How to Increase Traffic By Writing Better Comments

By: | April 4, 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , |
Write insightful comments on blogs .

Comments can help increase blog traffic.

Simple.

You write a comment on a blog.  Your comments don’t take much thought or time.  Perhaps you write them routinely.

It’s actually gracious of you to write the blogger.

What if I told you by simply tweaking the content of your comments, you could increase traffic to your own blog?

The primary reason readers state for not commenting on a blog is lack of time.  However, by saving yourself the small amount of time it takes to comment on a blog post, you could be costing yourself the large amount of time it takes you to grow your readership.

There is an expression that goes, “Don’t be penny-wise and pound foolish.”  In other words, don’t sacrifice your long-term goal of growing traffic for your short-term goal of saving time.

Reasons to Comment

1. By commenting, you are building a relationship with the blogger.  This is important because they may keep your writing in mind when looking for a post to reblog. This would lead to more eyes on your blog, and more potential traffic for you.

2. Other readers will see your comments.  If they find your comments insightful, they will have motivation to come to your blog to see what else you’ve written that intrigues them.

How to Comment

What to Do

It is very polite of you to thank the blogger.  That said, if you are open to using comments as a way of growing blog traffic in addition to being courteous, there is a strategy involved to commenting.

1. Comment first.  If you are the first commenter, all the commenters after you will have to skim past your comment, and they will see what you’ve written.

I have written about the shot-gun effect in blogging.  You are trying to increase the probability of traffic growth.  By commenting first, everyone who comments after you has seen your comment.  On big blogs with a massive amount of followers, that’s a lot of people.

I have written often about Jason Cushman.  He often has more than 4,000 comments on one post.  Rounding down, if he only had 4,000 comments, and I was the first commenter, 3,999 other people would see my comment.

In order to try to ensure you are the first commenter, subscribe to their blog.  Ideally, this should be a big blog with more followers than you have.  The more followers they have, the greater the chance people will find your comments insightful enough to check out your blog.

2. Repeat the blogger’s main point.  It  shows them you read, and understood, their post.

3. Then, make a comment that adds a new perspective on the topic.

This could entail an anecdote.  Perhaps the host will ask you to guest blog about your story or additional perspective on the topic.

Writing on their site will enhance your visibility on a blog with a large amount of readers.

If the host chooses to share your story or perspective, they might link back to your site.  This will enhance the number of outbound links coming into your site which is helpful for search engine optimization.

Write with conviction.  This will tell their readers that you are a passionate writer, someone whose blog will be interesting to read.

4. Revise your About page.  If this strategy works, you can expect new visitors to your site.  The first place they will check out to determine if they want to follow your blog is your About page.

What NOT to Do

In the comments section, do not write that the blogger is wrong.  You don’t want to embarrass the host blogger in public.

How to Comment on Blog Infographic

There is a finesse to writing blog comments.

Ready to Tweak?

I recently read a comment on a blog where the commenter disagreed with the host.  I felt they were both right, and I commented about why I agreed with both of them.  Notice my wording here.  I didn’t disagree with either of them.  I explained why I felt that both their points had merit.  I am happy to report that the commenter is a new blog follower of mine.

Since I would like to grow my readership, I consider this a success story.  You can have success stories too if you make these simple changes in your commenting style.  Of course, you should still thank the blogger if that is what you are used to doing.  In addition, follow these tips, and you can also experience traffic growth.

 

 

Related posts:

Do I really?

How to Immediately Get New Blog Traffic

19 Easy Ways to Dramatically Improve Blog Traffic

Sources:

Sue Ann Dunlevie

JonMorrow

Neil Patel

 

  1. The Recipe Wench

    Interesting points. I’m going to experiment with this. Thanks for posting!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Bridget! I knew The Recipe Wench sounded familiar. I hope it was okay I linked my post to our linky party. I had the impression you all do too. Thank you for the compliment on my post.
      Janice

  2. Sue Anne Dunlevie (

    Great info, Janice!

    Building relationships is key for growing your traffic and your blog.
    Sue

    • Janice Wald

      Thanks so much, Sue. Did you see I cited you as a source? Your article inspired me.
      Janice

    • Janice Wald

      Hey Anna,
      I linked to your site in the post. If you have a second, could you please share it out with your followers on social media? Thanks,
      Happy Easter,
      Janice

      • Färgaregårdsanna

        If I were on social media I would. But I’m from the Stone age and I don’t participate in that world. Except WP. I will someday explain why, in a future post 🙂

        • Janice Wald

          How do you get new followers without social media promotion? Where/how do you promote?

          • Janice Wald

            I read it. Thanks for sharing it with me. You seem to have a large following. How long have you been blogging??

          • Färgaregårdsanna

            Good question. I think I’ll have to write a post about that. I don’t have a quick answer to that question 🙂

          • Janice Wald

            Hi Anna,
            In regards to you post, “I Will…” I will click “Like” even if I have nothing to add to the conversation. I feel it supports the blogger, let him/her know I was there. I also think it’s a morale boost seeing likes as well as comments.
            Janice

          • Färgaregårdsanna

            I agree. And I haven’t forget about the post I promised you about the answer How long have you been blogging. I will write the post. Soon I hope 🙂

          • Färgaregårdsanna

            I wrote a post now, it’s up on my blog. Welcome!

          • Janice Wald

            Hi,
            Thank you so much for the link back to my blog! =) Thanks for answering my question in a post as well.
            Janice

          • Färgaregårdsanna

            Thanks for the question that got me thinking of an answer.

          • Janice Wald

            Hi Anna,
            You know how you linked to me the other night…
            I got a new follower thanks to your linking back to me. Matt has the word Book in his name. He’s the one. He’s been a great connection too. He’s helping me with something, and I attended his Meet and Greet.
            Only 150 followers? You had 60 likes or something on that one post. What an engaged community.
            Did you ever hear the expression “6 Degrees of Separation”? Means we’re all connected by 6 people separating us. The Internet has made us all closer, the world is smaller. I actually have a friend in Sweden–and her name is Anna. =) Awww…
            Thanks again for that link. I told Matt I would thank you.
            Janice

          • Färgaregårdsanna

            How interesting, all of what you’re telling. Anna is top five common names in Sweden, I think. We’re many Anna in Sweden 😉

    • Janice Wald

      Hi,
      I hope I thanked you for the reblog. I am always so grateful for the validation and the exposure. Thank you again. Twice in one week! Your support is amazing.
      Janice

  3. jasinrockgod

    Thanks for this info! As a new blogger myself, I am always interested in getting a new follower. I am off to revise my about page now.

  4. The Ranting Monkey

    How do you feel about commenting just to comment, saying anything just to be first? I try to comment on everything I read but sometimes I just have nothing to contribute that doesn’t sound hollow. In those cases, is it better to just be quiet or does the hunt for more readers win out?

    • Janice Wald

      Hey Man,
      You and I have had this dialogue before. I don’t know if I can answer that question for you because these are personal values. Are you asking me if you should compromise your integrity for traffic? I can’t answer that for you (as much as I’d like to be able to answer all questions posed to me). These are personal decisions.
      On this topic, I guest posted. I knew I was obligated to write the commenters back or risk looking bad to the host blogger. I wrote a tutorial on how to make infographics. Everyone agreed with me–they are great. I didn’t know what to say. Knowing I had to say something, I thought about it and actually came up with something that added to the dialogue I was proud of. I did not feel I compromised my integrity.
      I haven’t known you very long, but I love how we keep talking about philosophy. I don’t get to do that very often. Thank you.
      Janice

      • The Ranting Monkey

        I wasn’t so much asking if I should compromise my integrity for traffic as I was asking what you thought about the idea of doing so. I know me well enough to know that I could do it, and have tried, but that it makes me feel dirty.

        My name is Frank as you’ve noticed, I’m not the “good post” kind of commenter. I don’t think there is anything necessarily wrong with a short comment letting the author know you enjoyed the piece, it’s just not who I am.

        Your blog makes me think, question myself, and is well written. I appreciate you taking the time to indulge my curiosity.

        • Janice Wald

          Hi Frank,
          I appreciate you taking the time to indulge my need for analytical dialogue. Along those lines, I got you a link. I wrote this long before we started communicating. I don’t know if you and I have analytical dialogue or philosophical dialogue. Whichever it is, I’m curious as to your opinion on this piece. I called it “The Great Blogger Hoax”. Here is the link: http://wp.me/p5jxvv-xo
          No rush, only if you get a chance, of course.
          Janice

      • The Ranting Monkey

        Give my opinion of a discussion on the motivation of mankind? Is it my birthday?

        I think Darwin and Hobbes are right but I believe you are, as well.

        Darwin’s theory isn’t just that a single man will beat everyone else. Survival of the fittest doesn’t negate making yourself stronger through association. A successful blogger helping others is helping himself, too. Linking to a new blogger has positive results for the linker as well as the linkee. Building loyalty is essential to survival.

        Where Hobbes applies is in who and what gets linked. Bloggers link to other pieces they enjoy, whether it’s an opinion they share or prose in the style they enjoy. Few links go out to celebrate opposition to the writers own ideology or to stories they have no interest in regardless of how well written. You might find a link to opposite thinking in a post about why someone is wrong but not in any really flattering way.

        I’m reminded of an argument once had on the television show Friends. Joey makes the argument that there is no such thing as a selfless good deed. He argues that people do good deeds to feel good themselves.

        Link parties, meet and greets, having a guest blogger, and linking to others to promote their work are all very nice things bloggers do for one another but no one is doing it as a chore. No one is saying, “Dammit, I have to help these people. Again!”

        You’re absolutely correct that bloggers can be cooperative and helpful. But there are benefits in it for them as well. Their good deeds don’t negate Darwin or Hobbes. Self preservation isn’t always about destroying someone else, although there are many examples of bloggers trying that approach. Say the wrong thing on a mommy blog and watch how fast the pack turns. A very good blogging friend of mine had that very experience. She was loved by fellow mommy bloggers for her wit until she made the wrong joke.

        Please don’t get the wrong idea here. I don’t think there is anything wrong with promoting things you agree with or stories you enjoy. It’s human nature to gravitate towards things we like. I’m simply saying self preservation and cooperation are not mutually exclusive.

        Wasn’t sure if I should answer on the original post or here. If you’d prefer it on the original, let me know and I’ll move it.

        • Janice Wald

          Yes please copy paste on the original post if you don’t mind since it relates to that discussion. Yes, your birthday came early this year LOL. As far as the rest, I will respond when i’ve had time to digest what you’ve written. But if you could put it on the original post I could respond to you there. I thought you would like it. Janice

          • The Ranting Monkey

            Done. I just can’t delete it from here.

  5. Dana Jane Garner

    Thank you for the tip. I would not have known this, I will check it out.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi,
      Nice to meet you. When I first read the ideas of the people listed at the bottom, I was skeptical. Then, I realized I actually had gotten followers this way. Very cool!
      Thank you for reading what I wrote and writing me.
      Janice

  6. Elle Knowles

    Janice, I feel commenting on a blog is the ultimate form of flattery for a bloggers writing. Did I say that right? When someone comments on my blog in the form of more than ‘great post’ or ‘I enjoyed this’ it proves to me they actually read and felt compelled to put in their two cents worth. I always try to reply with something more than ‘thank you’ when this happens! And yes Janice this was a great informative post! Thanks for this. ~Elle

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Elle,
      Thank you for the validation and the kind words. I don’t know why I felt this bordered on controversial topic. The blogger in the “Related Posts” section–post titled “I Will” does not agree with all I wrote. I included her so people could see the “flip side”.
      Jerry, from your site, came over to visit me this weekend.
      Thanks for coming over and commenting on my post. Hope all is well with you.
      Janice

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  8. Elle Knowles

    Glad Jerry came to visit Janice. He’s a loyal follower and commenter. All is well in my world – just busy, busy and not much writing time built into my schedule – not because I haven’t wanted to though! HA! This post got me to thinking last night and I’m about to post something pertaining to this commenting subject you started that is a pet peeve of mine. Stay tuned! 😉 ~Elle

    • Janice Wald

      If you could work it in, feel free to link back to me. Related posts, perhaps? That way we both have links in and out of our site which helps SEO ranking. Just a thought. Thanks,
      Janice

      • Elle Knowles

        Sure that will work great. I haven’t gotten all this linking business straight yet. Maybe you could write a post on that. A tutorial maybe? Sometimes when I add links people never get the notice and I’ve missed lots of links when some have linked me. This may take a little research. ~Elle

        • Janice Wald

          Hi Elle,
          1. Have you checked “referrers?” I agree though, you should get notified. I normally do to my Email, but lately not 100% of the time like I used to. It made me think it might be something with WordPress, and I see you’re on WP.com too. If it reoccurs, I’ll write them and ask them.
          Why did you want to know if I had a FB page for my blog?
          Janice

          • Elle Knowles

            Wanted to go by and give you a LIKE! Did yesterday from my personal page and posted a message with a link to my author FB page. Did you get it? I can’t LIKE from my author page. Promoting my FB page has been on my priority list this week. Yes I checked referrers. Have gotten some from google! ~Elle

          • Janice Wald

            Hi,
            1. I’m happy you got Google traffic. I just learned it’s called organic traffic =)
            Been so busy that I haven’t given Facebook priority lately. Thanks for the support there.
            Janice

          • Elle Knowles

            I have been so busy I haven’t been on WP in 3 days much less FB or Twitter. I’ll play catch-up this week! ~Elle

  9. Barb Knowles

    Thanks for the ideas, Janice. I’ve started to comment more, but often just a few words like “great post” or haha. Things like that. Because I do think it was a great post, or I do think it was funny. And if I read a post on someone else’s blog and a comment is haha I will check out that blogger, too. What is your opinion? Is short and sweet okay, or do you think longer is better? Lol this comment is so much longer than mine usually are. I really want to build up my following. Thanks

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Barb,
      While short and sweet is definitely a time saver, if you want to come to the attention of new bloggers that may want to check out your blog, the more insightful the better. Odds are this will be longer. Remember, the readers who want to comment are skimming to the bottom where the comment section is. They will be more likely to see your comments if they are longer and earlier in the comment list.
      You said you want to build up your following. Did you go to my Meet and Greets?
      Janice
      Janice

      • Barb Knowles

        Since I don’t think I’ve seen your Meet and Greets, I’m guessing that I haven’t! But I definitely will. I will take your advice to heart because it certainly has seemed to work for you and others. Thank you for replying and giving me yet another idea! 🙂

  10. badfish

    Well, I’m a failure already. I’m nowhere near first to comment. And it takes a long time to post, and then a long time to go to blogs, and then a long time to comment. A blogger is going to need a secretary is what I’m thinking.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Badfish,
      1. I thought the tone of your comment was funny, so thank you for that.
      2. I find a lot of this is routine. For example, daily I wake up and check my phone to see which Emails came in overnight. Many bloggers (including me) publish their posts in the middle of the night, so I am in the routine of reading them when I first wake. For that reason, I have been the first to post a comment.
      As far as going to blogs, I find going to the Community Pool every Monday is a must! Even if I don’t get any other networking done during the week, I network there. There are almost 300 bloggers waiting to network too. Actually, there are 441 bloggers at yesterday’s event. Here is the link if you are interested https://dailypost.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/community-pool-109/#respond
      3. I agree we need a personal secretary. I consider Hootsuite my personal secretary. It schedules my tweets in advance for me. Here is the link if interested, https://hootsuite.com/
      Thanks for writing. I always find your delivery funny, and I really do appreciate the humor.
      Janice

      • badfish

        Janice
        Thanks much for this thoughtful response. And for actually getting my humor (sometimes I’m not sure people do). I get emails from Community Pool, but have never gone there. I’ll check it out. But get this: I do not own a smartphone. So…can’t use twitter or any that require a cell phone! Buying a phone is on my list of things to do. Thanks for the info (and advice), I’m a fan.

  11. Davida Chazan

    This is so true. I do like leaving comments on blogs, especially when I read something that speaks to me. I’ve also noticed that when I do leave a comment, my own blog does seem to get a bit more hits. Mind you, we’re talking 3-5 at most, but hey… I’m just starting (sort of)!

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  14. Kate Rigby (

    This is excellent advice. Great post. It really makes you think. There are times I do just a quick comment and just say a few words without a lot of thought but usually I do try to think about what I am saying and make it worth while. Time is often a factor.There are times I wonder if my comment is too long 😉

    This week I have joined in lots of link ups and it is hard to get around and comment on lots of posts but I was a little disheartened when it seemed people weren’t commenting on my blog but I could see that I’d had clicks on my site from the party. So this may be because they haven’t liked my post or didn’t have time? Who knows, I perked up by the end of the week when things picked up. It made me think about the effort I make when commenting and your post reinforces things. You definitely have to give out what you expect bag, make that effort. It makes blogging fun because a lot of the fun of blogging is making new friendships and as you say this can be start from reading and commenting on peoples blogs.

    Funny enough there are some comments I have read on here and they have intrigued me which means I will be checking out their blogs to see what there about it, which proves one of your points 🙂

    Thank you so much for sharing, I will be sharing this post as it is so helpful and important.

    Kate from http://itswhatigotnotwhoiam.blogspot.co.uk/

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Kate,
      I wanted to respond to your concern over a lack of comments and how to change that.
      1. I assume you end with a call to action.
      2. Are you on Facebook? There are many Facebook groups, Grow Your Blog, for example, where people are required to comment. Bloggers Rule SEO is another; I think people are required to write more than 8 words in that group.
      Psychologically, if people see there are no comments, will they comment? I don’t know, but I do know people like “getting out with the crowd”.
      I have gotten new followers that way too. Trying to meet the group’s mandate, they “discovered” my blog and folowed.
      Go to FB search “blogging”. Groups should come up. Request to join them if this sounds like a good idea to you Remember, each time you respond to the commenter, the number of comments on the post doubles. What do you think about trying this?
      Janice

  15. Diana

    Ok, I never thought about subscribing to their blog to ensure you know when the post is going up to comment on it. That’s a brilliant idea. I’m definitely going to experiment with this. I suppose that can also help you build a relationship with those influencers.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Diana,
      Thank you for so much for your complimentary words. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. It’s certainly been well-received.
      The tip–how to be the first commenter–can help you build relationships with the blog host (whether or not they have a massive following like an influencer), and other blog readers as well. For example, I noticed on this post alone, two of my commenters writing each other. I got several new followers from being first both in commenting and in attending linky parties.
      Nice meeting you. Thanks again for writing.
      Janice

    • Janice Wald

      Hey Kate,
      Thank you so much for the reblog. I should have thanked you yesterday. Busy Saturday. I am truly flattered by your posting my article for your readers. I’m on my way to see it right now.
      Janice

  16. adrianscrazylife

    I love coming to your blog. You always have such great ideas. I’ve been commenting on blogs regularly for more years that I can remember and most of these ideas had not ever occurred to me. Thanks for sharing them!

  17. BritishMumUSA

    Yes, yes, yes….. Love your take on this. As you and I have discussed when you take the time to engage with the writer, you are provoking a relationship. Two weeks ago I posted my 1 year anniversary and thanked 15 or 16 bloggers and gave a short bio of each of them. This post went off the charts, then I replied with each of the commenters which created more conversation and I picked up NEW readers.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Rae (Ray?),
      Great to hear from you. You and Lysa have been such a great influence on me. When I branch out and leave Reflections, my readership grows–significantly. Thanks for sharing this. If others read your comment (and my response), they too can be motivated the way you motivated me. Thanks for keeping in touch.
      Janice

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  19. Kristi

    And look at all the comments you got writing about writing comments!! Impressive! I am brand new to the blogging world and after reading this I am going to subscribe and read all your posts… I really appreciate the help and I am going to use my coffee time tomorrow morning to browse through and comment on blogs in hopes that they may come back to me! Thank you so much!

  20. Janice Wald

    Thank you so much for the compliments on my post. I would be honored to have you follow my newsletter. Just for signing up, you get a free infographic that has all my blogging information in one compact place. Here is the link: http://wp.me/P5jxvv-hM. Nice meeting you.
    Janice

  21. judithbarrow1

    Giving my attitude to blog comments a second. third fourth thought. I try to keep up with all the blogs I follow – mostly share – rarely comment. Why? i think I’m saving time & who would be interested in my comments anyway? As I say, giving this many thoughts. Thanks

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    • Janice Wald

      Hi,
      This is what I do at my site. I write tips to increase blog traffic. I will add you to my once-a-week mailing list, so you are able to see all my posts. Thank you so much for the kind words. Let me know if the tips work. Nice meeting you.
      Janice

  23. fare soldi facili su internet

    It’s difficult to find educated people in this particular topic, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
    Thanks

    • Janice Wald

      Thank you so very much for visit to my site and your nice comments. I will add you to my once-a-week mailing list, so you can be apprised of all my posts.
      Janice

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Rohit,
      Thank you for writing me. Why is it difficult? Is it because these ideas are time consuming?
      Thank you for your compliment on my post. I have many posts like this. I added you to my once-a-week Email list, so you are kept apprised.
      Let me know why it’s hard. If it’s due to time-constraints, I have many posts on how to deal with that.
      Nice to meet you.
      Janice

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  28. stephanie

    I will try to leave more thoughtful comments from hereon! Quick question, how do you feel about no follow links? Some of the bloggers I follow have a lot of followers and consequently have “no follow” links installed. Do no follow links help or should we forego commenting on larger blogs?

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Stephanie,
      Where did you find this rather old article now? I always wonder.
      Definitely comment on big blogs. They are the best to comment on especially if you get your comments in right after they publish. Then, all their many followers will scroll past you and see you. I have gotten many visitors to my site this way and they have subscribed. I don’t think no follow or do follow links matter in this context. It depends on your goal. If you are trying to win blog traffic, The bigger the blog you comment on the better. I hope this was helpful.
      Janice

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