Commenting on blogs, social media sites as well as other sites that let users participate in discussions through comments is an excellent way to improve your online visibility and establish your expertise in your field.

Most sites that allow commenting let you include a link with your comment. This makes blog commenting an effective link building technique for improving your Google rank and driving traffic to your website.

However commenting can be time consuming. The following techniques will help you get the most out of commenting. Here are 15 ways to comment like a pro.

1. Don’t Spam

It is very important to contribute something of value that adds value to the topic being discussed in the post you are commenting on. Leaving comments just for the sake of attracting backlinks to your website can lead to negative branding. Moreover, most sites use comment spam plugins in addition to approving each comment manually to filter out poor quality or irrelevant comments.

2. Avoid Very Short Comments

A single sentence comment may be justified in some instances. However typically it is not easy to leave quality responses in a few words. It is generally recommended to use a couple of sentences in your comment at least.

3.  Use Real Name or Pen Name With Your Comment

The name you provide with your comment is typically used as the anchor text for your link. Many users use keywords as their name to improve search engine ranking for targeted keywords. However, this can make your comment appear as spam. It is recommended to use your real name or pen name (author name) instead which looks more natural and associated with better quality.

4. Comment on DoFollow Blogs

Only a small percentage of blogs use dofollow comments (instead of nofollow). Commenting on dofollow blogs offers better SEO benefits as these are considered high value links that promote better indexing on search engines. It thus helps to include a few dofollow sites as part of your commenting strategy. Perhaps, you can use keywords in your name on dofollow sites and use your real name on others.

5. Use The Link Field in Comment Form Wisely

Pay special attention to the link field of the comment form. Link building opportunities offered by comments is one of the most important benefits for commenting on sites as part of your SEO strategy. Your comment links can result in a steady source of traffic to your website. Use your links wisely.

Avoid linking directly to affiliate products or obscure sites. It is also a good strategy to link to internal pages on your website (not just the homepage) that is related to the topic of the content you are commenting on.

6. Avoid Links in Comment Body

Be very careful of including links within your comment body. As far as possible, avoid links in the main body of the comment. Instead use the link field of the comment form as discussed in the previous point. Links in your comment body is only accepted in very specific situations. In most cases it will trigger the spam filters and your comment will be rejected.

7. Use Gravatar in Comments

Gravatar is the profile icon or photo displayed in your comments. Although comment forms do explicitly allow you to upload your profile photo,  most blogs display user’s gravatar with comments. You can take advantage of free cservices such as Gravatar.com to attach a profile photo to your comments. After you create a free profile and upload your icon, it will be displayed automatically when you comment on any of the participating sites.

8. Include Social Links Where Allowed

Many sites now offer improved linking opportunities with commenting. E.g. many sites let you use your website or blog link as well as your Twitter handle or Facebook profile. Although these fields are optional, it is essential to take advantage of this feature if it is available. If the option to provide additional social profiles exists, use it. This will allow you to maximise online exposure.

9. Check ‘Comment Luv’ Box Where Available

Many sites also let you display the latest post from your blog automatically below your comment.   This is done with the help of plugins such as Comment Luv. Many users are who are not aware of what the ‘”Comment Luv” checkbox below the comment box means, leave it unchecked. If you don’t check the box, it will not be displayed.

10. Keep Your Disquss Profile Up to date

Many sites are now using global comment systems like Disqus instead of letting users comment as guests. Disquss is a popular commenting platforms used by some of the largest sites on the web. It lets users login and comment on all participating sites with a single central account.

Your comments are linked to your profile. If you don’t already have an account on Disquss, create one now and make sure you profile is up to date and connected with your website and social profiles.

11. Comment on Sites Relevant to Your Niche

Commenting on sites that don’t focus on the topics or don’t target the same audience as your website is of little use to your internet marketing efforts. On the other hand, commenting on sites that are relevant to niche will help you to build connections with bloggers from your niche and improve your online influence. Moreover, any traffic generated to your website will be  of a better quality and more targeted.

You can use Technorati to search blogs in your niche.

12. Comment Frequently

In order to see noticeable benefits for your business, you will need to participate and comment actively on blogs relevant to your niche. Leaving the occasional comment or two is unlikely to offer any benefits.

Those who contribute actively and leave quality comments frequently report significant improvements in website traffic and overall visibility of their brand.

Commenting frequently will get you more visibility, backlinks and traffic. Additionally, it can provide additional coverage on blogs that use widgets such as “Top Commentators”. See image below.

13. Don’t Be Offensive

There is no place of personal attacks or foul language when commenting as part of an internet marketing strategy. Stay on topic and discuss criticism constructively. Bad language can be detrimental to your brand.

14. Stay Away From Automated Tools

There are many software tools and services that offer automated commenting on websites. Avoid such tools at all costs. Some areas of Internet marketing are suitable for automation however commenting is not one of them. Most such commenting tools are nothing more than spam tools and end up leaving lot of spam comments on your behalf which is detrimental to your brand.

15. Focus on Quality over Quantity

We have discussed the importance of both, leaving quality comments as well as commenting frequently on sites to improve your visibility. However, it is important to ensure quality is never compromised. Comments are associated with your brand and its message especially if you are using it as part of your marketing strategy.

Conclusion:

Commenting is a widely used technique in internet marketing. Commenting on websites relevant to your niche can be very effective for improving your online influence as well as for building backlinks to your website. If you have a blog, you may also want to take a look at the top techniques to get more blog comments.

What is Your Commenting Strategy?

Do you use commenting as part of your internet marketing strategy? How much time do you spend and how actively do you pursue this method? I would like to hear from you. Please share your response by leaving a comment below.