Commenting on other blogs is a great way to build relationships, get traffic and have fun. There's also an easy way to be strategic when doing so!
As I'm sure you know, when you leave a comment, you typically have to provide your name and email address before the body of your comment will be accepted. You also have have the option of leaving your blog's URL. Here's one bit of advice: ALWAYS leave your URL. You never want to pass up an opportunity to spread the word about your blog.
What not to do when leaving a comment
In general it's considered bad form to leave a link to your blog within the comment body itself.
There are varying opinions on this, but it's probably best to err on the side of caution and refrain. (By the way, I know many of you leave links to your blogs here on BWA and in general I personally don't mind as long as it's relevant to my post — like if you have a specific question regarding something that's not working on your blog, etc.)
Here's a little tip which many bloggers overlook
Many bloggers just leave their home page URL without thinking a whole lot about it. When I leave a comment on another blog, I do my best to be strategic about which URL I use. Occasionally I leave my home page URL, but many times I don't. Instead, I leave a URL that relates specifically to the post on which I'm commenting.
For example, if I'm reading someone's blog post about writing an ebook, I do not leave the URL of my home page (i.e. http://bloggingwithamy.com/) in the Blog URL field. Instead, I leave the URL of my How to Write an Ebook Guide (http://bloggingwithamy.com/how-to-write-an-ebook-the-guide/) page. Why?
My assumption is that anyone who is reading the comments on a post about ebooks is somewhat interested in the topic. First I leave a useful comment on that post (no links in the body of my comment included). If someone finds my comment helpful, the chances of them choosing to click through my name to my blog increase.
If they click my name and are taken to my home page because I left my home page URL, that may be fine. But they are clearly interested in writing ebooks, so if they click through my name and they are taken directly to my series about writing ebooks, it makes exploring the topic much easier. And this will increase the likelihood that they will stick around a bit…and hopefully in the process, will find some value which will make them return later.
What about you? Got any commenting tricks to share?
Great idea, Amy. I'm sure this will result in more clickthroughs.
Can I just say: Brilliant?! Thank you for sharing!
GREAT suggestion about the URL. How often have I entered my site and it links to the home page. Embarrassed to say I have never thought about it. Will from now on.
Excellent. Thank you.
Wow! Great idea! I never thought of this but you are so right!!!
Thanks!
Courtney
Thanks for stopping by, Courtney. (Am looking forward to officially meeting you at Relevant this year!)
great idea! wish i had thought of it:) but then i wouldn't have needed to read your blog so i guess it was all for the best after all.
Great tip Amy!
Thanks for the tip–it seems like a no-brainer but I probably would have never thought of it!
I always do this! I find it a little difficult to pick a post for non-mom blogs though. Like for leaving this comment. I don't have any posts related to this topic so I tried to pick a general post that most people would find interesting or can relate to. Although sometimes I pick a post that I'm really wanting to promote.
I just scrolled through the comments above. Not a single person linked to a specific blog post! I'm I wrong to list a specific post even if it's not blogging related?
That's a great idea too if you don't have a post that relates directly — just leave the URL of one that others might enjoy. Thanks for adding that! Love it.
That is just brilliant. Never would have thought of it. You have such great tips!
That is totally brilliant! It never occurred to me, either.
I do, on occasion, link to my blog in a comment – usually when what I have to contribute to the discussion is lengthy enough to overwhelm a comment and I've already blogged it. (For instance, someone asks about baking bread, and I've already blogged my recipe – I'm not leaving a whole recipe in a comment!)
But never, ever just part of a default "signature."
You are a genius! I do ALWAYS leave my URL in the comment form (not in the body of the comment itself) and do notice that I get several click-throughs when my comment is informative and helpful. But I have never, ever thought of this. Brilliant!
I've really noticed it's the simple techniques and attention to detail that make me a better blogger, thanks for all you do!
That is such a great idea! I am going to start doing that now! You have been such a great help to me in starting my blog! I followed your how to start a blog series (minus the ones with just videos – my sounds doesn't work
) and I am so excited to start getting visitors! Thanks again!
Brilliant added tip! Unfortunately, I have no relevant post to link up to this particular comment, but I will try it out for my co-authored blog in the future.
Also along the lines of the other side of commenting, please make it easy to comment by allowing people to enter their name and URL. So many blogs that I visit only allow google sign-ins. I love it when they include those of use that don't choose to use them.
I also find it frustrating when I can't sign in with my URL!
I find that it's usually blogger blogs that don't allow me to link my URL to my name. Is there any way, as the one commenting, that I can still link up? Thought maybe there's a secret that I just don't know.
Thanks (again!) for all you do. I'd be lost without you!
Look for "Name/URL" as an option when leaving a comment (when it asks you to sign in). Each blog owner has the option to allow this or not and some don't unfortunately.
Commenting has come a long way. I remember reading comments years ago that were just so filled with links, affiliate links to be specific. I am so happy for great plugins and better commenting etiquette these days.
I never thought of placing the link of a similar post. I am going to look spammy, mostly because I have never commented on your blog before, but now I am going to try your trick. Sorry. Want to see it in action.
I do love your blog and have been lurking a lot on my RSS feed. Thought I would come out and say hey.
I'm glad you said hi! And I'm all for directing others to great posts online so no worries there.
I can't believe it never occurred to me that I could link to a specific post instead of just to my website. Thanks for the tip! I'm trying it out now by introducing myself.
Amy you have been such a help and inspiration to me as I've started on this blogging journey. Thank you so much for the work you do!
I don't know why linking to a specific article hasn't always crossed my mind. Once in a while I have a post that is similar in content and will link to it but not always. One that will interest most folks is so much better than a generic link to my main page. I was taught to always link to my blog in my signature, but I won't do it here after reading that tip. I don't know if I'll totally give it up yet…
Oh I do both — just depends on whether or not it's particularly relevant to link to a specific post. If not, I just do the main page.
For a while I was leaving my comment with a link to my about me page.. and I found that I was getting sent to a lot of my blogging friends' spam folders and I don't know why. I've also used this tip to leave a link to my recent blog post related to whatever-it-is-I'm-reading. That is, If ad YOUR Works for Me Wednesday post, I'll leave a link to mine in the comment form. I've never noticed a problem with my comments getting published when I do them that way, only with my About Me link. It's weird..
This is an experiment (Sorry if that's annoying, Amy). If I leave this comment and people click on my name, will it go to my website?
Yes! It works! Do you suggest I put Annie B. or Unqualified (My blog's title) as my name? Thanks for your site, Amy! You came up first when I googled about making my own button (how did you do that?
), and I like you already.
I recommend a name.
Actually, I rank on the first page of Google for "how to make a blog button" sorta unintentionally but I'll take it! I didn't try to rank for that page or those keywords specifically, but one does that via SEO.
Thank you! This is such a great idea! I never thought of linking to specific posts unless I was discussing the post itself.
Amy…I, too, found you while searching for a way to make a blog button and decided to tackle setting up and designing my own NEW blog because of your wonderful tutorials. It has turned out great, if I do say so myself.
Thanks so much for your tips.
I was really interested in a "money making" blog (being a stay at home mommy that could always use some extra cash) but put that on the back burner for now and started a blog focusing on depression awareness (being a several time sufferer myself) and offering hope for the future. I'm not sure making money off of that would be right.
So until I come up with any new ideas (and my 4 little boys are moved out of the house (or at least all in school)), I will just be following faithfully and soaking up all of your excellent tips.
Thanks again!
So glad you took the plunge, Melanie! I blogged through depression myself and found it very cathartic — there's something about just writing it. And then other people found it and could relate and pretty soon I had a sense of community. That was a great bonus! I hope you find blogging a great experience. I'm sure you have some great insight to share with others too.
great idea! i never thought of that. thank you
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Blog commenting is nothing but an art & technique and AMY suggested me well. I would like to add another one:
Don't try to put links within the comment unless they provide more information on the topic of the post or support the position that you take in the comment.
Great Idea about linking to a relevant post. I have some posts I'm less proud of than others (or don't get the same feedback) and it never occurred to me that if that's my most recent and I don't have new content up yet, people aren't seeing the best of me. Since at the moment I'm only a weekly blogger, this can be hard. I've actually not left the URL because of it! Excellent idea. FWIW, I really like the one up now and I'm not sure how to put the post name in, so I'm ok with leaving my home page!
Great idea. I need to build more traffic and your ideas are great.
What a simple idea!
I love that. I leave my name and the name of my blog in the "name" field – an SEO person suggested that I do this; it's not always possible, because sometimes there's a limit to the number of words, but I like to be associated with my blogs.
I'm going to start linking to specific posts. But not today
I've never tried this before (I actually just started blogging, myself), but definitely plan to in the future! Your website has been a major resource for me, Amy. Thank you for all your tips!
I had never thought of that Amy, thank you for sharing. I'm definitely going to start using this one!
What a great tip! I found your blog recently and am diving through as many of these helpful tips as I can find. Thanks so much for what you do, Amy!
Wow! this is such a great idea that never occurred to me. There have been a few times where i feel like I have a post that is relevant to the topic of the post I am commenting on but also "feel it rude" to put it in the comment box. Now when that happens I know what to do. I am guessing this tip would not work for blogs with comment luv installed.
Brilliant tip! I never thought of that before. Of course, I have only been blogging for about a month and a half.
As I don't have any specific post that relates to this discussion, I'll just give my home page address. I'll certainly keep your tip in mind for the future, though.
I've been reading your blog non-stop from the past 5 hours as of now, and there is so much I've learned as a novice, including the correct form for commenting.
I was a bit skeptical about getting traffic but after getting through this website, I feel a lot more confident.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for stopping by, Rohit!
Brilliant idea! Never really thought about that before. Will definitely use this technique when it makes sense.
Nice tip, i usually don't leave a comment but i'm doing this from now on
Love the idea about using the URL of a specific post related to the post you're commenting on….brilliant! This is exactly why I love your tips. My blog is finally established, and now I'm trying to learn more about increasing my traffic. This is a tip I can start using right away! (And if I had a post related to this post, I'd leave that URL now.)
I am about to try to make my button. Wish me luck!!