Blog commenting is probably one of the best ways and one of the most simple way to help your blog grow. Personally, I really don’t comment that much nowadays because I’m still struglling to balance all of the things that I do in my day to day life. But on my first year in blogging, since I was reading tons of blogs trying to learn other bloggers’ best practices, I have made numerous blog comments online.
Once I get used to my experimental schedule, then I will definitely include blog commenting to my scheduled blogging tasks.
Commenting on your fellow bloggers’ blogs has tons of benefits and I will enumerate them in this post. I will also share some tips on how to make the most out of this activity.
Let’s start, shall we?
Blogging Benefits of Commenting on Other Blogs
If you’re also a blogger, especially if you’re a new blogger then you will enjoy tons of benefits from commenting on other people’s blogs and some of those benefits include (but not limited to):
Builds Good Relationships with Fellow Bloggers/ Meet (Virtually) New Friends
Commenting on another blogger’s blog is like reaching out to your colleagues to introduce yourself to them. And as you go along, you’ll get to know each other more through each other’s blog posts and via your interactions in the comment section.
I have ‘virtually’ met some very kind people through blog commenting and I’d like to think of them as my blogging friends.
If you’ve read my past post about my blogging journey, I have mentioned before that one of my major reasons for starting a blog is to learn personal finance and get surrounded by like-minded people who are currently on the same journey and also those who have achieved it. I want to learn from them, emulate their successes and learn from their mistakes.
And by commenting on their blogs, also helps speed up my learning because I get to interact with the people who are sharing their respective journeys toward Financial Independence.
Drives Traffic to Your Own Blog
Surprisingly, commenting on other blogs can also drive traffic to your own blog.
How?
I noticed this last year when I was checking my Google Analytics and I saw traffic from the blogs that I have previously commented on. Basically, when you comment on a blog, you have to leave a few details such as:
- Name
- Email Address
- Website URL
This information appears on your comment and it’s hyperlinked to your website.
When a reader of the blog that you have commented on got interested in what you’ve said, then they would have the tendency to click on your link, and voila! it will lead to your blog/website.
When I do comment on other blogs, I don’t really think much about the potential traffic since my main priority in driving traffic is by writing SEO-optimized articles. I leave comments on blogs because I really want to have an interaction with my fellow bloggers. Traffic from comments for me is just a bonus from interacting with my fellow PF bloggers.
Some blogs have special features/plugins that amplify the chances of driving traffic toward those who comment on their blogs.
One example is the blog of my friend Graham of ReversetheCrush.com. He uses a WordPress plugin called ‘Comment Luv’ that pulls out the latest article of the blog that comments on any of his posts. This is a very generous way of promoting the content of your fellow bloggers via your blog.
As you can see, the link to my blog post appears just below my comment on his blog post. I think this is also a great way to encourage people to comment and interact on your blog.
I’m thinking of implementing this on my own blog as soon as I get to improve my Site’s Speed.
In the meantime, I have installed a widget on my sidebar that showcases the links to the blog of the latest commenter and the article that they have commented on.
Since it’s on my sidebar, the links appear on all of my blog posts and pages. Maybe this is the reason why I’m getting tons of SPAM in my comments section hahaha… I will probably use ‘Comment Luv’ instead once I get to improve my site speed. In the meantime, this will stay on my blog.
PS
I have decided to remove this for a few days to see if it affects the number of SPAM that I’m constantly getting.
Helps Build Your Brand
Leaving comments on other people’s blogs can also help build your brand. As I have said earlier, when you leave a comment on someone’s blog, you will have to type in your Name/Blog or Website URL and Email address. Your ‘Name’ or Your Blog’s Name will appear on your comment.
If you consistently leave numerous comments on a lot of blogs then your brand will have visibility to more and more people especially if you’re leaving comments that contribute to the overall value of the post that you commented on.
This also goes the other way around if you’re not careful in leaving comments.
Improves Your Overall SEO
Most blog comments are ‘no-follow’ which means it’s not as valuable as ‘do-follow’ links. However, it still is an external link that sends a signal to Google that you are a reputable website, especially if you’re only commenting on other reputable websites.
Google tries its best to find the most relevant answer to their user’s questions and one of the ways that they do this is to find the most reputable websites that produce the information that they need.
In my humble opinion, even if a blog comment is a ‘no-follow’ link, it still helps your SEO in one way or another.
Increase Your Chances of Growing Your Own Followers
People follow our blogs, social media accounts and subscribe to our email lists because they find value in what we write. As I have said earlier, when you leave a comment on another blog, there’s a high chance that their readers will also go to your blog specially if your comment is perceived to be helpful and valuable, or at least entertaining.
Once they get into your blog, then your content will be the deciding factor if they will follow/subscribe to you or now.
Related Posts:
Basic Do’s and Don’ts of Blog Commenting
Do Not SPAM
I think I receive around 30 – 50 comment SPAMS a day. And because I use an Anti-SPAM plugin, most of these comments go directly to my SPAM folder. However, from time to time, there will be some that will appear on my main inbox.
It’s quite easy to detect them though since they put links on their comments and their comments, most of the time do not make sense and if it does (sometimes), it’s really generic. You’ll know that they didn’t really bother reading your post and the only reason why they commented is to put a link on your website.
Read the Blog
If you will be leaving a comment, might as well read the post. This is the reason why blog commenting is perceived as a tedious way to build links because, in order to leave a decent comment, you have to, of course, read the entire post. And since most bloggers nowadays are writing long-form content (including myself), it really does take some time to read and then to compose your comment.
Think of Your Brand
When you’re commenting on other people’s blogs, it will stay there for as long as the blog is online. If you’re building a brand then this is something to keep in mind. Your comment might be the first and last time their readers will see your brand especially if it didn’t create a good impression on them.
Add Value to the Post
Adding value to the blog post that you’re commenting on does not need to be complicated. You can share your personal experience or you can add some suggestions or recommendations that you think will be of great value to their readers. Personally, I don’t always think of this especially on certain blog posts that don’t need additional inputs. It’s like when you’re talking to a friend and you really don’t need to provide a solution/suggestion but you just have to be there to listen and to provide support, something like that.
Be Polite and Considerate
Regardless if you’re also a blogger or not, politeness will go a long way. A lot of bloggers I know are blogging just for the sake of blogging. They enjoy blogging and they’re not in it just to profit.
Sure, getting profit from doing something you love would be nice but earning from a blog is very difficult. Otherwise, everyone will be blogging right, if money just easily flows out of every blog.
Having said that, a lot of bloggers still continue to blog even if they’re not earning. So please, if you’re going to comment to ask for something, please be polite and considerate about it.
Be Yourself
As I have mentioned, blog commenting is a great way to meet (virtually) fellow bloggers online and build good relationships with them. Be yourself or better yet, be a better version of yourself. Treat your comment as an actual conversation with another person because basically, that’s what it is.
If you can’t be yourself, then be a Unicorn! LOL! Just kidding!
Related Posts:
Final Thoughts
I feel that I’m getting used to my new (experimental) schedule and I can’t wait to read other people’s blogs again and to interact via their comment section. This is actually one of my favorite things in blogging, to interact with other bloggers via the comment section.
I love reading blogs because, in one way or another, it gives me an opportunity to peek into someone else’s world. It takes me somewhere that I have never been before and commenting on a blog makes you a part of that world, even for just a few seconds.
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