January 8, 2008 Comments (19)
This is all good information. These are good practices for any blogger. The more comments I see, the more credibility I give to the publisher. Paid blogs rarely get any feedback and people who blog for the reason of providing information usually have people who return and contribute.
I may have to post about this topic as well since it got my brain churning this morning. I wonder if Google takes comments into its algorithm when determining blog strength. They have slowly been reducing the power of blogs thanks to paid linking campaigns. Perhaps community involvement would boost your authority. You never know what those guys have up their sleeve. What do you think Mack?
Brian I think it's good to remember that comments come from people that want to know that their contributions are appreciated. These are people that are willingly adding to the value of your blog.
Also, keep in mind that as people become a regular commenter on a blog, they become far more likely to promote that blog to their friends. They will even promote the blog simply based on the comment they have left. Several times I have been using Twitter and in the middle of a discussion, someone will post 'That's the same point I made in the comments here', and then they would post a link to a blog they had commented on.
All valid points Mack; I really think that letting people know you appreciate the comments is one of the best things you can do, great post!
Ben I agree. I think it's key to understand that your readers can contribute as much if not more value to others via their comments, than we can through our posts. I try to view my commenters as partners that are helping me create value for my readers at my blog. When you have that mentality, it's much easier to appreciate the value that comments can add!
And thanks for yours!
nice - also link out freely to others to share the juice and traffic :)
Hobo, linking out is covered in Part 2 of the series today:
http://www.searchengineguide.com/mack-collier/how-to-get-more-comments-on-your-blog-by.php
There is a plug-in that emails commenters, that could be perceived as nice and thus encouraging comments. This is similar plug-in, in that emails former commenters when you leave a comment. http://www.u-g-h.com/?page_id=320
Good post - a lot of the points raised are simply common sense and common courtesy. By offering your readership something worthwhile you'll hopefully get something back in return. This all helps towards building a community.
Caravan I agree, this should be common sense for companies and small businesses that are blogging. But unfortunately, many view their blog as a 'what can we get out of it' deal, instead of trying to find ways to create value for their readers.
Another thing that can help encourage comments is to actively participate in your niche and comment on other blogs. If you comment on someone else's blog regularly, the owner of that blog is likely to have a look at yours and will probably return the favor.
The guys at Freelance Folder are good at this -- they outright harass you into leaving a comment, and the strategy obviously serves them well. It's always nice looking into your comments section and seeing that your visitors are getting into a conversation with eachother without you even being there. They say blogging is all about the community, and it's fantastic to see that in action.
Pete that's great advice, and I cover this and other ways you can get more comments by leaving your blog in part two of this series:
http://www.searchengineguide.com/mack-collier/how-to-get-more-comments-on-your-blog-by.php
To professional bloggers, they have a lot of time to publish posts, but most of us are not professional, so it is hard for us to create a regular posting pattern.
Thank you for your advice, it's helpful.
Jackie you're right, sometimes work can get in the way of writing new content. But you don't have to post every day on your business' blog. If you can only post a couple of times a week, that's fine, as long as you are consistent about posting the same amount every week. Another trick is to set aside a certain time to write multiple posts at once. I rarely post on the weekends, since blog readership in general falls on Saturday and Sunday. But what I will do is keep up with any good blogging ideas I come across over the weekend. Then on Sunday I try to write out my posts for Monday and sometimes Tuesday. But that's 3-4 posts, which for a business blogger, would be at least a week's worth of posts.
Here's #6 -- make sure the theme that you choose for your blog makes it EASY for readers to comment! Sometimes the desire is there but not the usability...
Blogs are about publishing. Whether it’s information you want to convey, your own opinion or just telling a story. It is personal publishing that also provides the option for others to comment. Good blogging promotes great ideas. Mike -http://www.t1livewire.com
Well my blog is quite new so comments might take some time but I'll be sure to follow your advice.
Thanks, and keep up the good work
PSP Blogger
One of the big problems I have found with commenting is the sheer amount of spam that needs to be trawled through - to the extent that I've considered shutting off comments altogether. Of course spam could simply be deleted (Akismet makes it very easy) but sometimes a genuine comment gets incorrectly assigned as spam so every item needs checking.
I've found that most comments are left by other blog owners in search of creating a "breadcrumb" trail back to their own blog.
Commenting is a great strategy and if your blog audience is "web savvy" then you can expect to see others commenting on your blog. Comments tend to improve the higher your blog's PR and the lower your blog's Alexa numbers are.
However, if your audience IS NOT blog savvy (and since 90% of the internet doesn't know what RSS is or how to use it, I'd classify them as "not blog savvy") you might not EVER see visitors commenting regularly. For now, a lot of visitors aren't even aware they're at a blog... they just followed a link in a search engine and found an interesting article on your blog.
Which is why Mack's suggestions are VITAL to increasing comments ... because sometimes, it's a matter of education of the masses!!!
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