You’ve probably heard the age old ‘how to find readers for your blog’ advice that goes:
“Leave Comments on Other Blogs”
It was one of the first tips that I was given on how to find new readers for my blog five years ago and it’s one of the first pieces of advice that I hear most people giving still today. It’s so common in fact that I think that many of us gloss over it looking for a ‘sexier’ way to drive readers to our blogs.
But today as I analyzed the post featured in this video I saw something that drummed home to me the power of leaving relevant comments on blogs as a way of driving traffic.
The tool I’m using in this screencast video is CrazyEgg – a click tracking tool that creates a heatmap of where readers click when on your blog.
I do want to emphasize again – that the strategy of building traffic to your blog by leaving comments on other blogs only works when your comments ad value and are relevant to the post. If you don’t adhere to this you’ll just end up hurting your reputation.
See the Full Sized Video at YouTube, MySpace, Blip.tv and Viddler.
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Interesting… It’s nice to see actual figures and data and not only “assumptions” and guesses.
I have a few links at popular blogs that are highly relevant to the post and add value. I receive continuously traffic from that link.
Now the key to all this is what you already said, RELEVANCE and GENUINE. I often drop links, because it makes sense. You often read posts that you are interested in. If you are a blogger or writer, chances are that you already wrote some stuff about the same topic. If what you wrote is more than just an echo of the post where you drop the link, then it adds value. If it extends on what was provided by the post, then it adds value.
The comment will be accepted, stay in the post and readers of the post will be likely to click on the link to find out more.
It sounds nice, but there is a catch to it. It requires work, a lot of it… The more popular the blog where you comment, the more work it is… most of the time.
Thanks for the reminder to keep on commenting Darren. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in our own blogs, and we forget to be “good neighbors.”
In addition to posting comments on high traffic blogs like Problogger, I can say I’ve actually met some incredibly interesting folks from smaller blogs without the same traffic-sending ability just by leaving comments. I think that’s been especially true with finding new bloggers in a niche, and being one of the first to build a friendship with them. As their blogs grow, so does their influence, and we all like friends in high places, right? So I think it’s important to remember that comments are about more than just direct traffic, but about building relationships and networks, which can lead to further benefits down the road. :)
I believe that it is not only about traffic but about relationships as well just as you say. Eg I had a Hungarian blog, and commented on problogger that was http://furlongdesign.com and my lijit search http://lijit.com showed that the only site links to me is problogger : ) what an astonishment it was for me even though the dissatisfactions knowing I had several other backlinks.
Dave Stevens is also right in that people start reading and finish not. I’m such a one as well. I read CNN news and I find interesting what I read eg. about US elections but at the half of the reading it makes me so bored the long way of explanation.
I think what you write, post or comment, should have appropriate length and rich information until the end of your last sentence so that people think: “he knows something, I’ll check him out”
Ooh, very impressive tool! I could well imagine using something similar on my page.
I’m looking around for ways to improve my pagerank and to increase the popularity of my blog, and the old idea of “comment other people’s blogs” has always been my technique of choie. Interesting how I found a nifty tool like this while searching for something completely different.
Best regards,
Breki Tomasson,
http://breki.se
Agreed. That’s why I should leave a comment here before go off. :)
–blog for dream–
I’ve launched quite a few successful sites by leaving relevant & helpful comments on other peoples sites.
Key is finding the right post & the right time to make an impression on the readers though :)
Is everyone around here just looking for answer from Darren or want to react on comments maybe. This is strange, you guys write here to get the attention of him, but no conversation among us. Great.
Hm.. Yes. Commenting can gain traffic to our site especially when our comments is relevant to the topic…
The tools you’re promoting is such a good tools for me to try and know more about comment statistics…
This is amazing Darren…
Today i came to know what is power of commenting in other blogs….
Of course i do comment on other peoples blogs but hadnt yet discovered the power from doing so
Good Video. Never knew the real power of commenting. It really works. Just will boost my commenting spree.
I am only “one week old” with my blog, but I am “a year old” with my website. My, I wish I had known about you a year ago. My site has not been a disappointment, but, if I had known about your unique blog for advise to newbies, my blog would have been a lot older-!! Thanks for all of your advise and I will keep returning.
Denise
http://discountdesignerfabrics.blogspot.com/
Commenting on other’s blog is what kept my blog alive during it’s first week of existance. When I stopped commenting I noticed differences in clicks, traffic, comments…I began commenting and everything is on the rise again.
This tip was awesome Darren!
I am currently using the crazyegg.com site you recommended in the video with 2 of my websites
http://www.2thenextlevel.com/blog
and
http://www.broadcastemailexpert.com/blog
and have found out quite a bit with my first test. I am also commenting on some of my favorite blogs and getting some good traffic.
Thanks again for the tip
All the best
JB
PS I also bought your book and I am highly impressed with it.
Looking forward to finishing it and putting your tips to the test.
I thought that the commenter’s name was the one clicked most. Either way, it’s still amazing to see how many people have clicked the links inside the comments, especially the first one.
I know this works. For about two months I stopped reading and commenting other blogs. My traffic dropped.
When I commented daily I would get two or three active readers (people that comment and email me) a week.
That being said I better get reading and commenting right now!
–MrBaconpants
I thought I would add that I agree with Mr. Cook’s comment in this thread.
Just replying to a post is not enough. A posted comment on any blog needs to have quality content, as well as relevance to the post.
Aizal is right.
Online surfers visiting a blog may not click on your linked name in your comment. However, if you frequently leave feedback and interact on blogs, it is still very possible for online surfers to note you site or link.
They may not all click your link, but the potential for some of them to eventual visit you site is still very likely.
Thanks for your sharing great idea. That is the first method that i always do when i create new blog. and it is the best way for all bloggers. Leaving comment is like introduction of your new blog to readers who do not know your blog before.
Wow, it’s so true. thanks a lot Darren. I am always working on the way to grow the traffic on Fragrance Diva (FD).
For sure, if you leave comments on other blogs and you keep visiting them, the owner will appreciate and he/she will start giving interests about yours: “Importance of Interaction”.
Thanks, Darren.
Very good tutorial!!
i’ve noticed that commenting can gain traffic.
thank you for posting that useful video
Yes i agree by commenting it can bring you a nice and decend backlinks to our site Thanks for this video :)
I did try it leaving comments on other blogs, actually this method is working to drive traffic. But you may need to find some high traffic blog to leave your comments, so that you can drive more traffic to your blog.
Am i right ?
There are some “schools” of thought that propose that leaving blog comments that disagree with the points posted in other peoples’ blogs are more effective in driving free website traffic to your own blog.
Of course, this might only applicable if the context and the content of the blog you are commenting on, works in synergy with the blog comments that you post, I guess.
Would you folks have any thoughts or experiences with regards to this?
Cheers
Nice tutorial. Very interesting. I didn’t know it was possible to track clicks on your website like that. I will implement myself on my own website: http://tradingsports.blogspot.com/
Sportstrader
this is a good articels, i knew the power of commenting. this is just like submiting your url into search engines, specially if you write your comments with some site that i have a ton traffics or big popularity… huh?
I have noticed traffic when I leave comments. An excellent observation and well researched.
I use Google Analytics and have been happy with it. I will certainly look at crazyegg.
Thank you once again.
—
wrench
http://www.gopmom.com
Sound advice and after looking over Crazy Egg, I can see how it will most certainly help out.
I get traffic but I really make no money even with all the google ads. Sad, but true. Maybe this will help in some way and there are many instances that I could comment on a person’s blog but don’t have the time. I suppose I should make the time.
Thanks for the great advice (again)
Audrey
I just started testing out the commenting thing and it is making a difference. Haven’t decided yet whether it’s been worth my time, but most bloggers will return to my blog and leave a comment of their own. We’ll see how many become readers.
I’m taking this route because I don’t have the funds to advertise and Google has stopped indexing my posts… for whatever reason. What a huge traffic killer that’s been.
I only leave comments when I have something to add. I try really hard to find something to add, because I enjoy leaving comments. My blog barely gets any – so I get excited when I do get one. I try my best to leave some on an interesting post because I like getting them so much I figure others do as well.
Also, it doesn’t hurt to become part of the conversation either.
Another good tool to use for finding relevant blogs to post relevant content (blog commenting) is Comment Kahuna. It is free and saves you quite a bit of time finding blogs that are worthwhile and relevant.
Commenting can produce a wee bit of traffic, I’d imagine. But consistently commenting on a certain site is a great way to build a community dialogue. I’m thrilled to visit sites where the readers engage each other through the comments section – which can result in some very interesting (and sometimes quite colorful) debates and discussions.
=^..^=
I never really understood the effectiveness of commenting on blogs, but you have shown it can produce quite a lot of traffic.
The thing I find difficult is the time I spend reading the post and then all the comments – I get carried away, especially if the post is really interesting.
Aside from added traffic, is there any seo value to commenting on blogs? Aren’t most blog comment sections “nofollow?”
Also, I heard that Google is deprecating comment links. What do you think?
Also, is that “comment link-love” widget (I can’t think of the name) worthwhile?
Thanks
this is one part of blog promotion that i am starting to do alot more of!
Thanks to you nice folks I just remembered that I have a crazy egg account!! I have used it extensively in the past as well as statcounter and these are both excellent tools!!
thanks for the Video!
Darren, I know that you’re stressing the “add value” thing throughout your presentation, but ever since you posted this, I’ve been inundated by people just dropping their links into comments for no good reason. Sometimes they *try* to connect what I’ve written about to the link they’re pushing, but mostly those connections are tenuous.
Would you consider doing a follow-up post on what a relevant comment is? I’d hate to start having to add people to my spam blacklist, but if this trend doesn’t die out, I’m going to have to draw a line.
I recently launched my site http://www.blog.tv a few weeks ago. This is the first comment I have posted on another blog since I started my site because no matter what comment I leave, if I include my site link, I feel like it is a blatant attempt to attract visitors. Much like I have done here. But, I have to try this approach to see if it is at all successful in letting people know that we exist and that we would love to have them visit us. (My apologies for the blatant plug. I know it’s obvious)
With 136 comments and counting it appears as though you’ve posted on quite a few sites…I suspect it is the quality of the content that keeps readers loyal and active, more than the number of posts entered on other blogs.
Kudos to your success on both counts!
Darren, I’d like to invite you to post your video “5 Emerging Trends in Blogging” on my site at http://www.blog.tv if you would.
I don’t think that very many people read the comments. For one thing, no one comments or responds to any questions that I may pose to the audience. For example, I posted a comment in this column asking some relevant questions about the effects of comments on SEO. Not one response.
Also, there are times that I might throw out something controversial or slightly inflammatory just to see if anyone responds. Once in a while, the post author might respond, although rarely. This is especially true for more successful blogs.
Sometimes, if you make a very long comment, you might get noticed. I am wondering if this particular comment is long enough to be noticed.
Is anyone out there?
It seems like most people just say something like “great post” or “yeah, I’m going to do more of that, etc.”
Hi Darren…
its my first time that i had keenly visited the blog of yours…
and its great enough…
about the power of comments, what relevant articles you mean…
like if you have mentioned about themes, people should post links for other themes?
i would like to ask you how to make such videos by captuting whatever is happening on your desktop…
Plz reply
@
CrAzYbLoG
v.CoL
and no this aint spamming…
i fear my comment would be lost here :)
This couldn’t be more true – -I think more bloggers/site owners would do it if they knew the importance of leaving comments. It’s just a shame when some of those who DO spend the time doing it, leave useless junk!
Great post Darren, I believe I will have to go pro on CrazyEgg now to get the full benefits of the service.
Definitely agree with that. I guess that’s what makes blogs so special and different from normal static sites – the ability to interact with the blogger and other visitors through comments.
I can’t argue with the logic and evidence that commenting can bring traffic to your site. I wonder if this has long term sustainability? Could blogging become just an interest of bloggers themselves (relative to the number of visitors)? In other words, could blogging eat itself by bloggers only commenting to achieve traffic for their own site…
I guess being part of the blogging community myself, I will find out in time!
your tips are very encouarging especially to beginners like me. keep up the good work and continue encouraging other bloggers to make the best out of blogging…
Most comments are insipid drivel, and this comment only helps to prove this point. That is why no one reads them. It’s stuff like “Good work.. I really should start doing that.”
This is my third or fourth comment on this post looking for answers to questions or any kind of response from someone. So far, no one has answered my questions or responded in any way. This proves my point that no one reads comments. Occasionally, the administrator might read them if it is a less successful blog.
Prove me wrong by responding to this comment.
after all of this time i never posted on other blogs until after reading this. It has actually helped and I see incoming links from blogs that I post on now.
This is an excellent article! Great Job! Your always up on the “whats happening”!