Why Comments Build Community On A Blog
I have seen many posts about commenting on blogs, replying to comments, do-follow, no-follow etc… this last couple of weeks, and have commented heartily on most of these posts. I personally think it is VERY important to comment on blogs in your niche and want to give MY opinion about who/what/when and where:
Why Comment on Blogs?
First of all, it is NOT about getting links to your crappy landing page for your crappy products site, (I have a products site too, but it is not a crappy site! :-0) these links you get from commenting may have some value, but they are not as valuable as the other benefits I believe you get from leaving “quality” comments on a niche blog. If you are interested in links, go spend your time writing more unique content and get some “natural” links to your site because people will WANT to link to you.
I have been blogging for about 2yrs, and have been commenting on blogs almost as long. It has taken me close to that long to come to the realization on why I comment on blogs. I started out like most others and commented to get links back to my site. Later I started to enjoy commenting more simply because I like to express my opinions and add my points. Then I started to realize that some traffic was coming from places I commented, so I was actually promoting my site by commenting.
All these things are a good reason to comment on blogs, but I see dropping links in comments as “promotion” or “advertising”, NOT part of SEO. I link back to my site because the site owner may like my comment and then come to my site, if I have written some good content, he might return, if he/she really likes something I wrote, they might link to me from their site “naturally”, meaning they put the link in their article or sidebar etc… and I didn’t “drop” the link myself. Natural links will increase your PR 100 times faster than dropped links, Google knows the difference.
How Comments Build Community:
By having comments on your blog and commenting on other blogs, community is built. What is community? Think of it as your “neighborhood” just like if you live in a neighborhood at home. You have neighbors, and neighbors help each other (at least they do here in the south).
If you actually add value to an article by commenting, it will get noticed. If you look at your commenting like you do your content, maybe you will write better comments and people will be interested in your content too. So write good comments, be sincere, add value, argue your point (be polite) and don’t be scared to type more than 2 lines in your comment.
As for the other side (the blog owner), make it easy to comment on your site, try to reply when it calls for a reply (if someone asks a question, first time commentator, a debate is needed, etc…) and don’t EVER think you are too important or busy to reply. Some articles are in the comments, not in the post. I get so many post ideas from comments on my site(s).
Do you Help Build Community?
So, are you building community on your blog? Do you add value to other blogs by commenting? Is it too time consuming to roll your sleeves up and dig in with your community? Are you helpful to your community? Don’t be a “do as I say”, be a “do as I do” blogger!
Tagged with: Blogging • community • links
Filed under: Comments
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
I think commenting builds content. Comments add to a discussion and it is always interesting to hear different points of view.
@Rose, I agree Rose, discussion is what makes blogs better than ’static’ pages….
Thanks for stopping by!
Good one Mike. Comments should not be about link juice at all. What the hell is link juice other than an attempt to get an overvalued PR.
Like you said it’s about building a community, and if you leave good comments people will be interested in what you say, and if you pique their interest enough they will follow you to you blog. That’s what its all about.
See how many people will follow those ‘good post’ morons.
You may be blogging from the solitude of your own home, but human beings are at their core a pack species. Community is our thing and comments both reflect and build a community that is otherwise tenuously held together and constructed out of bits of data.
If in your online life your only goal is to make a buck off SEO, I have immense pity for that person. Its equally as bad as a person who writes content strictly for search engines. Write for people… engage them by commenting. Become a part of their community and they may become part of yours.
You offer some sound advice in my book.
@Jay Zuck, Great comment Jay! I like the “pack” reference too. Thanks for dropping by, I hope you like it here. Headed over to your site now….
@Rose, Absolutely with you on this. The comments are a vital part of any blog and I’ve often seen posts where the discussions going on in the comments are just as interesting as the post itself.
And for the author, it’s always great to get feedback. Comments can inspire great ideas for new posts.
I feel like a fish out of water commenting on posts like this one.
I write stories and I kind of feel like I’m commenting on sites that are about sales most of the time.
Frankly I don’t expect to get new readers when I comment on sites like yours.
I just like reading the articles.
I’m glad I found your site. You seem like a really down to earth kind of guy..
@Glen, actually, your type of site can get readers from almost any site you comments on. I enjoy your site, just haven’t had as much time to comment as I would like, should be better after the holidays pass….
Thanks for dropping by!
Excellent blog you have here. I’m a long time reader, but haven’t commented before, I just had to say how much I enjoy the site. Where did you get this WordPress theme? Is it custom? I really like it.
@Keith, Actually, I believe they do get it, but perhaps are not willing to go that extra yard and instead use the old ‘I’m too busy” line.
Commenting can really help us building a healthy community among us. Well for me I have subscribed to some blogs that from which I can get some good blogging information and I am learning new blogging tips from those blogs.
I see you use the CommentLuv plugin. That’s an easy way to encourage people to visit your blog. If I see two identical blogs, one with the plugin and one without, I opt for the one with it.
Oh, btw, as much as I also enjoy receiving subsequent comments by email, I’d suggest making that box be unchecked by default if possible. Encourage people to check the box; don’t assume they want followups.
Couldn’t agree more Tiger. The link back to your blog in the comment should be used to direct fellow readers and commenter to your blog (or one of them) which might be of interest to them – not to a product landing page.
It’s another reason why I like commentluv so much – it makes it easier to see who’s a blogger and what they’ve said recently.
You are right keith there are lots of benefits from leaving comments on other blogs once your comment appears valuble the author will a some point follows the link over to your blog and may even some of his readers in effect your are indirectly building a community of your own.