Blog Commenting - The Lost Art

[sgsmorgan]

Blog Commenting has been getting a bad rap for some time now and I think this is unfair. It is not the actual nature of the act itself (this makes it sound like a criminal offence) but the way it used.

We somehow seem to have lost the ability to talk or communicate with each other and as such are missing out on loads of opportunities to both grow our own communities but also to participate and help grow others.

Too often in the past we just hand these seemingly mundane marketing tasks to outworkers or a series of automated tools and then expect to see the maximum return from the minimal effort.

This may well have worked for a period but with Googles new Algorithm change I believe this is changing also. There have been a great many articles, ebooks etc written about Googles new change but I think the fundamental prime mover to this all is a drive the improve the quality of “the online stock”.

This I believe is no bad thing and one of the things that I really think is overlooked is responsible Blog Commenting. Again too often this, as I said is handed down to outsourcers and utilities and as such degenerates into a morass of poorly written and composed Blog Spam without as much of a by or a leave in relation to the Blog we are attempting to comment upon.

I want to run through a series of video analyses where we can perhaps look at a number of live Blog Situations where we can perhaps “Think out of the Box” and generally see an improvement in our Blog Commenting. The positive upside of this is that better quality Blog Comments stand more of a chance of getting published and such the commentator stands more of a chance of getting a good link.

Lets kick this topic off with the following video that we put together recently whereby we analyse a Blog Url that has a Page Rank of 3 and we run through what we believe should be the correct way to approach this Blog.

YouTube - Blog Commenting - The Lost Art

Let me sum up by stating here and now that this topic is not about the mindless and seemingly endless spamming of Blogs but how to use this type of marketing medium properly. Let’s all get our hands dirty here folks and contribute and see if we can’t try and raise the bar somewhat here.

In future posts we plan to take a look at different Blogs on different domain suffixes where technically the rationale behind the Blogs either is or was originally different and how best to approach these. In some cases these Blogs either contain potentially awkward or uncomfortable subject matter but this shouldn't be an issue for those wishing to contribute responsibly and helping to "add something to the food chain".

[OKFarmgirl]

I only post on sites related to mine (organic gardening) and only then if I have a question about the topic or something useful to contribute. "Hey nice site" just don't cut it and it doesn't help me or the site owner. I like taking the time to visit related sites because more often than not, it gives me an article idea or information for my own garden that I didn't have before. I can't watch the video because my internet SUCKS, but thanks for addressing this topic. I HATE getting spam comments and I always delete them straight away.

[Ozwald01]

Yes, it is nice to make a relevant and informative comment on someone else's blog.
Hopefully they might reciprocate.
Can this help get backlinks to your own website?

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by OKFarmgirl

I only post on sites related to mine (organic gardening) and only then if I have a question about the topic or something useful to contribute. "Hey nice site" just don't cut it and it doesn't help me or the site owner. I like taking the time to visit related sites because more often than not, it gives me an article idea or information for my own garden that I didn't have before........I HATE getting spam comments and I always delete them straight away.

Sometimes it sits nicely amongst our backlinks profile to have links from a variety of "theme" associated sites or as Google describes them "semantically linked" but also now and then a few links from a few "off the wall quality sites look good as well.

It's all down to the quality of the blog poster and commentator really. The name of the game should really be to enhance the copy online and to complement the initial post. Do this and the chances of your Blog Comment getting approved rises drammatically. It's not Rocket Science (it's blog commenting ho ho) but you'd be surprised at who misses the point.

Your last point is 100% on the mark. Why do folks do it as to be honest the majority of Blog Comments end up in Spam bins anyway?

Think before you post should be the motto here.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by Ozwald01

Yes, it is nice to make a relevant and informative comment on someone else's blog.
Hopefully they might reciprocate.
Can this help get backlinks to your own website?

Yes it helps your Back Links profile very nicely indeed. A good comment will almost always result in increased traffic as well.

[claudejean123]

Yes I agree. Blog commenting is a good way of generating a unique backlink to your website... Nowadays, it's just a second choice for SEO's for they prefer forum posting rather than commenting.

[SeoWizzard]

I think you can easily get most of your comments approved IF you provide some quality information or some general concern in form of a question, to your comment. I do this with edu type of blogs and they mostly get approved.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by claudejean123

Yes I agree. Blog commenting is a good way of generating a unique backlink to your website... Nowadays, it's just a second choice for SEO's for they prefer forum posting rather than commenting.

The thing with the Internet is such that everything moves in cycles. Blog Commenting is and should in my view, coming back into vogue again with Googles new drive for better quality. Blog Comment links show up by and large much faster in back links profiles and I think have a much better chance of being seen through all the "clutter and noise" of some forums.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by SeoWizzard

I think you can easily get most of your comments approved IF you provide some quality information or some general concern in form of a question, to your comment. I do this with edu type of blogs and they mostly get approved.

Totally, it's all about what you contribute and say. If you contribute in a meaningful manner then you'll get your comment approved and the benefit of a nice back link. If the EDU market is one that you are aiming for (and who isn't) then Blog Commenting provides amuch easier route to go down than EDU forums where access can be pretty limited.

[findmemak]

yes, a good comment will almost always result in increased traffic as well keywords ranking.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by findmemak

yes, a good comment will almost always result in increased traffic as well keywords ranking.

Spot on and the key thing here, and this is where commenting on other non topic Blogs can be useful, is the quality of the comment and what you bring to the overall discussion in hand.

This is something that we'll look at in later posts. How to approach non topic related Blog Owners in a "non spammy" manner.

[JBanis]

hi Steve.

yeah I think people generally know that doing things manually and making in an effort is better. I think its not a bad thing.

But...there is a whole community out there that seems to be creating, or needing to create, thousands of links etc...they will never be go that route of manual blog commenting right? Automated approaches aren't going to go away...so perhaps the willlingness to do manual commenting depends one how competitive your niche is and how many links you need?

Interesting discussion.

Jan

[faysal969]

I think comments should be relevant to the article. Interesting, important and informative comment mostly approved. And comments with question is also good.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by JBanis

hi Steve.

yeah I think people generally know that doing things manually and making in an effort is better. I think its not a bad thing.

But...there is a whole community out there that seems to be creating, or needing to create, thousands of links etc...they will never be go that route of manual blog commenting right? Automated approaches aren't going to go away...so perhaps the willlingness to do manual commenting depends one how competitive your niche is and how many links you need?

Interesting discussion.

Jan

I think if most people study what Google are trying to achieve then whether they like it or not the mass creating and blog spamming route is not the road to go down. It creates too much of a footprint and is much too easy for the SE's to spot and nullify.

Sooner or later folks will realise that there is a place in the armoury for select dedicated blog postings that create value as I have said in the food chain and help the blog owner in the quality content stakes.

Bear one thing in mind here and that is that for the really valuable non commercial blogs the thought of getting massive amounts of spam content constantly rotating in their pages thereby supposedly activating constant revisits from the various Bots is not an appealing one. They are more interested in getting quality and not quantity.

It’s very much a case of “play by their rules or don’t play at all”. I know in cases like these what my advice is always to clients.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by faysal969

I think comments should be relevant to the article. Interesting, important and informative comment mostly approved. And comments with question is also good.

Exactly, create a dialogue. One that is interesting and informative. This is something that lots of folks nowadays seem to have “lost the art of…”. If you don’t engage the Blog Owner with informative dialogue and information then they are hardly likely to let your copy (and resultant link) loose on their readers.

In a lot of cases these Blogs are very much an extension of the Blog Owners personality and as such should be handled with care.

All it takes a little more time that’s all. The smart thing to do in cases like these is to start to assemble a generic swipe file so that as you engage in more comments you become much more used to communicating with Blog Owners, know what buttons to press and what results to expect etc

[cma01]

I posted this on another thread, but I have a friend who has a very well established blog. She is the top site in her niche, which is pretty competitive.

Even though she is the main "authority" site in her niche, she still makes a daily routine of visiting and posting on 10 to 20 related blogs a day.

Of course, there are times when you might be just commenting for a backlink, but it is also a good way at creating and establishing a community of people interested in your niche . . . insulating yourself from the bipolar swings of Google.

Also, you can get traffic from it as well. There are comments that I made years ago that I still get several hundred visitors per month from people clicking through on the comment link.

[SEO Agency]

Blog commenting is a good source of quality link as long as you do comment on the blog that is related to your niche, make your comment as nice as possible and not look spammy.

[EvaDermot]

Its not so, blog commenting is still working in the same way as it was working.

I little changes can be seen is today we need natural link building, so including all type of link building would help a lot.

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by EvaDermot

Its not so, blog commenting is still working in the same way as it was working.

I little changes can be seen is today we need natural link building, so including all type of link building would help a lot.

Exactly, good tried and tested techniques will never really go out of fashion. They might dissappear off the radar for the odd moment as the IM Gurus need something fresh and new to sell to folks whether the new techniques are good or not.

There will always be room for good Blog Commenting and certainly more so now that Google have publicly stated that they are "on the march" for quality content.

[rwtbkk]

A side benefit to commenting is gaining authority. As a previous commenter noted her friend with an authority blog is still commenting on other blogs. It raises your visibility and perceived authority to others reading those blogs too. Not to mention gets traffic if you comments are considered to be worth reading. Spam comments get you in the trash where they belong. I love having intelligent comments on my blogs and I am sure a lot of other bloggers do too. It is a win win for everyone when done right.

[julie9999]

Blog Commenting is very important now also it is very useful for getting backlinks and traffic but relevant niche blog comment is always very useful.

[Chevy5]

I agree with rwtbkk. When I get a comment like "nice post" it goes in the trash. When I first started I was a little more lenient, now I send most comments to spam or trash right where they belong.

[Fazal Mayar]

I agree, i often blog comment for the sake of the link and not for the sake of just leaving a comment and encourage a community feedback or thank the author in reality.

[sidharthbanyal]

blog commenting should be done on relevant topics. it encourage author to write more.

[jonnyhardbaked]

Don't make it too hard for blog commenting. Just post relevant comment to that particular blog and it's up to the owner if he/she will approve your comment or not.

[OKFarmgirl]

Originally Posted by sgsmorgan

Your last point is 100% on the mark. Why do folks do it as to be honest the majority of Blog Comments end up in Spam bins anyway?

Think before you post should be the motto here.

I had to delete 3 today alone (Elizabeth Taylor article) - I can't STAND blog spammers, and even when it sounds like someone saying "Gee whiz, this is a great site - thanks for the tips" - and then links their website, I just don't see the value and I spam out the comment.

[Errol Daludado]

Let's say your comment adds value to the post. even with a good comment, what are the chances that the moderator will approve that post with an anchor link like "xyz product review"? the post will clearly be recognized as spam woud it not?

[sgsmorgan]

Originally Posted by Errol Daludado

Let's say your comment adds value to the post. even with a good comment, what are the chances that the moderator will approve that post with an anchor link like "xyz product review"? the post will clearly be recognized as spam woud it not?

This is where you have to think before you post. If you feel that the modertor is going to not post your article then perhaps think with a different title perhaps your name, bearing in mind that Google and the search engines do look favourably on a variety of anchors for backlinks as this makes it more natural.

That have been said, I picked up a nice PR4 Link the other day by using the anchor "Authority Backlinks on Tap" which is fairly specific and lets the moderators know where you coming from plus I also picked up a PR4 link with the anchor "Simple Leveraging". How did I do it? I engaged wioth the blog owner, did some research on the Blog and made a comment that contributed to the debate.

The above having been said however I also spoke to the owner of a fairly authoritative Blog last week and his opinion was that he didn't really mind what the title of the Blog Commentor was, the only thing he was remotely interested in was the content of the post. Junk content goes straight into the bin whereas quality content as long as the anchor/title was ethical and legal got in.

[seoservices1]

Yes

Blog Commeting is should be done on relevant your topics. and With good comment. This way is long time increase black links in your web site.

[mandark]

Let's say your comment adds value to the post. even with a good comment, what are the chances that the moderator will approve that post with an anchor link like "xyz product review"? the post will clearly be recognized as spam woud it not?

I get around this problem by posting as Name @ Keywords (for example, Mike @ XYZ Product Reviews). The anchor text isn't as good as if it were just the keywords, but it's showing the blogger that you respect their blog and want to make a real contribution.