Is blog commenting a spamming?

[fahadkhan14]

I have a question for all SEOs who use this forum. I am performing research and writing a brief article on a link building factor "blog commenting".

"Is blog commenting a spamming?" If so then why it can not be winded up from Search Engine Optimization industry? Because people's purpose is just to put link of their websites. They read only a few lines of that blog and then comment.

I will add accurate and genuine answers with the names in my article at my SEO blog.

Regards

[JasonValens]

Blog commenting isn't spamming, but spamming blogs with comments is. If you're watching the top blogs in your niches (and you should be, set up a google alert) then adding comments that contribute some value to the post (You know, something actually thoughtful) then that isn't spam.
As for using some keyword phrase in your name, I wouldn't recommend it unless you can weave it in naturally.
Even if you're not building dofollow links this way, you'll still get traffic when the blogs you're commenting on are highly trafficked.
That said, spamming comments does work in the short term (though this could start a debate as to if it only works in some markets, like the eternal 'buy viagra'). But expect your site or page to take a kicking pretty quickly. If you're willing to churn and burn it could be an effective short term strategy. Just keep your naughty and nice lists seperate.

[paulgl]

At any point in time, any blog comment can be looked at by a live
person and determine that it is spam. Spam has taken on many
meanings, unfortunately. I'd say 99.999999% of all blog comments,
that include a link, are spam. They are there for no reason other than
to get a backlink. Some think they can fake it, but does that mean it's
not spam? By including a high brow sentence relevant to the post, does
that automatically mean it's not spam? Or just not looked upon as spam?

Spam is spam is spam.

I don't think google gives a hoot either way. That is, as far as taking names.

The proof is the nofollow tag. If google could determine spam, 100%
of the time, the need for nofollow goes away. But the nofollow does
not mean spam. Just a way to lessen spam's effect.

I don't think spam in this case is something google worries about.

Sometimes comments are extremely devalued. Not hurting, just
devalued. The more google goes for relevancy, the less certain things
will matter as far as SEO.

Paul

[Andrew James]

Originally Posted by fahadkhan14

I have a question for all SEOs who use this forum. I am performing research and writing a brief article on a link building factor "blog commenting".

"Is blog commenting a spamming?" If so then why it can not be winded up from Search Engine Optimization industry? Because people's purpose is just to put link of their websites. They read only a few lines of that blog and then comment.

I will add accurate and genuine answers with the names in my article at my SEO blog.

Regards

Not if the comments you leave are of value to the readers of the blog. If the link you put in the comment is going to be interesting or helpful to the readers then it's not spam at all.

[socialbookmark]

In my opinion search engines don't care the content of your comment or the ways you used for approving your comment of blogs. Its only needed that you comment on quality blogs and then search engines will effect it for ranking your website.

[deloriagod]

If the comments are like "blah blah blah -chinese proverb" or "I need to ask a question. How can I get ahold of you?" (with a "Contact Us" button on the page) then it's complete spam. Crap like that gets deleted from my blogs when I see it and the URLs get blacklisted.

Now if you take the time to read through the post then leave a comment with some value to let the poster know you read their post and have something to say about it then you're not spamming. People don't make blog posts so they can give everyone backlinks. If anything, I like to do blog commenting just to learn new things. A lot of times I'll get interested in a post, read through it, and get to the bottom only to find that comments are disabled. But it wasn't a waste because I probably learned some. And as they say, "knowledge it power."

[cbpayne]

If you are commenting on a blog to drop your link, then its spam.
If you are commenting on a blog to add value to the conversation and happen to link to your site, then its not spam.

99.999999999999999999999999999% of comments on my blogs are spam and get deleted.

[attorneydavid]

I've always wondered why wordpress allows links. Is there some way to turn that off? I don't think it adds any values and encourages spam. I have a bunch of sites I'd be perfectly happy if people had to cut and paste any links in comments.

[brianreece]

Originally Posted by JasonValens

Blog commenting isn't spamming, but spamming blogs with comments is. If you're watching the top blogs in your niches (and you should be, set up a google alert) then adding comments that contribute some value to the post (You know, something actually thoughtful) then that isn't spam.
As for using some keyword phrase in your name, I wouldn't recommend it unless you can weave it in naturally.
Even if you're not building dofollow links this way, you'll still get traffic when the blogs you're commenting on are highly trafficked.
That said, spamming comments does work in the short term (though this could start a debate as to if it only works in some markets, like the eternal 'buy viagra'). But expect your site or page to take a kicking pretty quickly. If you're willing to churn and burn it could be an effective short term strategy. Just keep your naughty and nice lists seperate.

Perfect, I agree with you.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by cbpayne

99.999999999999999999999999999% of comments on my blogs are spam and get deleted.

Okay, that trumps me!

I don't know why people think some clown with a pithy comment with a link is not spam.
Spam is spam. Google does not differentiate between pithy comments and nonsense comments. I have turned all comments off and it never has phased a blog.

I don't care about comment leavers. I care about casual blog readers and subscribers.
I have noticed that most subscribers are spammers.

Paul

[RustyF]

I have a blog. I get tons of spam every day, rarely does any of it make it live.

My blog is even "dofollow" meaning I encourage webmasters to come comment on my blog. As long as there comments provide something of value to me, I'm quite willing to give something back in return. What I give back is a dofollow link.

It is about the quality of what is said. There are many bots out there they post the same crap over and over. Lately I've seen bots leaving comments they KNOW will go into spam but they don't care because the comments are aimed at webmasters.

It wouldn't matter how good the products are, I'd never buy them if spammed to me.

Lately, I've seen one bot that pulls my article title and quotes it in the comment. i knew it was automated the first time I saw it. Since then, I've seen it several times. Someone will get smarter on how to make that look better.

If Ban Hammer doesn't stop them from posting, Askimet almost certainly will.

SPAM = all fat, no quality, not good for you.
Comments with content, blog owners love it! NOT SPAM.

[RustyF]

Originally Posted by paulgl

Okay, that trumps me!

I don't know why people think some clown with a pithy comment with a link is not spam.
Spam is spam. Google does not differentiate between pithy comments and nonsense comments. I have turned all comments off and it never has phased a blog.

I don't care about comment leavers. I care about casual blog readers and subscribers.
I have noticed that most subscribers are spammers.

Paul

Form my blog:

6,848 spams caught, 1,699 legitimate comments. So mine are about 325% spam? LOL It is worse than that because I have a plug in that stops most of it from ever getting to akismet. And the blacklisted keywords I have too that are also blocked before Akismet ever sees it.

[fba]

Commenting isn't spamming. What you say, can count as spam, so be mindful when commenting on blogs.

cheers,
Flavio

[IM Ash]

Originally Posted by cbpayne

If you are commenting on a blog to drop your link, then its spam.
If you are commenting on a blog to add value to the conversation and happen to link to your site, then its not spam.

99.999999999999999999999999999% of comments on my blogs are spam and get deleted.

So, what if I add a valuable comment but my initial intent or motive is to get a backlink?

You right! 99.9% of it is spam, even if the comment is valuable.

The truth - blog commenting as a whole will considerably diminish if the commentor could not get a backlink.

[joetheseo]

Quality Blog commenting - Not Spam

Scrapebox blog commenting - Spam

[Brad Callen]

Originally Posted by Eleva8

So, what if I add a valuable comment but my initial intent or motive is to get a backlink?

You right! 99.9% of it is spam, even if the comment is valuable.

The truth - blog commenting as a whole will considerably diminish if the commentor could not get a backlink.

It is quite clear where the line is between spam and legit comments. Self promotion is one of the biggest motivators on the web. Just because you get props and use it doesn't mean you are automatically a spammer. Google would define spam here by your motivations but I don't think you should. Your motivations can be to get a link but if you add value, spark a deeper conversation, or actually connect with the author.. that is what they want! Then it's not spam. Those that don't read the post at all are automating comments. If you approve spam that is unrelated to your post, I'm sorry, but you are making massive spam campaigns successful and they will only get worse.

Look at sites like SEOmoz and Search Engine Watch, these sites have super participation through comments and they can be very valuable. Comments are not going anywhere & unfortunately since they are one of the easiest ways to spam Google may devalue them as they have done with footer links (if they haven't already). This is a good reason to diversify your back link profile and never go with blog comments only or all profile links.

Of course you can spam with scrapebox but you don't have to. It can be quite a powerful research tool on its own. There is WAY too much comment spam and something like Akismet is a MUST!

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by Brad Callen

Google would define spam here by your motivations but I don't think you should.

If google actually could define your motivations....

Paul

[Adam Roy]

Read this post, A HUGE tip for you when BUILDING BACKLINKS - A lot of you are looking at it the wrong way.
I think it will help you out.

[Stuart Wider]

When thinking about blog comment vs spam, just reverse the question...
When do you consider that someone is spamming your own blog?
Whats your internal human spam filter?

Myself, when I see some make a genuine comment, and has obviously engaged with my content I usually approve it.

If someone says something nice just to get a backlink, I'll sometimes let is through, but might delete the link depending on the context.

Someone who adds a comment to my blog using minimal imagination and creativity would have just wasted a minute of their life ... its never going to pass muster.

So, use reverse logic to discover your to-spam or not-to-spam intentions

[rypher21]

it isnt a spam, blog commenting becomes as spam if the comment doesnt make sense and dont add up to the essence of the post.

[jyna]

I agree with rypher, blog commenting is spam if post is useless and only purpose is to get a link. Useful posts are of course not spam!

[Caleb D Miller]

What I'm doing is keeping track of a small number of mediumish sized blogs. These are blogs that I want to become part of a community with. As a rule community members contribute something that benefits others of the community as well as receive instruction.

So that's part of my procedure. You don't have to agree with the post in your comments, just show that you care and are participating. If you don't have anything that would be worth someones time to read, don't comment.

Make good habits with blog commenting (as with your other promotion and relationship strategies.) You are setting the stage for one day becoming a great influencer of people. Do it the right way.

On the funny side, here are a couple of really obviously scammy and stupid comments that I got on one of my blogs today:

"With more than thousands of blogs, i have found your blog to be great and awesome in respect of every thing like layout, writing style etc - Thanks!"

"Usually I do not write on posts, but I would like to say that this blog really forced me to do it! Thanks, very good post."

even

"nice work keep it up"

None of these provide value. Who the !#$(*&## is teaching people to do this stuff? lol.