Comments are an integral part of a successful blog and it’s also one of the tools which can add a lot of dimension to your blog.
So what are you getting from your comments?
What, you are not sure…Ok, let’s see what all you can get from the comments. It all depends on commenting strategy, first you need to decide what do you want to get from your comments.
Since the first step is to decide what you want to gain from your comments. Your strategy can be based on any of the following:
Comments for Backlinks
Why not? Many people only want backlinks to their blog but before using this strategy you need to know that most of them could end up going in the spam folder.
This strategy includes going to many blogs in short time and leave one or two line comments with a link to your blog. I know this sounds easy and tempting but there are many drawbacks.
Many blogs owners don't entertain these kinds of comments and many of your comments might end up in trash or spam folders. So overall some of your effort will be wasted.
Other risk is that if most of your comments get marked as spam, then many spam protection software and plugins like Akismet, will start marking your comments as spam and labeling your account as such.
So for me this is one low-priority strategy, and should be avoided.
Comments for Traffic
This is one of the good strategies where you comment on the post with the intent to get traffic back on your blog.
This strategy requires some effort as you need to read the posts, understand the thought and add a thoughtful comment. You comment should add something to the post topic and if it can be eye catchy, you are in the business.
Commentluv plugin enabled blogs can be a good place for this strategy, as you can leave a related link with the title with your comment.
The drawback is that it takes some time but slow and steady this can have its benefit and can become a good pillar for driving incoming traffic. There is a additional benefit of getting backlinks with this strategy also, it’s just that the aim is to gain traffic not backlinks.
Comments for Creating Relationships
Comments can be a good way to create relationships in the blogosphere, though it requires some persistence. You can make repeated visits to the blog where you want to create a relationship and keep adding useful comments.
Along with the useful comments, you need to grab attention of the blogger also. So some references to the past blog post or some past activity can do that for you.
This strategy can take time and may not result in what you want. I believe the best way to create relationship is via guest posts, blogger interviews and direct contacts, but comments can help along with that too.
So now you know how you can formulate your strategy for commenting but this is only with execution point of view. How you integrate this strategy with your posting schedule.
You need to make sure that each of your posts gets equal exposure and a good way to do that is, to determine on number of comments for each post. I always enter 10 comments for each post and then create a Google alert to keep track of the main keywords.
A proper laid out Strategy can add a lot to your blogging effort. So you need to create your comment strategy and follow it to gain a competitive advantage.
I always use Comments,Guest posts and Forumsto get awesome backlinks 🙂
I have seen it working with Guest post and Forum, but comments some time can create issue…. 🙂
Ya Comment are the best if blog is Comment / Keyword luv enabled 🙂
Couldn’t agree more but if you want some real good quality ones, never forget to do some forums and also guest posting.
Ya I use guest posting much than commenting pal.
Hi,
I think if some one don’t know what to comment then there is no need to do a comment, but some times big lines are not really important if you can compile your thought in some lines.
But we can decide by common sense that what commentator is trying to do, I think commentators must make some sense related to post, then it will be fine.
Properly conveying of your thought is most important and most of the time can be done with small lines….
Yes that is what I’m trying to say.
Hi Sanjeev,
Comments can touch all bases you mentioned, at once, if you provide immense value with each piece of content.
Treat comments like content, because these morsels of value can draw readers, backlinks and neat relationships to you. Intro, body and conclusion. Greet someone by their first name. There is a science to writing good, magnetic comments, and it’s focused on paying attention to details.
Write a mini guest post, add immense value from your personal experience, and you will be good to go.
I count commenting as 1 of my primary traffic drivers. Amazing, how a few moments of mindfulness can draw in significant blog traffic each day.
Thanks for sharing Sanjeev!
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
You have said it correctly, comments can add lot of value but can take some time as you have to be thorough in communicating your thoughts. Many people do try to save that time and end up loosing a lot more.
Thanks for the great start for the comments on this post.
Thanks,
Sanjeev
Some times people leave valuable comments on your website and it helps a lot. For example, there was a post on some virus problem on our site and people actually started helping others in the comment section.
Yes and a good and health discussion is really good for the post as it adds lot of new thoughts and perspective to the post.
Sanjeev,
Leaving comments is a good way to build relationship and at the same time get back links to your site. However, comments also improve ones site (it’s design, content, structure, style and others) as people leave feedback on what they want and need in this section. And I think using commnetluv is beneficial for ones traffic too!
Spatch Merlin
Leaving comments with the intent of building relationship is great but time consuming…but for a long term a good beneficial strategy..
I actually just installed CommentLuv on my blog yesterday in hopes that it would help to better build a community on my site. I’ve seen what it’s done on tons of SEO, Blogging Tips, and Internet Marketing blogs in terms of getting conversations started and creating a stronger following, but have yet to see the plugin successfully used on a lot of health and fitness blogs within various niches. So hopefully this plugin helps foster social relationships on my blog since that is definitely the way the web is heading according to the top bloggers.
I think it will help, It is not dependent on niche but I agree it has been used to good extent on SEO, blogging tips or internet marketing. But it will help in any niche.
Hey Ileane
You’ve been one of my mentors for sometime now and I love you. My take on commenting is that you should know what is being talked about and add to the discussion, especially on blogs. And to support Bishwajeet above, comments are a great way to find out about new things, and write about them occasionally.
Hey Sanjeev,
You really should know what you expect to accomplish with your comments.
For me personally, comments have given me the opportunity to build relationships. Many of the thoughtful comments I’ve made around the web have brought me traffic, comments on my own site and opportunities like guest post requests, Twitter followers and Likes on Facebook. Some do bring me backlinks, but I just look at that as an added bonus.
It’s really your intention of how you go into this strategy. If your only goal is to benefit YOU, the strategy is lost because that will reflect in how you comment. Just my 2 cents 🙂
Blessings,
Liz
Hi Liz,
I agree, when you take your time and add something useful, you get more in return. I have seen many people reading the comment sections and finding useful information, if its a good on topic discussion it can add a lot.
I guess some extent of selfishness is good, it shouldn’t cover all the strategy.. 🙂
Thanks,
Sanjeev
kiler post! i was unaware about Global CommentLuv Enabled Blog. thanx for sharing it must erally help me out a lot.:)
Global Commentluv blog search engine is a good place to look for commenting opportunities. Do Check it out…
This might be sounds easy, but really, it’d be nice if you can get back links, as you’re building relationships. I know it’s not easy, but it’s still possible right?
Yup, its still possible, though not a easy road!
Hmm.. Interesting post. 🙂 But I will surely take the risk, at least I’d be able to speak my mind. Thanks for sharing this..
Looks like it was worth of a Risk… 🙂
I think that almost everyone who comments on a blog wants the backlink. But I also think that if the person wants to read the blog and learn from it as well then the backlink is just a nice bonus to commenting on the blog.
It can be a nice bonus or a good return gift…but yes there are more than that to gain….
Great information. Really separates a good honest commenting plan from just trying to get backlinks with as many possible. I always read the article and give something back with my comment.
great read
thanks
sean
Thanks Sean, Giving something back is a good strategy..it does give its returns…
Yes really Commenting means all in one package. I got a my first article by Ms.Ilean by commenting, its the best way to Create Relationships. Nice article Sanjeev.
I agree Amit, I saw the guest post on your blog, nice way to interact..
I only comment on something that interests me. Too bad many bloggers either don’t read and screen their comments, or just simply don’t care to respond. I always think that a two-way communication is the most effective.
I always believe that comment section is for discussion and a place to share ideas…if we use it correctly it can aid a lot of value to the post.
All the strategies above can actually be used in tandum. I comment because I’m interested in the subjects of each blog that I comment on. I’m also commenting because it’s a nice link-back. I’m ALSO commenting because of exposure and hopefully building relationships.
Through one simple, but awesome, comment, we can accomplish so much. 🙂
Thanks for the awesome strategy tips!
Yes it is all in one package, which can get a lot of things along with some good relationships…
Though you may be commenting to get backlinks to your blog, do not make your blog comments spammy. Make sure you are adding a relevant insight to the discussion that was fueled by the blog post and state your insight positively – even if you are of a different opinion.
Commenting for backlinks may work for short term but most of time it create issues in long term.
That is why i enjoy doing commenting, the benefits i gained not only backlinks but also
valuable tips from the article and valuable tips from other commenter.
Hey Sanjeev,
I actually use comments to determine when to write my next post…lol. I hate it when I’m forced to write a new post and my latest one doesn’t have any comments yet, So I try to link my posts through social media and wait a bit till I get some comments on it before publishing my next post.
Otherwise I’ll end up with so many posts with no comments on them, and that doesn’t look good at all. 😉
Thanks fro sharing Sanjeev.
Nice addition, one of the new way to use comments, but I agree it can be an indication to write a new article as your readers are done with your latest post…
Comments can be used in such a variety of different ways its amazing……..I know there is a lot of spam but if you can see beyond that there are some real gems out there !
I think that using blog comments will sure increase traffic into one site,I have to admit I really enjoy adding comments to other blog site cause i can gain or adopt knowledge from other commenter s. but the problem sometimes, some commenter s keeps on sharing out bound link which is not a good habit , we can consider it as spam. am I right?
Nice post Sanjeev!
Yes indeed, comments is surely something all us bloggers and writers look forward to! I guess it let’s us know in some way that our work is reaching out to the people and perhaps being appreciated as well 🙂
People do leave back-links when they comment, and also to get traffic. However, I feel that you can build great relationships by leaving comments at various blogs. And that is what builds your community, which is what matters most.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
All strategies has its own benefit, backlinks are really important for SEO purpose but yes building relationship should be on top of priority list.
Comments are an integral part of a successful blog and it’s also one of the tools which create backlinks, conversations, relations….
Blog comments are important for achieving backlinks but just engaging for backlink is not good. Blogs are a great medium to acquire knowledge and keep us updated.
Hi Sanjeev!
Comments have been my first favorite way to get backlinks.
But building the relationship with the blog owner as well as other bloggers who have been participating in the blog’s comment is also very important.
Nice to meet you here in BBT!
Kimi
Hi Kimi, Nice to meet you in BBT. This is a power of guest posting, it enables us to make so many connections. Backlink is a nice return and when it comes with commentluv, it makes it even more great.
Great post dude!
These are the 3 main reasons why I participate in blog commenting. Traffic, Backlinks and Relationships. I also do blog commenting so that I can in turn get comments on my articles and also to get blog post ideas.
Thanks for this lovely pos and keep up the good work.
and Time Consuming too…It takes time to build relationship but can have long lasting effects…
Hey Sanjeev!!
Basically I start my commenting specially for backlinking but now if I didn’t visit on blogs then very literally blogger friends on my Facebook asking me you didn’t read my article what’s the cause behind it .So I give some time for reading blogs it give me knowledge and also link back too my blog.
I think you could effectively accomplish all your goals in one unified strategy. First try to build rapport in the community and some authority with a well though out comment. Then comment as often as possible to build up some backlinks. But don’t be spammy. While it’s more time consuming than a 2 word “nice article ” comment, you’ll get more mileage out of a good comment.
Creating relationships usually ends up creating much more including possible linking opportunities. I think this step is very important in any internet marketing/blogging campaign and blog commenting can achieve this.
Really its great post for improving my blog thanks for it sharing.
I have met some really great people through comment blogging. What is great is that the blogging world has been structured already to me joining. Meaning bloggers like you, Ileane and countless others have paved the way for other bloggers to connect with each other. Commenting as we know for most blogs will show people after they comment. What a great way to check out other blogs and build relationships.
Learning from commentators has been a real benefit for me personally, since I do not consider myself a blogger at all. Rather a business blogger learning. Thanks for your educational guest post Sanjeev
Wow really great article on comments. Comments have two perspectives. One is from the blog author’s POV. Comments are like oxygen to any blog author (especially for the newbie bloggers). They can encourage the authors to write more better content.
From other POV, the great source of backlinks, exposing our name and building healthy relationships with the bloggers.
Thanks for sharing this 🙂
comments are integral part of a blog which make a blog stand out or even fall in apit
Hi Sanjeev,
Blog commenting is good as far as traffic, SEO, backlinking and building relationships is concerned. Also, comments are a really good place to start a conversation with your readers. Nice piece of information.thanks
The commenting is really tough job as I am facing the spam comments problem. Most of my comments are marked as spam……
Comments for backlinks and traffic are the most popular comments I’ve met. But sometimes there’s comments for creating relationship which is really interesting.
It seems that in non-personal blogs like this, all the comments are for backlinks, or traffic.
Yes, I agree with it comments are always usefull to get connected and get the traffic on to your blog or website.
Commenting for increasing traffic should not be based on specific lines on every where, that will create bad effect to your presence.
Secondly,
I believe commenting play a vital role in building your authority, because it shows that not only you are providing content you are there to help & educate your visitors.
hi sanjeev…
one should always try to build backlinks ..
it helps a lot in indexing as well as in traffic generation.
but commenting is a tough job as most of the comments are marked as spam..
The main point on this topic is we can get backlinks from best or high PR sites, as well as it helps a lot in indexing and hight traffic. One most important point is that when you type the comment you must type it simple and easy words.
I thought commenting is only important to regularly add content to the website. I never thought that there are more important things commenting can do. Thanks a lot dude!
Blog comments are great way build relationship with blog owner plus getting quality backlinks. But you should be more careful while commenting as wrong or unrelated comment won’t get approval and never get published.
I agree with your points. Through comment we can improve Backlink . Another thing it builds good interaction with other bloggers
thnx againg for this very informative post .. as being new to blogging it is really going to help me a lot..
Does really blog commenting helps you in PR?
The points you have discussed in this article are absolutely correct. Blog commenting can be used for multiple purpose, however the user should need to know the current requirement. Most of the times people comment to build backlinks, but since most of the blogs are nofollow they don’t get what they desire. In such a case, people should concentrate on driving quality traffic to their site by providing quality information to the blog readers. This way it helps commenter to build a good repo on other popular blogging sites.
Building relationships within commenting on popular blogs is a very effective tool. It costs nothing but can bring fantastic resalts. You should try it, definitely
Wow,Nice post.I learned a lot with this post as i am new to SEO field.Thanks for sharing such a good stuff about commenting with us..
Useful stuff. I comment on other blogs to build relationships with the new authors and to establish my gravatar everywhere in Blogospere 😉 Comments is the best way to go to do this..
I am new blogger and writer. So this is a very useful article for me.
I enjoy doing commenting because the benefits i gained not only backlinks but also
valuable tips from the article and superb tips from other commenter.
Superb!
thanks for shearing this….this was nice for the all commenter’s.
great job…
Yes it is true that many people comment , without even thinking what the post is all about, but several times , a comment may not need to be more then on or two line, and yes it is all true that commenting creates a relationship in the blogospere as told by you i love comment luv plugin a lot, as we do not only place our review by commenting but also get a valuable back link too, BTW This is a nice post by you
It may sound shallow but I comment on blogs to gain a backlink (on some, not all) and to attract traffic. In return hopefully the blog I comment on get non-spam comments from me and I do tend to revisit the blogs many times so they won’t just get one comment from me as I disappear off back into the internet. 🙂
Aside from traffic that we can get from blog commenting, it also allow us to build good relationship with other bloggers and get a significant exposure that helps in strengthening our brand.
Well written. I love commenting but always take my time to read through the post in question first, as well as some of the comments posted already. This not only helps you understand what the post is about but also to comment intelligently. Sure we get backlinks, but the other benefits from doing commenting right can be significant too.
Thanks for sharing this, Sanjeev.
The biggest benefit I get from comments is relationships. And everyone has been soooo nice and responsive. Gosh, I love social media!
The social interactivity of the commenting system I use is the main reason for my own changing from the native WordPress system or other third-party plugins.
Feel free to follow me and share!
I’ve gone about the methods of building credence with my commenting from the use of a different commenting system. One of my peeves is seeing comments loaded up with keywords and not the person’s name.
After I see this kind of comments..I immediately have the ability to “Ban-delete user” from my site completely.
I have the power!!!…lol
i completely agree with the writer comment should not be used only for the purpose of back links and yes the comments should definitively related to the post not praising the article writer but should be related to the post topic and you can even share what you know about the particular topic and make a valid comment .
visiting the same blog and commenting the new posts in the blogs creates a good relation between the blog posters. Here we follow the same above formula.
Commenting for more traffic is not an easy task i feel coz people may or may not mouse your link.
Getting back-links from blog comments is one of the best things to do but one should not overdue which leads to spam. There are various other link-building methods that are equally useful and also give the desired results. Hence there should be balance among all.
With Google’s recent attack on private blog networks that were used for backlinking purposes. Is it likely that Google will also discount blog comments that are used for linking strategies? Google has made it clear that they want natural links which seems next to impossible to generate without being extremely patient.
I use comment to create relationship , as people will know you traffic will come automatically if you write good content . For getting quality backlink I think guest posting is best way . many blogs are nofollow and it is difficult to find dofollow enabled blog .
I agree with you. Comments are not really about backlinks as most of them are no-follow and will make no difference to search engine results. You might get some traffic but Google gives less priory to such traffic. It is good for building relationships. Many other fellow blogger also eave comments and vice-versa.
I guess the main reason for commenting is getting feedback from different readers Sanjeev. I have been through the phase of getting positive and negative comments because every mind thinks in a different way.
Honestly I think the best use of comments is for developing relationships with various blog owners and other commenters. Plus we all hate comment spam, so might as well use the comment section as a simple meet and greet. To that end.. hello everyone 🙂
I must say that blog comments encourage you and it feels like someone is following your blog comments and all