Blog commenting is an incredibly valuable link building technique. Not only are blog comments are great place to get a link back to your site, blog commenting is the first step in developing a blogger outreach program. Commenting on industry blogs is how you begin to build a relationship with that blogger, which can be eventually be leveraged into guest posts or blog post reviews of your company. Blog commenting also helps build your reputation and name recognition in the industry.
Blog commenting isnt difficult, but there is a definitely a right and a wrong way to do. If you want your blog comments to go live, make sure you adhere to these 7 best practice tips.
1. Use Your Real Name Whenever Possible
Some bloggers may not care whether you use a real name or a brand name when you leave a comment, but the general rule of thumb is to use a real name as often as possible. Using your real name goes a long way in gaining the trust of the blogger and shows that you arent trying to leave a spam or self-promoting comment.
2. No Link Dropping!
A blog comment is not your personal ad platform! Unless youre linking to a report that backs up your statement, dont drop a link in the comment itself, especially a link to one of your web pages.
3. Great Post! Doesnt Cut It
Nothing reeks of spam more than a comment like great article or very useful information. Sure, bloggers love a compliment about their writing, but that shouldnt be the only thing you say. If all you can do is gush about how youve never come across a more interesting post, bloggers know youre just doing it for the link. Flattery doesnt get you far with blog commenting.
4. Look For Blogs With Similar Target Audience
One of the reasons blog commenting is so useful is because it can potentially lead to more traffic for your website. Thats why you should aim to comment on blogs that target the same audience as you. Lets say you own a pet store. You arent trying to get other pet store owners to your site, are you? Youd want to comment on pet owner blogs, not small business blogs.
5. Actually Read The Post
This may seem like a fairly obvious thing to point out, but youd be amazed at how many black hat SEO spammers leave comments that just parrot back the first sentence of the post. If you dont want to read a 5 page blog post, at least skim for the main points and comment on those. If the blogger is going to be giving you a link, the least you can do is actually bother to read the blog.
6. Contribute To The Conversation
If you disagree, thats great! Voice your opinion and say why you think the blogger is wrong (just try to be civil). If you think the blog post missed a few pointers (like blog commenting guideline #8), leave it in the comment section. Dont just be a passive blog commenter and reiterate what has already been said. Lead the conversation!
7. Talk To The Other Commenters
Blogs are inherently social in nature, which means you can interact with the blogger as well as the other commenters. Start a dialogue with someone in the comments (as long as it stays relevant) instead of just leaving a general comment about the blog. Sometimes the back-and-forth in the comment section becomes more interesting than the blog post itself!
Those are good tips, except for the “use your real name whenever possible” tip. There are a great many blogs out there on a great many topics. I’m not sure that people really want future clients or employers reading the comments they left on personal health blogs, activist blogs, or even pop culture blogs.
I try to limit use of my real name to things that will reflect positively on me if I am applying for a job or bidding on a project as well as things that I wouldn’t mind my creepy ex-boyfriend from Grade 9 reading if he decides to Google my name to find out what I’m up to these days.
Regarding #1, some use keywords as names which makes it more obvious that you’re only up for the link.
Hi Nick,
Thanks for publishing this list. I’ve been commenting on blogs here and there, but not in a very consistent way, so this helps.
And now, I need to stop commenting on yet another SEO/blogging-related blog that doesn’t have my target audience, haha 😉
Hi there.
Gosh. Now I feel like I can’t even tell someone that their posting was “a great post”, when I’ve read it and found that it was. I don’t entirely agree with your statement that: Great Post Doesn’t Cut It! When I tell someone it was “a great post”, that’s not all I write. I go on to explain what I liked about it and why and then I add to it. I’m guessing that when you said that it wasn’t all we should say, you meant that we should quality the statement by explaining why we thought it was great, right? If so, then I’m on solid ground and maybe your statement should be qualified, too. Just saying…
I had no idea that it wasn’t a good idea to drop your link, either, and I’m not really sure why it’s such a bad idea to do that. If you leave a comment that the poster enjoys, they might really appreciate having the link at their fingertips. What could it hurt? From the commenter’s point of view, are we not supposed to advertise at every opportunity?
All the other tips were great, common sense tips and I agree with them one hundred percent!
By the way…I’m no expert, so don’t listen to me if you don’t agree. Just disregard what I’ve said and take my comments in the spirit they were given, okay? I was adding to the conversation, showing another point of view and I hope I haven’t insulted you.
Sincerely,
Cynde L. Hammond
Nick, I really do agree with all the points which you mentioned in this post but I have a question, if we do not leave a link in the comment and say our comment is approved by the blogger, don’t you think that a link to our site which would be generated with an anchor text of our name would be of now worth for our site….?