11 Reasons Your Blog Comments Are Not Getting Approved.
After spending hours creating content for your website it can be frustrating when nobody comments on your post. In fact it can be deflating at times. But what is actually worse than having no comments at all is attracting spam comments by the boat load.
Here are some of my least favourite types of blog comments.
1. Your Brother, Cousin or Auntie’s Pet Dog told you about this website.
Your brother, your cousin or your auntie’s pet dog did NOT tell you about this website, and I am positive that neither they, nor you have ever been on this website.
2. You have the Audacity to tell me my page is “rife” with spelling mistakes.
OK, so every now and again a spelling or grammatical error slips through the cracks. It happens.
Heck, I am open to criticism as much as the next man. In fact I wouldn’t be posting anything online if I couldn’t accept positive and structured criticism. Criticism is as good as praise. It opens up a conversation and as blog writers that is what you want.
If you want me to believe that you are real then point out where the mistake is I will approve your comment and thank you for publically shaming me.
3. Your URL is an Affiliate Link
Worse than the URL being an affiliate link is the fact that the affiliate link is for a program that supports blog spamming. Seriously, are you having a laugh?
4. You are Faceless
If there is no image associated with your comment and by image I mean picture of you, then chances are I am not even going to look at your comment, let alone approve it. Most genuine, REAL people on the internet have a gravatar associated with their primary email address. You don’t.
If it is a serious comment then stand behind your name and be proud of what you write. Same goes for any social media profiles out there. Make sure the image is complete.
5. Your comment is as spun as a spider’s web
“Definitely imaging that that you stated.”
What? What does that even mean? Are you for real?
The obvious answer is no but hang on a minute. The answer is really yes. Someone somewhere actually entered the text to be spun in the first place. They physically sat there typed this out, looked at it (actually I am not sure they did check their work before sending it!), felt satisfied that it was a great comment and hit submit.
6. The anchor text keywords have an Adult theme
I have no reason to expose myself, or my readers, to subject matter that is going to be in any way offensive or devalue the content that I have spent time producing.
Go and find other adult related niche sites and post comments there. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out there will be more interest for your offerings on a similar themed site.
7. You Obviously Haven’t read the post!
The comment that you have left is a copy and paste job from a word template. Thanks but no thanks I am not interested and would rather have a post with no comments.
8. Your comment is full of links
You have the opportunity to enter anchor text as your username if you so choose. Therefore stuffing your comment full of URL’s is not going to get you approved.
9. You stumbled across me on Ask Jeeves
Really, I don’t think you did. Because if you did you would be the only person ever to do so and the chances of you actually reading the post and leaving a comment are about the same as winning the lottery.
10. You “instantly grabbed my RSS Feed” and submitted to Digg.
Nobody grabs RSS feed, this is another case of using the thesaurus incorrectly when you are populating your comment submitting software.
11. You have made $60,000 last night when you were sleeping and you had to tell someone.
That lucky person was me.
Honestly, I don’t want to know. I am happy being ignorant about it. But feel free to share it with your brother, your cousin and your auntie’s pet dog because I am sure they will be interested.
Leaving blog comments is a good thing to do, it helps connect people, build communities and can also help with SEO and as a blogger it is always nice to receive blog comments it makes you feel that your words are not falling on deaf ears.
Go ahead leave blog comments, but do it right.
About
James Debono is a small business owner and Internet entrepreneur. James dedicates his time to helping other small business owners leverage the power of the Internet to drive business growth and positive change. Click here Join James Debono on Google+
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Thanks James, I am new to social media and blogs and often I am not sure what is correct etiquette and how to proceed. I have found some great help here.
I have not read everything, but, what I have read so far has helped me enough to want to read the reast.
Let me know if this response is deficient in some way.
Hi Kuda,
Just remember to treat others like you would like to be trated yourself and you will be fine!
Good luck
James
People appreciated quality contributions to the conversation, if you add something pertinent you should be fine. The site owners do want comments after all. It is amazing some of the outrageous dribble that you see on some sites, and its good to see the backlash to that, akismet is the first decent defender, but that being said its still a little hit and miss. I usually just incorporate facebook comments these days. There does seems to be a trend of dodgy fb accounts getting out now, spamming is so incredibly useless, constant vigilance is required.
Matt recently posted..Lacewood Furniture
Hi Matt,
You are right if you add a valid contribution you will always be fine. The website owners want comments. So make the comments relevant and if you add enough value then they may even act as a doorway back to your own site.
I have tried Facebook comments and wasn’t that taken a back with them. How do you find them?
Regards,
James
Good for products individual people buy and want to show off what they’ve purchased. A recent client was a milliner who wanted to tap further in the ladies race wear and headpieces niche. Facebook comments was a natural inclusion into an already flourishing Facebook page.
In the end its a subjective query dependent on each individual circumstance.
Matt recently posted..Lacewood Furniture
When you have a micro niche like that then I definitely agree that opening up your blog to encourage community and conversation like Facebook is a great addition to the marketing mix.
What works for one may not work for another. The beauty about online marketing is that you can test, track and then fix on what provides results.
Hi James
Thanks for the post. I hadn’t considered that not having a picture of yourself would be an issue.
The way I see it, I’m representing my company and therefore my company logo should be the image readers see when I comment.
Maybe I’ll rethink that…
Hi Mark,
Having a picture that represents you is the important part.
If it is your business or your brand then I don’t see that as an issue.
Couple an image with a genuine comment and it is guaranteed to be approved.
Thanks,
James
James I have to say thank you for the best laugh I have had today. You reiterated the very thoughts that go through my mind when looking at some of the comments on my blog. I frequently question the mentality of the poster because they can just be bizarre.
As an affiliate marketer of course blog commenting for links is seen as important but and that’s a big but we still need to retain some integrity and should only try to post on blogs that we have read and can add some value to or have an opinion on.
Admittedly I am not sure that I am adding value here, but I just couldn’t resist agreeing with your thoughts on this topic.
Rosy recently posted..How Anti Aging Technology Can Remove Wrinkles
Hi Rosy,
It’s always great to receive a genuine comment from someone who enjoys your posts.
Thanks,
James