Blog commenting has long been a spammers
haven, with blogs allowing auto approved comments, some blog webmasters
just approving non-sensical comments, and basically many people thus
believe that blog commenting no longer has any SEO value. But many
people still do it; they are just doing it incorrectly. Most blog
comment links are “no follow”, meaning that the search engine spider
doesn’t consider it for ranking purposes directly. However, since link
diversity has always and will always be a key factor in ranking, there
will always still be value in blog commenting. It is just the type of
blog comments that you are after that will make a difference to your
linking and ranking campaigns.
Attaining “no follow” links helps your link portfolio appear natural,
which is something that the search engines pay attention to. Blog
commenting also has benefits that go beyond link building. Commenting on
industry blogs is a way to get noticed in the industry and
share/promote your knowledge. Blog comments can generate traffic to a
website or blog. Of course, spending time doing blog commenting is only
worth it if the comments actually go through and are posted on the blog.
Because blog comments are a prime target for spammers, most blog owners
moderate comments and only allow a select few to get published. So here
are some tips to improve the chances that a comment will be approved:
1) Always use your real name
It goes without saying that if you are using your anchor text
directly in the “name” field of the comment, you are more than likely
just looking for a link rather than adding any value to the blog. I can
bet you that the majority of these comments will never go through, and
will only likely do so if the comment is unmoderated. Your best bet is
always to use the name of an actual person, preferably someone that
holds a prominent position within the business like the owner or the
CEO.
2) Comment content needs to add value to the blog
The cardinal rule when commenting on blogs is to actually add value
to the discussion, and the way you do that is by actually reading the
blog post. “Great post”, and “Love your work” are not adding much value.
They may get through some sites, but what you want to aim for is a 90%
approval rate. Ideally blog comments should be at least a few sentences
long showing that you put some thought into it. Questions within
comments are also a good way to invite dialog with the webmaster
3) Always spell check your comments
Make sure that you grammar check and proof read your comments. With
blog commenting sometimes outsourced to non-native English speaking
countries, most webmasters will quickly cotton onto this as a technique,
so make sure you are not seen as a blog spammer just because you did
not spell check your comment.
4) Don’t always go promoting yourself
Insightful comments will naturally lead a reader to investigate more
about you or your site. Blatant self promotion within the comments will
more than likely not get approved, but you can still attempt to self
promote by linking to a related article on your site, or by adding value
to the discussion by leading visitors to your own blog posts.
Obviously, there is no foolproof way in which to assure blog comments will be approved,
but make sure that the time you spend on blog commenting is worth the
time invested. Hitting 100 sites with only a 10% approval rate is not
worth your time, so rather spend more time on effective blog commenting
and get 20 or so comments approved out of 30. That is a way better
return on your time invested. Good luck
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