Blog Commenting Still Rocks
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If you’re new to Internet marketing, you may not know this… WordPress used to allow comment URLs to be followed by search engine spiders.
Yep.
That was in the not so distant past.
Well, somebody decided pfffttt!!! Not happening. Not gonna take it. And, they came up with this marvelous little plugin called “Do Follow.” When you install and activate it, it allows all comments to be followed by the spiders.
I think it’s only fair. Right? I mean, when somebody comes to your page and is kind enough to leave a comment, the least you can do is allow the search engine spiders to follow it back to their website and give them credit for a one-way link pointing back to their site or blog.
So, I use “Do Follow.”
Is it a spam attractor? Perhaps. But when you have Akismet working well, who cares? You just delete the spam. I don’t get a lot, but Tellman’s blog gets hundreds of spam comments every day. I just NUKE ‘em.
Here’s what you can do… Go and get Firefox, if you don’t use it. Then, get the add-on called “Search Status.” Then, when you see it in your toolbar (looks like an “at” symbol, but with a “q”), right click and be sure that it’s set to highlight “no follow” links. Then, when you see a blog and all the links aren’t pink, you’ll be able to comment and know that you’re getting SEO advantage as well as having your say.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Tags: internet marketing, No Follow, SEO
November 14th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Yes it is bad that not all comments follow but I comment when and where I can as long as it is part of the conversation. You may not get the backlink which sucks but you will still get readers and it is still valuable.
I have always believe that if you are commenting just for back links it will come back to haunt you and if you are participating in the conversation it will come back from more than one place.
After all the point of blogging is to have and participate in a conversation. Do that and good things happen.
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Ah, Michael. You are the voice of reason.
I agree. Commenting works for more than just SEO. It’s the community aspect of Web 2.0 that is so appealing and beneficial. You’ll get traffic and build relationships whether you get a backlinks or not.
Listen to the man. He rocks! Check out http://mikepaetzold.com/ for tons of great information and recommendations. Mike’s had my back for a very long time, and I’ll always have his.
Thanks, Mike!
—Pat
November 15th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Hi Pat,
I’m new at this blogging thing and I didn’t know they allowed it and I didn’t know they disallowed it. So I was really in the dark, but now I can see the light thanks to you and this little plugin call “do follow”.
Oh, where do I find this plugin?
I will check out Mike’s site, http://mikepaetzold.com. I have a lot to learn and I appreciate any help I can get from the ones who have been there already.
I use Firefox so I will get “Search Status”.
Thanks for your help.
Respectfully,
Duane Spears
http://friendshelpingfriendsmakemoney.com
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Hey Duane,
http://kimmo.suominen.com/sw/dofollow/
Hope that helps!
Pat
November 19th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Pat,
Thanks for the great info! I just installed both DoFollow and SearchStatus. Anything we can do to help each other out is great.
I make sure that comments I leave either add to the conversation, or let the blogger know that I’m paying attention and appreciate their work.
Mike is the Man, and you are quickly become the Woman. Thank you for your help and tutelage.
Regards,
Charles “StayHomeDad”
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Hi,
being fairly new too this i wouldnt have really understood the follow and no follow thing. And i guess you would be right about getting more comments good or bad. I suppose the bad one’s could be removed.
But speaking of a blog its one thing i should do myself.
Oh one other thing in typing my comment as the test went to the rights of the screen it disapears, maybe its my browser i dont know.
i am using firefox, so if this comes out garbled perhaps thats why??
steve
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Hi Steve!
Well, hang in there. It will all make sense, over time.
And I have no idea what you mean about the text disappearing. I wish I could help, but you’ll need to be just a tad more detailed. You mean the text leaves the screen? Hmm… I use Firefox, too, but don’t have that problem. Could it be your viewing screen. You may have to scroll over???
I’m not sure what you mean, but I’d be glad to help.
Pat
February 11th, 2008 at 3:41 am
Yes, I agree that installing “Do Follow” for the Wordpress would be more fair to those who leave comment on your website. I’ve installed this too on my blog and at the same time I do install Akismet for blocking the spam.