The treasures of commenting were lost on me until I had blogged for several months.
Ana Hoffman who runs a leading site on increasing site traffic sent me a link to an audio by experts on the secret formula of successful bloggers.
I wrote up their advice in an article about the blog triad. My blog was lacking a full third of the blog triad!
What I was missing: community engagement.
This meant I had few backlinks from other sites. Backlinks are links back to your site from other blogs. The more popular the site the better. Backlinks increase your blog's potential value in the eyes of search engines and alert people, too.
I started following my own advice at the end of September. I started commenting. A very smart guy named Steve Scott set the bar high: comment on 20 sites a day. I didn't comment at that rate, but Steve's advice rang in my ears. Comment!
Here's what happened to my backlinks.
Backlink data courtesy of Majestic SEO
All this commenting also had an effect on search engine traffic. Search engine traffic data courtesy of SEMRush
My Alexa ranking got better, too.
Alexa ranking keeps track of your site's reputation, authority, popularity - whatever you want to call it. It equates to eyeballs on your blog.
I wrote an article about Alexa ranking and you may agree or disagree with its accuracy, importance, or value. I got the free Alexa toolbar tool and started watching my scores.
I even started writing down my Alexa rankings.
On October 27 my Alexa ranking was 361,914. By November 15 it was 238,556. On Nov. 30 it was 205,540. At this rate my ranking should be zero quite soon!
During this time I engaged a bit in social networks. I posted to my handful of friends and fans on Facebook, and sent tweets to my 150 Twitter followers on new posts and old posts using a plugin called Tweet Old Post. But I didn't work very hard at social media. My Twitter-based Klout score is a joke: 15. I influence one person. I'm pretty sure than person doesn't know I influence them (which, frankly, is a relief because that would be a lot of responsibility).
Sure I kept writing blogs. Actually fewer blogs.
So the changes were due mostly to commenting.
Tips on how to comment: Read the article. If it makes sense and you have something to offer, gop ahead and comment. Try to say something meaningful that shows you read the article, have additional info, or an opinion. Address the author by name to show you are actually paying attention.
Real Treasure
Here's the real treasure. You engage with the blogging community. You get free advice and guidance. You learn the tricks of the blog trade. You make online friends. There are some really decent, helpful people out there. Some even visit and comment on your site. Look around this site and you will see comments from some very savvy bloggers.
After you comment, subscribe to their e-mail lists and learn more. Ana Hoffman's list sent out the audio that held the blog triad secret. Oh, there is treasure out there!
A comment secret. Sssshhh.
I got CommentLuv Premium on September 29, just about the time I started commenting more. CommentLuv lets you leave links to your posts. Here's a story about the details of rewarding your readers with CommentLuv.
Start commenting and watch the treasure accumulate.
Wow, all that from commenting? that's crazy, thanks for sharing the stats.
Billy Santosa recently posted..Have You Heard of ClickOpp?
Wow, great advice Astro. You've definitely been learning from two very great sources. Ana and Steve sure know their stuff which is why they are where they are online.
You've outlined this so well I can't believe I have nothing to add. I think you already know how much I love the blogging community and we learn so much from visiting other people's blogs. I love reading and learning and then share my own opinion on the subject in the comment section. This is the best way to meet new people and start building those awesome relationships. I'm so glad we have connected as well.
Great post and thanks for outlining this. I'm sure so many people will benefit from your advice. I'll be sure and spread the word too.
Have a great day!
~Adrienne
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Thanks for the kind words, Adrienne. Steve and Ana are so smart it's scary. Like a neanderthal watching how fire is made, I have glimmers of understanding. I've been reading your site, too, Adrienne, and warming myself in your enthusiasm and sincere love of people. I had no idea that blogging would be so interactive and that I would meet so many great people.
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Astro,
Rock on! Those are the results I love to see. What a niche sharp spike up! Commenting and doing it "right" takes a lot of time. It is just one of the many things that takes time and effort to build up a blog. In the long run it is the surest way to succeed though. There are millions of people starting blogs, the only way to get ahead is to do more than they do AND hopefully do it better.
Really glad to see you have had obvious and powerful positive results, and of course thank you for the wonderful link!
Have a great day and an awesome (and productive) week
Steve recently posted..119 Free Internet Marketing Tools to Grow YOUR Online Business or Blog
Twitter: stevescott1
Terrific to get a comment back from you, Steve! You really did set the bar for commenting for me. It takes quite a few linkbacks to get the search engines to "appreciate" one's site.
Astro Gremlin recently posted..6 Reasons to Be Extra Thankful
Great post Astro, This is some good info. we should make it a habit to comment as much as possible, I do not really have a schedule but I am sure one might help. thanks for all the insightful information.
Michael Belk recently posted..Appreciation Blog Contest
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Hi Astro,
I think blog commenting is a necessary job of every blogger because it not only helps in building links but also helps in engaging and building relations with other bloggers. And talking about commentluv premium, oh sure that is one needed tool of any bloggers toolkit to reward your blog's commentors
Shiva recently posted..How To Create A Business Strategy For Your Blog
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Community engagement is so important, and sometimes it can take a while to understand this.
Los Angeles SEO Guy recently posted..How to Avoid the Google Sandbox
Actually, I seldom address the author unless I'm making a response to his/her reply to my previous comment. Why? Because I experienced before that I addressed my comment to the blog owner rather than to the guest blogger itself. LOL Moreover, I don't really make comments to blog posts that I can even relate to. Because for sure, I won't have anything to say about the post and if I simply put pretty useless comment on it, I just feel I'm cheating myself and the blogger as well.
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It can get tricky with guest authors, especially when the page owner pipes up and responds. I do try though. Can't tell you how many time I've read a blog twice and just had nothing to add.
Administrator recently posted..How to Be a Superhero Part 2
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what great advice and i wish i could sprinkle 20 or so comments about each day, i have enough trouble keeping up with my silly nonsense, but this is something i have change - cheers
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Hey Tbaoo, thanks for taking time out to comment. This site doesn't offer much authority for its backlinks but they are DoFollow!
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Hey Astro,
It truly is amazing how blog commenting can effect you i so many ways. I was one of those who initially started blog commenting just for the sake of the backlink, but as I went on, I started getting to knwo some of these bloggers and started building relationship and I realized that there is more to it than just the backlinks.
I have also seen a huge serp increase (or decrease depending on how you look at it) with some of my keywords thanks to the backlinks from comments. Not only that, I have built a few really close relationship with some bloggers and that to me is priceless.
satrap recently posted..60 Ways to Make Money Without a Job
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Satrap, most bloggers have heard that backlinks are valuable, but I was surprised at the effect of commenting, especially compared to other activities. Yes, the contacts one makes can be sincere mentorships and friendships.
Administrator recently posted..How to Be a Superhero: Tips If You Have a Super Power
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Great comment, Claire, and you're right: it's not just about backlinks (but it sure is nice to get them). I got my first backlinks without knowing what I was doing. I just left "organic" comments (and questions!) while trying to figure out how to do blog stuff. Then I noticed that they were being counted, like golden coins.
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Blog commenting is a good practice, but not just for backlinks. You also learn a lot of new things and you stay up to date with things, depending on what blogs you read. I read a lot of blogs every day and it's easy for me to leave a few comments to show the blogger i appreciate the work he does. And i don't mind a backlink in the process, but it's all fun.
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