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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I’m fairly new to blogging, after mainly doing websites in the past. I approach blogging as a community. So, posting on other people’s relevant blogs has always been a part of my strategy (like I’m doing now).
I see ya, Kermit Jonhson
;-)
Great post Darren. You really make it easy for people to understand the need to leave comments. Not only leave commments, but make the relative and with substance.
It’s not just about posting a comment, it’s about adding value.
Kathleen Gage
I also see you, Kermit. With a blog like Problogger with 154 comments already as I add another, it’s hard to read every single one so sometimes questions are lost on me.
Once I add a comment to a thread, I check the box to be emailed subsequent ones. If people just write I this, I that, I usually fail to read beyond the first sentence. If a comment is long(er) or has links in it, I’ll take a closer look.
i agree with your comment. when you comment on other blogs, your comment should add value because blogging and commenting should be interactive.
What an excellent piece of advice!
I`ve only been blogging for the past 2 months or so and I`m still testing the waters so-to-speak, slowly building up traffic and return visitors. Tips like these are sure to help. Thankyou
Check out my site http://ps3gamer.co.uk for all PS3 related news
Very great video! It was imformative and I just signed up for crazy egg and I’m currently doing the test for my blog at
http://speakindoodles.blogspot.com/
Commenting is so interesting, one side we shout what we think,other side we get backlink
That is the reason why I comment in your blog :)
–blog for dream–
This comment is to appreciate the video and to endorse your theory :)
Cheers,
Ajith
I just wanted to leave a quick comment to add to this theory. Leaving relevant comments on other peoples blogs is an outstanding way to draw others to your own work. Your comments say so much about you, and if you are wise, others will see it and be drawn to your work.
The bible says that you reap what you sow. In an essence, every time you leave a comment that is worth reading, you are sowing something that you are going to reap from. Truly it is the truth, and in a world where truth may be hard to find, this little bit of truth is going to go along way.
Darren,
Commenting on other blogs can bring many new readers to your site. Especially if your blog has a similar topic. However, spamming on other people’s blog isn’t going to bring any new readers. The same amount of time that is spent spamming comments could be spent leaving comments that are relevant and adds to the conversation.
~Debby
Darn good advice, I’m putting it to the test!
Yes I believe in the power of commenting! Thanks for reminding us!!
Darren,
Thanks for the post. Facinating stuff – your post and all the comments. I’m just starting a blog to help draw traffic to my website. The blog isn’t even up yet. One thing that strikes me – with so many people leaving comments to help draw visitors to their blogs, is anyone reading blogs and commenting out of pure interest in the topic or is everyone in the blogosphere hyping their own blogs?
Look forward to more great posts, Terry
Thanks for sharing this. Well putting comments might be really effective way to “steal” traffic:). I’ve been using this strategy for some time and I hope it will bring results sooner or later.
I am new to blogging and just stumble into problogger. Great site and tips. Thanks for the advice.
That was one of the most convincing videos on the power of comments, Darren. The charming aspect of the comments to your blog is that your traffic is quite a bit. And on posting relevant comments here, people can get quite a bit from this insane traffic you get. And I love it. The heatmap is wonderful in Crazyegg. I hope there was such an application available free. After seeing your video I checked out Crazyegg and it’s not sadly a free service, and I am hard up to purchase anything.
If I had enough money I would have registered my own domain first and moved out of Blogger with some cool wordpress design. Sadly, my blog never made one penny more for me yet, though I am sure it will! Eventually. In the meanwhile, I am checking out another service I heard about recently: It is Woopra. I don’t know much about this, but I hope it is a good choice for traffic tracking. If anybody has any idea of this, please share. thanks
Lenin
Thanks Darren.
I’m writing a post on my own blog on exactly this topic.
This video will be a great resource to link to.
Whilst my own arguments may not be all that convincing, it’s hard to deny the power of commenting after watching that video.
Well, I best be off, plenty of other blogs to comment on!
Fascinating and very revealing article. I do manage to pull clicks back from some sites but it does take significant time to a) read blogs and b) identify those worth commenting since the blog itself has to engage and c) add something of value.
It makes sense to me that the real pay-off is appearing in the top 3 comments since below that people scan faster and faster.
Awesome video and blog post…I’ve been waiting for a long time for someone to finally notice the importance of commenting.
Very informative post. I salute you! :) I’m only a week into blogging so sites like yours are big help!
And even I enjoy your videos, Id like to see them be just a lil bit shorter lol .. just kidding ..keep up with a good work!
And thank for oportunity to leave links here.
http://ninjamovies.blogspot.com
http://ninjaplanet.blogspot.com
Great article and Video on leaving comments on other Blogs. In addition to driving traffic positive comments to ones work is appreciated and thoughtful constructive criticism can often be helpful.
Very interesting video….I have been racking my brain on increasing traffic, but have to admit, I don’t comment as much as i should… I enjoy blogging and do receive traffic from the natural keywords that I use when I write. (the long tail) And it does work, but I need and want more traffic. Blogging seems so easy, but behind the scenes is so complex.
Will give it a try…
That was awesome! Simply great for a newbie like me. I have been scouring the internet in search of as much information as I can get in relation to me Blog. I have been ( like a kid in a candy store) trying out everything to help me get traffic to my site but never really thought about posting relevant posts that add value to the blog.
My problem is I have had a lot of trouble finding help on the blog I just started. Yes i know of some similiar blogs but they are much more established and try to sell things.
In relation to your post and not to get off topic my short question is how a person like myself can generate traffic to my blog! It is kind of a niche, in that I dont have fantastic stories to talk about, I just collect all the deals from around the internet and post them on my blog so people can use them and share them with others.
This blog is a start for me but any advice would be very helpful, and very appreciated! This is not meant to be spam of any sort and if i have broken your rules I will not ve offended if you delete me. Just desperate for some good advice!
My site is http://www.SAVEABUCK.NET
Much appreciated~!
Thanks so much for yet another brilliant and inspiring piece of information. It comes at just the right time for our business as we go live in 4 weeks and have been struggling to find the right tool to analyse our users clicks. Loved the video demo -simple concise. Brilliant.
I have found commenting on others blogs to be the single biggest source of quality traffic. The key there is quality. Lots of things can give you the drive by hits, but if you want quality traffic, then leaving quality comments on other sites is the way to go.
Hi Darren,
As an Australian Blogger also – i totally agree, commenting can not be over looked for driving new readers.
I blog in a rather competitive environment, that of Financial Services and Money – yet still find commenting to be the best also.
Other methods I used is minor adsense campaigns to get traffic – along with trying to get more links to my site in major directories.
Hi there! I’m on my search on how to regain my lost PR3 recently and I came across your blog. Truly leaving a valuable comment in a blog post will certainly drive traffic back to your blog. Maybe this would be one of my steps again to bring back my lost PR. Thanks!!!
Being part of the online conversation has it’s benefits, traffic and links from your comments.
Believe it or not comments are user generated content and part of the web 2.0 toolset.
Thanks for reminding us Darren
I am really glad that you pointed out that the comments must add value. I think when people are new to the blogosphere they often stop by and think they will get traffic with comments like “nice post” or “right on” but people won’t be encouraged to visit their blog with those short comments.
Oh, I did by the ProBlogger book and found it a great read. Gave me and my brother some great ideas that can help us push our blog to the next level. Thank you!
Great video Darren !! Really drives home the point that commenting is worthwhile
Yes, the post you do need to be of value. If the reader find’s your post to be full of value he/she will must probably go to your site for more great value. Quality content is the king!
Want to know what? That is exactly what I am doing here now. Every so often I will hit the hard internet pavement and try to leave comments on the Google top 100 blogs for different selections of keywords. I am here now because ProBlogger is on 1st page of results for “great ways to make money online blog”. Thanks so much for the great site!
Hi Darren, I am back in the list with another comment. I published the new post in my cutewriting, and linked up with this post of yours. This is a wonderful resource that my readers should not miss, I though.
Please check out Ten surefire ways to promote the book in which I mentioned this post with link. *Link juice, as you mentioned is so delicious to all*
Lenin Nair
Sorry, that was not “I though” but “I thought”
I write an inspirational blog and have been leaving ‘trackbacks’ for a little while now. I have definitely seen some jumps in traffic, and I definitely agree….the post must be relevant.
‘Crazy Egg’ definitely though proves this as no theory. Thanks for the confidence booster.
http://www.yinvsyang.com
I’ve just started taking the advice from this video and am starting to comment or other blogs now, especially the ones in my niche.
Where’s the video? I’m really interested in what it says. Thanks.
Lipton of Starffeeder is right. All the recommended suggestions for creating a successful blog could be overwhelming.
I’ve been trying to generate some free traffic to My site and just started using this technique. It has generated some traffic, but nothing major yet. I’ve read that just leaving a comment for the sake of getting a free backlink is not a great idea. Usefull information and comments can lead to some quality traffic, but useless comments can damage Your repuation.
Great video Darren !
I never thought CrazyEgg can be so helpful. Now I will definetelly try it. Traffic that comes from blog comments is highly targeted, people that read all trough the comments are interested in finding even more information on the post’s topic so If they pass by a relevant comment the chances are that they will follow the links in that comment.
Woah, I think once I get serious with blogging, with a friend (after I finish high school in a few months) I’ll get a nice list of relevant blogs ready and go [relevant] comment crazy.
Definitely one of the better videos you’ve made.
~ Dave
http://www.warhammergamers.com
Hi,
You are absolutely so right about leaving comments on like minded blogs, but of course they do need to be relevant. Press releases and short articles with my own content have helped also. Too bad there are only 24 hours in a day!
Denise
http://www.DubLi-Network.blogspot.com
I have been folliwing your tips. I cannot say I found ONE not to be effective. It really comes down to your paticular niche and how to implement it. Currentyl I have several TEST projects on going; each one serves as my own study. I have started blogging on How to… at http://whereeverybodyishappy.blogspot.com/ but I have so much more to do there.
Darren, I really want to thank you for the help you are providing to us all. Many more blessing to come your way.
Laura :)
so daren are you now quitting doing more videos?
i thought you were doing once a week.
Its been more than a month..or did I miss something?
still planning on doing more – delay was due to having a baby a few weeks back and taking some time off blogging.
Its’ important for the community to leave comments and share their thoughts and opinions.
I believe its’ a common courtesy to leave comments on other blogs even if I don’t agree with or like the post. help the author refine their post or give them new ideas for posts.
Its’ a feedback system that helps everyone. Comments do not just help the bloggers by driving traffic it helps the readers/blog followers uncover more information that may have been over looked by the original post author.
Comments help to create original unique content for your blog, which you know helps you search rankings.
Sometimes when I search the engines for information I have found many times the search engines will hold comments as serps to my query (e.g. you type your search, the search engine gives you the original post title, but the description is a comment).
Blogging is sort of a community and when you don’t leave comments you are doing the community no justice by holding you thoughts and opinions back.
so daren are you now quitting doing more videos?
i thought you were doing once a week.
Its been more than a month..or did I miss something?
Very Helpful. Well done. Thanks