What are Blog Comments?
Blog comments are user-generated responses, where readers can leave their thoughts, opinions, or questions in response to the content presented in a blog post.
They are typically found at the bottom of a blog post and provide a space for readers to engage with the author and other readers by sharing their thoughts, opinions, questions, and feedback.
Blog comments can be a valuable tool for bloggers to foster community engagement and discussion around their content.
They can also provide valuable feedback and insights for the blogger, which can help improve the quality of their content and build a stronger relationship with their readers.
Why are blog comments important for SEO?
Blog comments are important for SEO because they can help a website in several ways.
Helps in building backlinks
Backlinks are links from one website to another. They play a crucial role in SEO because search engines, like Google, consider them as a vote of confidence for the linked website.
When you leave a comment on someone else's blog with a link to your site, you create a backlink. This can help improve your website's authority and potentially increase traffic.
Boosts your website traffic
When you leave a relevant and thoughtful comment on a blog post, you may encourage other readers to visit your website through the backlink provided in your comment.
This can drive more traffic to your site. However, it's essential to ensure your comments are meaningful and relevant to the topic, as random or unrelated comments won't generate the desired results.
Builds relationships with others in your niche
Blog commenting allows you to engage with other bloggers or content creators in your niche. By participating in meaningful conversations and offering valuable insights, you can build relationships with these individuals.
This can lead to collaboration, guest posting opportunities, or other mutually beneficial interactions.
Brand recognition
When you consistently leave insightful comments on blogs within your niche, you increase the visibility of your brand.
Even if readers don't immediately visit your site or engage with your content, they might remember your brand later when making a purchase or looking for information related to your industry.
How to get SEO-friendly blog comments?
Here are some tips for getting SEO-friendly blog comments for your own blog:
Write high-quality content
The key to getting blog comments is to write high-quality content that people want to engage with. Make sure your blog posts are informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience.
Encourage comments
Make it easy for readers to leave comments on your blog by using a user-friendly comment system and including a clear call to action at the end of each post.
Respond to comments
Respond promptly to comments and engage with your readers by answering their questions and thanking them for their feedback.
Moderate comments
Moderate comments to ensure that they are relevant and respectful. This can help maintain the quality of the conversation and make it more likely that other readers will want to engage.
Promote your blog
Promote your blog on social media and other relevant channels to reach a wider audience and encourage more people to leave comments.
Offer incentives
Consider offering incentives such as a free e-book or discount code for leaving a comment. This can help encourage readers to engage with your content and leave comments.
Participate in the community
Participate in other blogs and online communities in your niche or industry. This can help you build relationships with other bloggers and industry professionals, and encourage them to engage with your blog as well.
How to leave blog comments?
Here is how you can leave comments on other blogs:
Start by greeting
Start your comment by addressing the blogger or author in a friendly manner. This can help to establish a connection and set a positive tone for the conversation.
Address by name
Use the blogger's name or username in your comment to personalize your message and show that you have taken the time to engage with their content.
Give a compliment
Offer a genuine compliment about the blog post or the author's writing style. This can help to build rapport and show that you have read and appreciated their work.
Add value
Add value to the discussion by sharing your own insights, opinions, or experiences. This can help to spark further conversation and engage other readers.
Humanize your comment
Share a personal insight, story, or experience that is relevant to the topic of the blog post. This can help to humanize your comment and make it more relatable.
Ask questions
Ask relevant and thoughtful questions about the blog post or the author's perspective. This can help to encourage further discussion and engagement.
Say something valuable and relevant
Make sure that your comment is valuable and relevant to the topic of the blog post. This can help to establish your credibility and increase your chances of being engaged.
Be engaging
Write your comment in a conversational and engaging tone. This can help to make your comment more approachable and increase engagement.
The parting promise
End your comment with a promise to follow up or continue the conversation. This can help to establish a relationship with the blogger and increase the chances of future engagement.
Wait for the right moment to add your links
Do not include links in your comment unless it is relevant and adds value to the discussion. Wait for the right moment to add your links and make sure that they are not seen as spammy or manipulative.
This can help to establish your credibility and increase the chances of your comment being approved and engaged with. That’s what Matt Cutts explains in a video.
How to find sites for blog commenting?
You can find sites for blog commenting in the following ways:
Google search
Use Google to search for blogs related to your industry or niche. For example, if you are in the fitness industry, search for "fitness blogs" or "fitness blogs + comment" This can help you find relevant blogs that allow comments.
Blog directories
Use blog directories such as Alltop, Blogarama, or BlogCatalog to find blogs in your industry. These directories categorize blogs based on the niche and can help you find a list of potential blogs to comment on.
Social media
Use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to find relevant blogs in your industry. Follow influential bloggers or industry leaders and look for links to their blog posts.
This can help you find relevant blogs to comment on and increase your exposure to the industry.
Blog commenting services
Use blog commenting services such as DropMyLink to find blogs that allow comments. These services allow you to search for blogs based on niche, keyword, or comment system.
CommentLuv
CommentLuv is a WordPress plugin that promotes blog engagement by automatically adding a link to a commenter's latest blog post in their comment.
This benefits both the commenter, who gains exposure and traffic, and the blog owner, who attracts more comments and interaction from fellow bloggers.
However, it is essential to note that CommentLuv can sometimes be misused by spammers looking for easy backlinks.
Blog owners should monitor and moderate comments to prevent spam and ensure that the comments section remains valuable and relevant to their readers.
Bad practices in blog commenting
Here is a list of bad practices in blog comments that can spoil your image:
Not using a full name
When leaving a comment on a blog, it's important to use your full name or a consistent username. Using an incomplete or fake name can make it difficult for other readers to engage with you or find you online.
Using a fake or inactive email
Similarly, using a fake or inactive email can make it difficult for other readers or bloggers to contact you or engage with you online. Use a valid email address that you check regularly.
Email not connected to Gravatar
A Gravatar is a profile image that appears next to your name when leaving a comment. Using an email that is not connected to a Gravatar can make your comments look less professional and may decrease your chances of being engaged.
Leaving irrelevant comments
Leaving a comment on a non-industry blog may not be as effective as leaving a comment on a relevant blog in your niche.
It's important to engage with other bloggers and readers in your industry to build relationships and increase the visibility of your brand.
Asking questions only
Asking questions can be a great way to engage with other readers and bloggers, but it's important to also contribute to the conversation by sharing your own insights and experiences rather than asking questions only.
Writing spammy comment
Writing comments that are spammy, irrelevant, or overly promotional can harm your reputation and decrease the chances of your comments being approved.
Overuse of keywords
Using your target keyword excessively in your comment or name can be seen as spammy or manipulative, and may harm your SEO efforts.
Commenting without reading the blog post
Commenting without reading the blog post can make your comments appear irrelevant or uninformed, and can harm your reputation.
Using overly long comments
Writing overly long comments can make it difficult for other readers to engage with you, and may make your comments less effective.
Does removing comments from a website affect ranking?
Google John Mueller said that removing comments from a website can potentially affect its search rankings, either positively or negatively, depending on the specific circumstances.
In some cases, comments can be valuable additions to a page if they provide extra information or insights that go beyond the main content.
Such comments can enhance the overall quality and user engagement of the page, potentially improving search rankings.
However, not all comments are valuable. Some may offer little to no value or even detract from the quality of the page if they are spammy, irrelevant, or inappropriate.
In these situations, removing or moderating such comments can be beneficial for the website's search rankings.
When a site owner submitted a question asking whether blog comments are factored into Google's search rankings, Muller answered:
“I think it’s ultimately up to you. From our point of view we do see comments as a part of the content. We do also, in many cases, recognize that this is actually the comment section so we need to treat it slightly differently. But ultimately if people are finding your pages based on the comments there then, if you delete those comments, then obviously we wouldn’t be able to find your pages based on that.
So that’s something where, depending on the type of comments that you have there, the amount of comments that you have, it can be the case that they provide significant value to your pages, and they can be a source of additional information about your pages, but it’s not always the case.
So that’s something where I think you need to look at the contents of your pages overall, the queries that are leading to your pages, and think about which of these queries might go away if comments were not on those pages anymore. And based on that you can try to figure out what to do there.
Conclusion
Blog comments can provide numerous benefits for both bloggers and readers. By allowing for two-way communication and engagement, comments can help build a sense of community around a blog and provide valuable feedback and insights.
By fostering a positive and constructive comment culture, bloggers can create a more engaging and rewarding experience for everyone involved.