The Friday Traffic Report - Latest Comments in Blog Commenting for Traffic

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Caleb - Market Secrets Blogger — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:47:35 -0000

Many don't realize those tags apply to Googles usage mostly...so it depends on where your main traffic source is from and of course, Google isn't the only source of getting traffic ;)

I recently wrote a piece on getting links back from the angle of using Google in the form of leaving valuable comments potentially making it on Top Commentators lists for sitewide exposure...I don't think there's anything wrong with that as long as -again- the comments have some type of value.

<abbr></abbr><abbr>Caleb - Market Secrets Bloggers last blog post..What To Do When You Don’t Get A Link Back</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

My New Daycare — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:27:52 -0000

This really puts things in perspective for me and makes a lot of sense. My new mantra while looking at myself in the mirror will be "I will not worry about Google any longer!"

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Eran Malloch - No B.S. Search — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:49:16 -0000

Hey, just a follow-up comment to this post Jack.

I took your advice and made a post on a nofollow forum and within a week I received an email asking for (paid) consulting help from the person who had initially asked for help!

So, it DOES work! :-)

Forget follow/nofollow and just ADD VALUE with your comments/posts.

Eran

<abbr>Eran Malloch - No B.S. Search Engine Marketing blogs last blog post..5 Top AdWords Landing Page Tips</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

alexander-socail media guy — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:56:06 -0000

Andrew,

That's pretty funny...never forgive. Many times even if they are wanting an seo boost the comment still has merit.

I look at it on a case-by-case basis to determine the value of the content and then how greatly I want to punish the commenting offender.

<abbr>alexander-socail media guys last blog post..30DC - Thirty Day Challenge Internet Marketing Recap</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

andrew goulding — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:30:22 -0000

It's pretty obvious when someone is commenting just to get an SEO boost.

I generally don't just devalue their comments, though. More importantly, I frequently follow the link, visit their site and make a mental note of who was responsible. Then I never forgive! (LOL)

ADG

<abbr>andrew gouldings last blog post..Xango Mangosteen Juice Tips: #8 Keep It In The Fridge</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Self Improvement — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:14:21 -0000

Man, can't tell you how happy I was to come across you post here. I could not agree more! Follow, no follow, page rank, smage rank... just do what you do already. Please!

Thank you.

<abbr>Self Improvements last blog post..Clickbank Earnings With Screen Shot Proof?</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Endy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:59:35 -0000

yup,I agree that this is not a good practice, only after DoFollow Blogs. Everyone can contribute to your blog, transport, whatever the link. But I want more, adoption blogs DoFollow policy.

<abbr>Endys last blog post..Sony Vaio laptop massive recall</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Chris Lang — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:51:55 -0000

Alexander,

No one really knows what Google is really doing. In fact I am taking a day off from my birthday week just to write about some of the new things.

At the same time, trying to figure out Google in the never ending game of "Chase Your Tale" will cost you.

However, what Google is doing right now is probably the what will be called Web 4.0 and the most revolutionary developments in the Internet since Google destroyed all the competition 5 years ago.

First of all Google is breaking most SEO software to hide what is coming and of course I believe that is the new Google social platform. I contacted my SEO top dogs and they told me, that yes, Google is breaking most tracking software and has SEO developers pulling their hair out.

Keep your eyes open, this is going to blow you away.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

alexander alaric — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:11:38 -0000

This thread has gotten huge. THat's some interesting nofollow and the ramifications of it.

I'll be interested to learn how NoFollow is followed at times as you say. Very interesting to see if there's a backdoor around what most people consider the 'dreaded' NoFollow links.

I am at best an seo intermediate skilled guy and there seems to be much conflicting info about what exactly NoFollow means and does.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Chris Lang — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:47:52 -0000

Hey Jack,

I looked up the Michelle MacPhearson test of the nofollow use in comments and it is totally flawed and should not be used for reference. Just wanted to let you know.

<abbr>Chris Langs last blog post..Does Google Give Any Weight to NoFollow and MacPherason’s Test is Flawed.</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Chris Lang — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:05:04 -0000

Jack,

You already know this but for the less WordPress skilled, here is why comment spam exists and their goal.

In WordPress, the default setting is this: Get approved on your first or any comment and then you will be OK'd by default for all future comments. Once they get you to mistakenly OK one, then the rest appear without challenge.

Also, NEVER click a link in that spam crap. Most are coded with malicious JavaScript that will destroy your machine.

DoFollow blogs are the few that require approval every time and if that is handled with diligence by the blog owner then that only improves the blog. If getting a short lived link is attractive, then being approved for addition to a relevant conversation is even better.

I have made most of my reputation in comments on blogs, whatever that reputation might be.

I do have to say Jack, yours is one of the few blogs that carry on a decent thread. Not to mention my contributions really help things too....

In my prior comment I mentioned that I figured out why NoFollow is followed at times. I don't want to explain why here so as not to tip off the spammers, but Michelle MacPhearson is totally wrong! True there is a way around nofollow in comments but it is not Google deciding to bypass NoFollow.

NoFollow still applies and Google still observes it.

Also, the link from a comment ages just like a blog post and only has weight while the post is above the fold in Blogsearch. If blog post does not pull social links and other blog links then it will sink via age. Hence the comments made sink with it.

I have always said that Digg weighs comments there heavily into the algorithm and Google does the same on blog posts. Many say I am full of crap on the comment thing but they said that when I wrote that Google could see how many Diggs a post got and that Google would buy Digg.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Alexander - social media news — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:16:15 -0000

@Chris Lang I bought a copy of your book over the weekend and didn't see the thing about blog comments carrying weight.
Is it in your book?

I would definitely like an answer to this great debate. Of course, I have been commenting on blogs and such because I've seen various evidence showing it does help your google ranking whether it's nofollow or not. And it just gets people to your site which is the main reason to do so anyway.

I've set up a Facebook group about Google Social Marketing and maybe you and Jack could contribute to the discussion there.

http://www.new.facebook.com...

Of course, anyone else who wants to weigh in on this can.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

JackHumphrey — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:38:07 -0000

@John,

I have about 1600 spams in my Akismet right now - I don't think that kind of spamming gives a hoot about follow/nofollow. The other spam, where people write "great post!" and nothing else, really isn't that bad around here at least.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

John Samarin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:11:01 -0000

Just found your blog...excellent points. Although, if the nofollow keeps out the spammers and those just dropping comments for links...that is a good thing and improves the quality of people that stick around and it increases the value.

Nofollow keeps out the spammers from my experience. I've subscribed to your blog and look forward to participating as I follow in my Google reader.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Martin Malden — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:30:14 -0000

Hey, Jack,

Great rant..!

I have to admit that I don't comment as much as I should, but that had nothing to do with the no follow issue - it was purely my lack of organisation.

However, the point you make about commenting for SEO being the wrong focus exactly mirrors the principle of 'write for your readers, not the search engines'.

At the end of the day I want real people who like reading what I write to bookmark me and keep coming back.

I was in Bangkok last week helping to set up a new site for a company there and there were 3 of us discussing how to do the SEO for this site. Apart from all the basic on-site stuff that we know we need to do, we all 3 agreed that the best thing we could do would be to fill the site with as much good content as we possibly could. And I mean PACK the site with content.

The search engines are getting smart enough to find the good sites without all the SEO tricks that have been used previously.

Cheers,

Martin.

<abbr>Martin Maldens last blog post..6 Ways To Establish Trust</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Chris Lang — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:58:56 -0000

Jack, I got you on this one! I figured out why blog comments with nofollow now carry weight. Have you figured it out yet? Hint: It's not what you think...

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Justin Wright — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:16:31 -0000

I agree that it is not a good practice to only look for DoFollow blogs. Any blog can help promote traffic, regardless of the link. However, I wish more blogs would adopt the DoFollow policy.

<abbr>Justin Wrights last blog post..A Drive Along The Apache Trail</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

alexander-social media guy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:02:40 -0000

the firefox plugin John refers to is called Search Status. I use it also and is very handy. But the core issue remains whether it's nofollow or not Google does check out where the link goes and seems to arbitrarily decide whether to count the link or not.

Ian, the tech guy has seen good results from his comments in nofollow areas. And Chris Lang I've talked to on the phone many times and he knows this stuff inside and out.

P.S. Do what Jack Humphrey recommends and get the dofollow plugin onto your blog. You can 'corner' the market for comments in your niche by being one of the 'Last Blogs Standing' which allows dofollow comments.

Remember your posts are moving off your homepage pretty soon anyway. The increased content you get from your reader's comments will far outweigh and page rank bleed off.

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Scott Hendison — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:54:44 -0000

Great post, but how sincere are you really? I've never not commented on a good post because the default nofollows were on, however, I have been more inclined to post if I notice that the blog does have a dofollow plugin (like yours), and also might be using Comment Luv (also like yours).

While I agree that there can be a lot of value in commenting on default nofollowed blogs that have traffic, there's still something to be said for good old fashioned link juice as an enticement to get people to comment... and I presume that's why you've still left it in place here... ;)

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

John Martel — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:17:35 -0000

I guess NoFollow was designed to prevent spam, but it sure isn't doing much good! Then again, I've seen plenty of times where Google doesn't even seem to abide by it, and they invented it! So I could certainly care less if a comment is no follow, or do follow.

If you comment adds to the discussion, post it. Period.

But even if you don't believe all the logic and don't want to "waste your time" commenting on nofollow blogs, why are you looking at the source code? Use a real web browser like Firefox and have it highlight the nofollow links for you. I forget which method I used, but just hit the big G with something like : highlight nofollow Firefox.

Truly nofollow or not, it seems to help to focus the PR on my sites, so I still like to see/use it sometimes on sites, but not blogs.... and to sort of laugh at all the blogs that insist on using it.

<abbr>John Martels last blog post..Your Prosperity Paradigm - Do You Qualify?</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Chris Lang — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:18:19 -0000

Oh yeah, here is my most important and most overlooked article, the Google FriendRank algorithm. Here Google tells us that they have an algorithm that can be used to overlook nofollow.

http://www.keywebdata.com/?...

<abbr>Chris Langs last blog post..Google Reader Interview With Chris Lang</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Chris Lang — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:31:54 -0000

One tactic that I employ is when major blogs refuse to pick up your article, especially when it is breaking news, you can comment on blogs to break the news yourself.

If you do this very prudently and tactfully you can make contact with the decision makers on blogs that do not offer contact information of the blogger.

Done wrong, this can label you as a spammer. If you can find major blogs with quickie articles (like copied and pasted from a press release) on a subject of breaking news you can add a comment that at times is better than the blog post.

You may even get picked up by the blog to produce a better article or at least a link in a follow up post.

<abbr>Chris Langs last blog post..Google Reader Interview With Chris Lang</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Ian Orford — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:36:23 -0000

Jack, let me just give you my thoughts as a member of Social Power Linking. We run a niche Technology Blog and we comment everywhere we can. Particular when we know we can help people make the proper choices with a purchase.

Getting involved in conversations has had an amazing effect on our traffic.

We now have inbound links from Gizmodo, Slashgear, notebookreviews.com and the top forum in our niche. These are huge sites, some of which are now referring to US as the Authority!

Thats all happened in 6 months, just because we 'engage' in conversations!

And the conversations have started to really kick in on our site as well.

And we have never bothered about no follow or follow. We just get involved in conversations as much as we can.

Cheers, Ian Orford - Editor, ThinkPadToday.com

<abbr>Ian Orfords last blog post..Thinkpad SL300, the Ultraportable Bargain of the Year?</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Tom At The Home Business Archi — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:24:36 -0000

Good information.All it really takes is to comment on relevant blogs to yours that offer useful information and not care about if it is "no follow".If you make the effort of making a really good comment, people will come to your site anyway.Bloggers should make a habit of making at least 5 good comments on blogs per day.This adds up really quickly.

<abbr>Tom At The Home Business Archives last blog post..How To Write Emails That Get Read And Make Sales</abbr>

Re: Blog Commenting for Traffic

Eran Malloch - Google AdWords — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:18:23 -0000

Hi Jack,

Spot on observation!

I too have been guilty of only posting on nofollow blogs, but eventually it sunk home that IF your comment adds value, you'll get visitors to your blog anyway - from those who read your post and are interested to know more about you and your viewpoint.

I have earned thousands of dollars in consulting fees over time, just for commenting on forums and blogs, so at the end of the day, it's the moolah that interests me WAYYYY more than the link, so I'm happy to continue commenting, regardless of the follow/no-follow situation.

I can see why Google introduced nofollow (blog spam is unavoidable these days), but everyone has gotten their knickers in a knot over it! Time to take a step back and go back to basics.

Thanks for your great post. As always ;-)

Eran

<abbr>Eran Malloch - Google AdWords Management Servicess last blog post..7 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog (Free Video)</abbr>