Blog commenting is an excellent source of inbound links, can drive relevant traffic to your site, help build your social network and more! Reading and commenting on blogs is also a great way to keep yourself up-to-date with the latest trends in your industry, as well as provide inspiration for your own content marketing, you just need to keep in mind that things like blog management services will be a must when starting you ow blog. Here are eight blog commenting best practice tips to help make sure you're getting the most value for your blog commenting efforts.
1. Actually Read The Post
This may sound like Well, duh! advice, but you'd be amazed at how many people don't actually read the whole post. They assume they understand the concept/point of the post from the headline and write their response based on that assumption. Remember, blog commenting is about trying to build your brand and authority, so leaving a comment that completely misses the whole point of the post is actually going to hurt your authority, not help it. You want to make sure you come across as intelligent and well informed.
2. Aim For 3 Sentence Minimum
A general rule of thumb I give to all my SEO consulting clients, writing a blog comment that is at least three sentences long shows the blog owner that you took the time to read the post and actually have something to add to the conversation. Good article is nice, but what value does that give the blogger? They want to engage their readers and have a dialogue within the comments section, so be sure to actually say something of value with your comment!
3. Use A Real Name As Often As Possible
Some blog owners will let you get away with the company name as the comments author, but its better to err on the side of caution and just use a real persons name to begin with. When choosing who will be the author of your blog comments, make sure its someone that will probably be with the company for a long time. Blog commenting builds the authority of the author while simultaneously enhancing your sites link portfolio. The person who is the face behind your company's blog comments might be able leverage their personal brand and authority for a different company later on. You'll still have the links, but you wont have the name recognition that employee earned.
4. Link To Internal Pages And Social Profiles
Most of the time, blog comments will be used to create more links to the homepage of your site; don't limit yourself to just one page! You should also link to high-level internal pages (since each of those can rank in the search engines and become a potential landing page for visitors), as well as your social networking profiles. Blogs are inherently social in nature, and linking to your social profiles is a great way to help grow your social network and find new fans/followers.
5. Don't Drop Links In The Comment
Unless you are linking to an outside source to help back up your stance, avoid dropping links in the comment field, especially ones to your own site. This looks and reads spammy to the blog owner and chances are they will blacklist you from their blog. A blog comment is not an advertising platform for your brand!
6. Search For Related Blogs That Your Target Audience Might Be Reading
You don't just have to stick to blogs that are directly about your industry. For instance, as an SEO professional I also read/comment on blogs about social media, content marketing, online advertising and more. All of these related industries are things my target audience is reading about online, and I want to get my brand in front of them in as many places as possible. As long as its a relevant and related blog (and you feel comfortable joining the conversation), don't be afraid to leave a comment!
7. Know Who Is Commenting On What Blog
I usually recommend that only one person be responsible for blog commenting as part of a websites SEO strategy. This will help keep the messaging and tone consistent across blogs, plus it eliminates the risk of you and coworker commenting on the same blog. While this isn't the end of the world, it might make the blogger think you are trying to scam their blog for a few extra links and it might get you both banned. Having one person in charge of blog commenting also means that you'll never accidentally disagree with a coworker about something on the same post since you're the only one doing the commenting.
8. Identify Core Blogs And Comment Daily
Just about every industry has a set of must read blogs that attract thousands of visitors each day. Put these blogs on your commenting list and strive to leave a comment every day. Not only are these blogs great, trusted link sources, they are also a good way to help keep you up-to-date with the latest industry trends. This can help inspire your own content marketing, since you know what is hot in your industry. These core blog are probably where the big players in your industry publish content, and its important to start getting your own brand out there.
If you liked this you might enjoy How to Comment to Get Attention
