Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

How To Strategically Comment On Other Blogs

March 10, 2009 | Blogging, Feature

Being a regular reader and commenter on other blogs in your niche is a great way to build your brand and bring some traffic over to your own blog. This is probably nothing you haven’t seen before. However, have you ever thought about your strategy to actually doing it?

Many people hear that it is a traffic builder to comment on other blogs and they simply just go out and start bloviating on other blogs. That is the wrong approach. I don’t know how many times I see a comment come through on my own blogs that says something like:

This is a great post. I have bookmarked it and will definitely come back again.

Well, that’s wonderful. But, it is a totally USELESS comment. Moreover, you can usually tell it is just a lame attempt for traffic because they’ll put some keywords into the name field and a link to their site. Personally, I don’t approve comments like this. It is a waste of my time.

Now, I know that there will always be blog spammers. Writing a post like this which talks about how to post a comment is going to ring hollow on these people because half the time it is a robot doing the posting anyway. However, if you want to gain maximum benefit from posting on other blogs, there are some rules of the road.

Don’t Worry About SEO

Blog comments are almost never going to result in search engine juice for your blog. Why? Because most blogs use the nofollow attribute on links in comments. This means that search engine spiders are being told NOT to follow that link. That means – No Google juice for you! ;)

So, your audience with a blog comment is actual people – not search engines. Don’t worry about putting keywords in the name field. It just makes you look like a spammer.

Use Your Name

On a related note to the above, I recommend that you use your real name or your brand name in the Name field when commenting on another blog. In my case, I will always use my name (David Risley) when commenting on a blog. Even if I comment on a tech site, I’ll use my name. Now, I could post as “PCMech” and that would mean that I am commenting while representing the BRAND of PCMech.com. I could also post as “David Risley @ PCMech” and that would be fine. However, you will never see me post a comment using a name like “Computers and Technology”. It is stupid. It is meaningless. And it serves no benefit to my brand.

Focus on VALUE

Every single comment you post on another blog is an outpost for your blog. That means that it represents YOU and your blog to that blog’s audience. So, use it as an opportunity to carry your brand over to that audience.

For example, if I post a comment on ProBlogger, if I just post a stupid comment like “This is a great post, Darren”, then I add no value whatsoever. It isn’t going to tell anybody reading ProBlogger that I know what I’m doing and that my blog might be worth reading. It would be a lazy, half-ass attempt at self-promotion. However, if I post a comment which backs up whatever Darren is writing about and adds to it, providing some actual value to the reader and to Darren’s blog post, then I’ve done something useful. His readers are more likely to gain something from my comment and are thus more likely to check out this blog. If there is a tasteful and strategic way to “hook” the reader into checking out my site, then I might do that, too. For example, providing a useful comment and then mentioning that I covered it in more detail on my own blog.

This point is the most important in this post. Every comment should be something worth reading.

Think About Relevance

You will get maximum benefit from comments when you are commenting on blogs which are related to your’s. If I linked to PCMech while posting a comment on some celebrity gossip blog, then I have almost zero chance of gaining a reader.

When choosing sites to be active on, choose blogs related to your niche. Find out who the top bloggers are in your niche and comment there. But, don’t just go for the a-listers in your market. Don’t ignore the smaller bloggers in your niche, either.

Lastly, when posting a comment on a blog, always use the URL field for the comment to link to whichever blog is MOST relevant to that blog’s audience. If you only have one blog, then just link to it. If you have more than one, then always present the most relevant blog.

Use a Gravatar

Many blogs use gravatars and you should have one. It means so much more to your brand recognition than simply your name because many people tend to be more visual. For more on gravatars, read this post.

To wrap up, I highly encourage you to comment on other blogs in a strategic fashion rather than just shooting from the hip and peppering the blogosphere with your links. Every blog comment you post should be treated like a mini blog post.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

  1. A Blogger’s Checklist for Guest Posting On Other Blogs
  2. My Favorite Bullcrap User Comment Of The Week
  3. Blog Comment Spam – A Sign of Popularity?
  4. Making Money with Blogs
  5. Why Some Blogs Just Can’t Make Money

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  • Agreed Sir David. There are other ways to get traffic via comments then waiting for G to crawl them. Write a good reply, have a engaging photo of yourself or your company logo w/gravatar and just type your url like "MyBlog.com" below your comment if they do not seem to be allowing hyperlinks and IF it seems appropriate (use good judgment). If you seem interesting, then people will copy/paste your url and find you.
  • Its worthy as well as very important information. Doing great job to sharing it. Thanks a lot for sharing this Incredibly useful article with us. Keep blogging.
  • David
    That was a great help, but i was wondering (this is off topic) but does google pick up these DISQUS comments or not, because if it is Java I don't think it does.

    Please contact me it google does pick these up.
  • genecoleman
    This post has been helpful. It has made me think more about a gravatar. Prior to this, I never gave much thought about a gravatar. I thought of it as just something pretty useless. I will now get one and try to create a presence. thanks
  • This is a very helpful post for me. I follow a variety of blogs for a variety of reasons. I am following people like you, David, because I am a new business owner, and I find your blog to be extremely educational. My blog is only a part of my business, but it IS a part of my business, so I benefit a lot from the information I pick up on these blogs.

    I am someone who reads a lot and comments little. I don't see the point in commenting when one has nothing of value to say. I guess it's just the way I am. I fully believe that "time is money," and I don't like for people to waste my time, so I try not to waste theirs, either. Why post a "me, too," you know?

    Have a great day!
    Jennifer @ JenniferLynn Productions
  • Hi David,

    I agree with all your points on strategically commenting at blogs. As you rightly pointed out, comments are meant for people and not for the "spiders". Point well taken... But don't you think Comments are also a means to provide feedback to the blogger?

    For example, I read a wonderful blog post (something like yours :D) and have nothing much to add to it... But I really wish to appreciate the Blogger for what he has written, that would serve as a positive feedback. A lot of positive feedbacks like these might make the Blogger feel that he/she is in the right direction.

    In this case, would you call this a lame comment? Any thoughts?

    Regards,
    Ashwin
  • I think your right. A comment can also serve as feedback. But still you should elaborate why you like the post, and not just: "Nice article, thank you".
  • I am an avid blog commenter. I agree with almost every thing you say except your comment about nofollow. Yahoo does not follow the "Google Nofollow Convention." You can easliy check the links that Yahoo shows to your site and they do not discriminate between nofollow and dofollow.

    I believe that the nofollow idea is totally misunderstood by most people. Google has said that they will not leak Google Page rank through links that are nofollowed, not that they will not follow the link.

    Rick

    I believe nofollow is great for channeling the google page rank around your own website but a nofollow link from a high ranked page is still a valuable link.
  • Some excellent points. Let me leave a nonsense comment and see if I get any traffic :)
  • It's always good to see that your posts confirm a lot of what I'm doing right, however I never cease to pick up a nugget or two on top of it of things I can do better.

    The concept of added value so people have a "desire" to visit my blog is crucial and I get it.

    Since I've started up a new blog basically and have started from scratch I'm reminded to get out there, network and don't be a blog potato! (Someone who just posts & then sits and waits for traffic to magically appear)

    On top of that its not only the importance of bringing in traffic but the quality of relationships that I've created by making an effort to get involved in the community & get to know those people.

    Since I blog about personal development and the development of relationships on line & off, your post didn't just ring about about how to properly "engage" but more importantly how to "connect" with them!

    Thanks!
  • I think this is my first blog comment ever. I have been reading your blog for a few weeks now.. Very helpful stuff... Thank you! I started a blog for my company a month or so ago. (No Comments on it yet) I have been designing and building eCom stores for almost 10 years now and never paid much attention to blogs until now. I just signed up for a Gravitar because of the post you wrote last week and hopefully will be making regular comments on relevant blogs. This is going to be fun!
  • I've actually noticed that commenting on the smaller and mid-sized blogs in a niche (of course using useful comments) tend to bring more potential readers to a site over any of the larger blogs in a niche.

    Maybe that's just me and the niches I have blogs in but it does seem to be the case from my experience ;)
  • Another great tip is make sure that you type your email address correctly. Other wise your gravatar will not show up as you can see in my comment above this.

    So besides proofing the comment also proof your name, email and site. :-(
  • This is a great post, David


    lol, sorry I couldn't resist.

    But seriously, I have seen a lot of those on the "big" blogs. Luckily I was able to learn early and not look like a dope. I honestly have not spent enough time commenting on other blogs. The blogs I have been commenting are blogs like yours here because I truly have something to say. Even though your readers may not have any interest in my blog. I do need to start getting involved in some blogs in my niche as well.
  • Back in the days of proto-blogging I always found that starting a genuine conversation with someone was the best way to get attention. In other words, give interest to get interest.

    That became even more true when "comment technology" came on the scene. (Back in, uh, 2000?) The ability to leave a comment of someone else's blog is power that, used responsibly, can deliver great benefits. A thoughtful comment that engages the poster or other readers can help build reputation and promote interest in one's own site.

    A clueless or tossed-off comment is like littering in someone else's living room, or even worse.
  • I have been a big proponent of the power of comments if done right and have written more than a few posts on the subject. The latest one is here if you are interested http://www.winextra.com/index.php/2009/02/26/th...

    In this day of Twitter and blah blah quick thoughts blasted out to friends and followers I still think that for bloggers the comments they make on other blogs and the comments readers make on our home blogs are much more long lasting.
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