7 Tips to Being a Great Blog Commenter and Getting Your Comments to Stick

Most bloggers want comments on their blog.

Comments are a good sign that the blog is reaching it's readers. Comments lets the blogger know if his posts are working the way he wants and if readers are finding the post useful. Comments help create a blog's community and are part of what makes a blog a blog.

Commenting on other blogs is a great way to get links to your own blog.

Commenting can bring traffic to your blog and help your blog gain notoriety. This is a two edged sword. Spammers also know this and many comment made on blogs are simple and attempt to get links or traffic to a spam sites. The increase in spam comments has made many blogs (including this one) reject even honest comments that simply resemble the type of comments used by spammers. You have make sure your comment stands out from the spam.

Here are 7 tips to help make your comment stick out:

1. Read the post.

It seems obvious, but I know that there is a good chance that there will be a comment on this post that is going to the spam pile because the commenter clearly had no clue what the post was about. Read the post so your comment shows that you have an IQ higher than a spam bot. I find some posts seem to get this all the time. It must be the misleading titles.

2. Don't add extra links to your site in the comment.

You're getting at least one link already in your name, don't be greedy and spammy. A link in a comment here automatically sends it to the spam queue.

3. Avoid really short comments like "Great post."

I've left my share of these in the past myself (on really great posts) because I meant it. Nowadays, comment spammers use these types of comments all the time. Why, because they almost look legitimate on any post. I love getting "I searched Google and finally found the info I needed here" on posts that don't have any real info (like my contact page). If you like the post, say why. Tell the blogger why the information helped you.

4. Don't link to a spammy page.

The blog owner needs to watch where he links to or it could affect his blog's ranking. Don't make him (or her) sorry he let your comment pass. Don't link to your affiliate pop-up page. Don't link to a page that might be offensive (even if you don't "think" it's offensive).

5. Don't be abusive in any way.

If you disagree with a post go ahead and say why. Don't insult others that don't hold your opinion. You can do that on your own blog. Also note that obscenities are often used in comment spam, it'll go right into the spam queue here. If it's really good, I have to save it from the spam queue and edit it to my standards before it goes on the site (and I just love all that extra work-I'm being sarcastic). Disagree, but be polite and professional.

6. Don't post several comments at once.

You find a great blog, read several posts and want to leave comments on all of them. Don't. Limit it to two comments and come back. Having several comments from one commenter looks suspicious. Several comments from one IP is spam. I recently had someone use three different identities to finish off one big long comment. Don't bother looking for them, they were marked spam and deleted. I don't like seeing the same IP address for a bunch of comment at once, even if they are fairly good. I know of some other blogs that won't even look at them.

7. Add value to the post with your comment.

That's what it really is about. Interact with the blogger in a way that adds to the conversation. Yaro Starak lists comments as part of what makes a blog a blog. If you are adding value to the post, your comment is going to stick. It's even likely to be answered by the blogger. I like how Liz Strauss uses blogs and comments to build relationships with readers. That's something I'd like to strive for and I think most bloggers would. A good comment adds value and helps both bloggers.

I'd like to see your comments too!