up emails on further comments to that post I would do that too just to be nice and maybe add a further comment to their blog later.

Depends what you wrote, you could just be getting more keyword spammers.

Now, I've been blogging for over 6 years now, so these are my thoughts. The actual google juice passing from comments is quite negligible and really not worth doing. Where the value comes from blogging is through networking - leaving relevent, useful and expandable comments on blogs with either your brand name or your own name, thus improving your stance in the blogosphere.

[Shopping4Coupons]

rhyswynne,

I have to admit that you did a pretty good job of picking that one apart.

As I mentioned at the start that the post was my opinion, that is great that you offer another one on some points. I'm sure that in 6 years you have learned quite a bit along the way that only experience can teach you. My reference to the anchor text of the name I leave is my brand, my name for that blog. I'm sure there are a bunch of Bruce's out there and I wouldn't want anyone to think I was Bruce Lee, or Willis or even Springstein.

Yes it also usually is the main keyword of my blog but I don't think it is spammy, I agree others may differ. But to me it offers some recognition and from what I see in the backlinks to me, it does not hurt.

Here's some of my brands besides Coupon Code Blog you may run across on some comments of other good blog posts out there. "Animals Need Help" "Fox Lake Fishing Tips" "Shopping4Coupons" and "Design and Promote" "Trade Show Help" and a few others depending on the blog I'm linking back to with a relative comment.

I'm not commenting just to comment as I mention in step #1

And here's a good place to pick up a NoFollow Checker for Firefox. It lets you know at a glance if a link has a noFollow attibute. PS I have found quite a few sites with the DoFollow badge that were actually the opposite. Better to check for yourself I think.

SearchStatus | Firefox SEO Toolbar Extension

One thing you are certainly right on is that controversy gets followed.
Just ask Jerry Springer..

Thanks for your comments.

[kathiemt]

I've not seen that SearchStatus program mentioned before and there are no comments on the page so just wondering if anyone uses it, how effective it's been, does Firefox behave itself and so on? I've had previous problems with Firefox crashing and so I'm more careful with it these days as I love the browser and don't want to antagonise it.

With respect to branding 'shoppingforcoupons' I read a post on one of the well known blogs some months ago about the use of your own name in comments. And if you have a common name make sure you use your full name and/or add your business name with it.

For all intents and purposes I've been working at developing a reputation in the Virtual Assistant industry and it's important people know my name, not just a brand name or business name. So I've always signed off as Kathie M. Thomas and if the comment relates to my industry or role in the industry then I'll add my business name too. At any rate it's my name that I've used as a brand and people have learnt that it's connected to several things that I do.

In your instance people will only know your 'brand name' but not who you are and what you do. So you could be working hard at developing a profile for each of your brands but if you mentioned your name no-one would know you are the Bruce that belongs to that brand. Am I making sense? So I'm wondering if you want to be known as being connected to your 'brand'?

[patrickd88]

I have to agree/disagree with a couple points made earlier.

There is NOTHING that will get you comment deleted faster than putting your name as some spammy name like Texas Real Estate or Discount Jewelry. Unless your mama named you Discount Jewelry, you're headed for the trash. My blog is about community and none of my friends (or potential friends) are named Coupon Codes.

Secondly, comment on blogs you like regardless of PR. That's how you build a network of friends. Targeting the big boys will just get you ignored.

Lastly, I was on the DoFollow list for awhile. I dumped it. Why? Because people with names like Texas Real Estate were commenting just to get a link. And that's just not cricket.

Otherwise, you make some good points.

[rhyswynne]

Originally Posted by Shopping4Coupons

As I mentioned at the start that the post was my opinion, that is great that you offer another one on some points. I'm sure that in 6 years you have learned quite a bit along the way that only experience can teach you. My reference to the anchor text of the name I leave is my brand, my name for that blog. I'm sure there are a bunch of Bruce's out there and I wouldn't want anyone to think I was Bruce Lee, or Willis or even Springstein.

A side note, and I'm not saying this is a bad or a good thing, but your brand name(s) could be associated with spam. "Shopping4Coupons" and "Design and Promote" are a little grey area, "Animals Need Help" would have to be heartless to delete the comment, but "Fox Lake Fishing Tips" and "Trade Show Help" to me seem a little spammy. You could easily build up a brand with a similar name, get ranked on google, and your blog gets associated with it (my main blog gets about 50 searches a week for people searching for "gospel according to rhys", and Retro Garden ranks high in google.com and google.co.uk). Over time, with SEO on the site, you'll be seen as authoritive for your brand, and get ranked for things like "rambling welshman" or "retro games" in my case