Probably one of the easiest (yet widely underrated) traffic strategies out there is blog commenting. The bloggers who haven’t yet latched on to this simple traffic generation method are missing out, because there are few things better than leveraging the already-existing audience of a blog and channeling it to your own.
If you think in work-to-result ratios, then blog commenting probably tops the scale by a wide margin. A simple, short comment on a popular blog that took two minutes to write can get your blog quite a few visitors — especially if you employ the following techniques.
Yes, techniques. You can’t just post one-liners all over the blogosphere and expect people to click your links and check out your blog — it just doesn’t work that way. Reading and applying the following ten blog commenting tips, though, will help you get your comments read and your links clicked.
Let’s get started!
1. Comment On Relevant Blogs
This goes without saying. If your website is all about healthy eating, cars, or funny comics, you shouldn’t be commenting on a blog about the rises and falls in the stock market.
It never ceases to amaze me — so many would-be commenters on my blog want to tell me about garcinia cambogia, home decor, or real estate in South Dakota.
Guess what well-meaning-but-seriously-misguided-commentators — I’m not gonna publish those comments on an online marketing blog. Those comments won’t get approved in a thousand years.
But there’s another downside to commenting on blogs that don’t fit in your niche — whatever traffic you get (IF your comment gets approved and IF someone actually clicks on your link) is untargeted. Simply put, the visitor isn’t necessarily interested in what you offer. And those visitors will never convert or bring you revenue.
2. Comment On High Traffic Blogs
Image credit(s): Gerard Stolk via Flickr.
If only ten people end up reading the blog post you commented on, then there’s little/no chance that one of them will click on your name and visit your site.
On the other hand, if the blogs you comment on regularly get thousands pageviews per day (think ProBlogger, HubSpot, UnBounce, and the like), then you can expect a lot more traffic than the odd visitor here and there.
If nobody sees your comment, nobody clicks on your name.
Simple.
3. Comment On Blogs That Use The CommentLuv Plugin
CommentLuv is a nifty little WordPress plugin that automatically displays a commentator’s latest blog post. It takes the information from the “Website” field.
Through my own research, I’ve found that I can get 10-12x as much traffic when I add a thought to blogs that use commentluv.
CommentLuv has gotten to be rather popular with blogs, especially in the last year or so. It kills two birds with one stone — increases the number of comments, and rewards commentators, all at the same time.
If you’d like to use it on your own blog, it’s got a free and paid version you can use (the free version is more than enough).
Check out this case study on NetMarketSuccess on how a newbie blogger used CommentLuv-enabled blogs to increase his traffic by 8 times, and his number of inbound links by 12 times.
4. Be A Regular Face
Image credit(s): EpsosDe via Flickr.
Even though you can probably get 10-20 visitors from a single comment on a popular blog, you can get a lot more from ten comments on the same blog.
Don’t just drop in, say hi, and leave. Stick around a while. Browse the blog’s archives, and comment on the posts that interest you.
Not only does this generate traffic to your blog, but it also builds a connection with the blog owner. You’ve taken time out of your busy day to read and add a thought to one of his/her blog posts (and there is absolutely nothing we bloggers like more than that).
Here’s another scenario — suppose that a random user has just finished reading a blog post. He sees your comment, but doesn’t click on your name.
But then, he follows an in-text link to another post on the blog, and again sees a comment from you. He has been exposed to your link twice (which results in a much higher click-through rate).
5. Get A Gravatar
Screenshot @ Gravatar.com.
If you haven’t yet signed up for Gravatar yet and added your image, do so. Right now. Absolutely no excuses.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years and don’t know what Gravatar is (just kidding!), it’s basically a tool that displays your profile image on any WordPress-managed blog you comment on.
Pretty cool, right? I thought so.
Remember: faces and logos stand out a whole lot more than some lousy default icon. You can brand yourself, build blogger-to-blogger relationships, and increase traffic.
This blog commenting thing gets cooler all the time!
6. Get There First
Which comment do you usually read – the 1st, or the 51st?
The 1st? You got it.
On any and every blog post, the first comment ALWAYS gets the most visibility.
Only a small percentage read the comment section in any case. A lot smaller percentage actually scroll all the way down and read all the comments (including the 51st).
Getting their first and being the first one to add a comment to the blog will usually result in huge exposure for you and your blog.
To stay on top whenever a blog post gets published, subscribe to their RSS feed (nearly every blog worth commenting on will have an RSS feed).
7. Reply To The First Comment
Here’s a sneaky lil’ trick.
If, for some reason, you weren’t able to beat whats-his-name to the first comment space, then just reply to his comment.
Your comment will get just about the same visibility as the first commentator did.
However, this might not always work out so well, as some comments are really the type that can be replied to (think comments like “Great post!” or “I wish my blog could be more like yours!”).
Make sure that whatever you say when your reply actually says something. “Good comment!” doesn’t cut it. Oppose one of his thoughts (explain why he’s wrong), add to what he said (explain why he’s right), or answer his question.
8. Answer A Question
Answering a question is probably the greatest tip I could give you.
Answering someone else’s question puts you on the same level of knowledge as the blog owner.
For example, if someone needed to know something about SEO, and you stepped in and quickly answered his question, you’ve basically told everybody that you know the niche, which makes them a lot more likely to click your link, browse your blog, and subscribe to your newsletter.
For a bit more on answering questions in the comment section, check out this YouTube video by Ana Hoffman from Traffic Generation Cafe.
9. Add Some HTML In
Bolding (<strong>), italics (<em>), underlining (<span style=”text-decoration:underline;”>) and otherwise formatting your text goes a long way towards generating more traffic with your blog comments.
Formatted text always sticks out (which is why you’ve read all the bolded words on this page). If a viewer scrolls down the comment section, your comment is likely to catch his/her eye.
10. Remember: Long, Helpful Comments Always Get More Clicks
Period.
Blog commenting is great, but if you don’t have something to say, then don’t say anything.
If your comment doesn’t add value to the discussion, answer a question, or express appreciation for the post, then it doesn’t need to be (or shouldn’t) be there.
It’s the commentators who write lots, add value, and sincerely try to help who are the ones who end up leveraging the most traffic to their own blog (even if that wasn’t their primary motivation in the first place).
Summing Up
Blog commenting is a vastly underrated free traffic technique that (believe it or not) does work in 2015. It’s simple, it’s effective, and it’s easy.
In short, there’s no reason not to do it.
Leave a comment and tell me what you think of blog commenting as a traffic tool. Who knows? You might even get a few visitors back to your blog! 😉
Matt Wolfe
Matt Wolfe was one of the original founders of LearnToBlog.com as well as the author of the Amazon bestseller, WordPress Revealed. Matt also runs a design and consultation service and has taught over 30,000 people how to get their websites online and working for them. Find Matt's personal rants and Tips at MattWolfe.net.
