Comments on: Blog Commenting Etiquette

By: List of 20 Internet Marketing Blogs to Comment On for Traffic

List of 20 Internet Marketing Blogs to Comment On for Traffic — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:35:29 +0000

[…] willy nilly spamming blogs with our marketing message. As we’ve discussed, there is certain Blog Commenting Etiquette that applies, […]

By: JoyfullyJanet

JoyfullyJanet — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:34:13 +0000

Nicole,

Thank you!

One of my associates referred me to your blog for a more recent post, and then – when I saw the title about comment etiquette, well, I thought maybe even I may need a refresher course 😛

I was pleasantly surprised to see your great suggestion to becoming a fan of 3 different blogs in our niche.

Sensational suggestion, as I always feel so overwhelmed trying to keep everything on track and to a schedule.

That you actually “gave me permission” is quite the gift of the season for me! Thank you for that!

You are Joy!

By: Cindy Rushton

Cindy Rushton — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:03:36 +0000

I am SO glad you addressed this. THANKS!

I have just revamped my blog. For years, I had my comments turned off–spam!!!! I just turned everything back on, revitalized and refocused my blog, and opened up some new questions, etc. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable with a few comments that included links. I could not really pinpoint what it was about it that bothered me, until I read this post and comments here. You guys are kindred!

I took the links out for three main reasons:

1. It looked like they posted to post their link instead of support the site with fun “chat.” Not too nice!

2. Several links were a bit over the top and recommended some direct competitors who do not network well with others. I really do not support them nor want to “promote” their site on my site.

3. When I looked at their blogs/websites, I did not see any reciprocal links. They COULD exchange “friend” links. ????

Of course, this question is a bit different because so many of you have wonderful businesses. I do think that your tips here are super for not just being polite, but creating an interest in sites you have to offer.

So…my thoughts? I think that it is much nicer to leave the links off except when you are filling in your own identity. That is a NICE plug for you. Definitely more interesting. 🙂

Great discussion!
Cindy

By: Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:29:31 +0000

Hi guys. I guess my original post wasn’t clear enough. By “In the comment field” I meant that there are four fields — name, email, URL, and comment.

So, yes, I was flummoxed when the first two comments had URLs in the comment field. 😉 But, I did see Peggy’s question and understood the confusion.

I do think that the etiquette also varies by blog. I think some of the blogs that have “no follow” tags seem to allow more links than the ones that “do follow” blogs like this one, in general. I also know that some blog owners delete/edit any comment that has even one URL in it (in the actual comment or anywhere inside that field). Others don’t seem to mind.

I’d be interested to hear thoughts from others. What do YOU allow on your blog? What bugs you or looks spammy?

Nicole

By: Peggy Baron

Peggy Baron — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:51:23 +0000

Hi Nicole,
Thanks for the clarification. I’ve been to blogs where the URL is allowed in the sig line, and I don’t mind it on my blog. I agree that URLs inside the comment/post look spammy.

But I’ll make sure to leave mine off when I’m here. I totally respect that. 🙂

Thanks,
Peggy

By: Annette

Annette — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:13:45 +0000

I’m laughing and rolling my eyes now. 🙂 Your response to the question in your post is:

“The common etiquette of blog commenting is not to include links in the comment itself unless they are resource links (and even then only one if you have to). Otherwise, even if the post is not deleted, people start rolling their eyes. lol.”

And then the first two comments had links in them. Too funny.

By: Peggy Baron

Peggy Baron — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:00:22 +0000

Annette,
Speaking for the first comment, the link was not “in” the comment, but in my signature. And if you read my last sentence, I asked Nicole how she felt about that.

Peggy

By: Melissa Ingold

Melissa Ingold — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:16:27 +0000

What a great post. I have to agree with the comments above and say that focusing on three blogs is a great idea.

By: Merlyn Sanchez

Merlyn Sanchez — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 05:54:15 +0000

Great question and very helpful answer. I also like your suggestion of choosing just 3 blogs to focus on. Not only will you be able to get your name out consistently, but you’ll also be able to build a genuine rapport with the blog owner and other commentors.

Thanks for your always valuable information!

http://www.smartbusinessowners.com

All the best,
Merlyn

By: Peggy Baron

Peggy Baron — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:57:47 +0000

Hi Nicole,
I like your idea of just following 3 blogs. I would add that the more “popular” the blog is, the more click-throughs you’ll see from leaving a comment on it.

Also, if you could be one of the first to leave a comment, the more likely it will be read. If there are a lot of comments, people don’t often read them all. They’re most likely to read the first few. Of course, if you want to comment because you feel strongly about the subject you still should, no matter how many comments there are!

Nicole, how do you feel about a URL in the sig line (see below)? It’s not in the comments.

Thanks,
Peggy
http://peggybaron.com