What Kind of Comments Benefit Your Blog?
Some bloggers live for comments on their blog posts. There are those who simper and beg for feedback. There are others who go out of their way to post inflammatory link baiting articles just to incite people to comment.
The question really is:
What kind of comment is actually beneficial to your blog?
If you look at the numerous comments made by the worshipful simpletons over on Michael Arrington’s blog, you might think a string of 25 comments reading “me too!” or “I agree” or “Can you feel my pink lips kissing your hairy ass?” would be the ideal kind of comments to find on a blog. If you don;t know who Arrington is, there is a good introduction in the article I just linked.
I ask – What does that really get you in the end? A puffed up feeling of self importance, perhaps? What do those comments add, though, in the way of SERPs (Search Engine Result Positioning)?
I would rather have no comments or just one good, informational comment per post, when it comes down to it. When I look at my stats, I see that often there is traffic streaming in from the search engines that has found me because someone has added solid information to my article by way of their comment. Once a comment is published to my blog, it becomes part of the fabric of the article.
Here is an example
I wrote an article about chicken pot pie recalls and a reader commented that they would like to see my own recipe for chicken pot pie. That encouraged me to add an additional post to my blog with my recipe. Yet another reader commented on that second post, adding their own twists on the dish. Some of the language in the comment is actually how new readers found my site via search engines. Lots of readers. Thank you to my commentator for adding valuable content to my site.
Now, how would 25 comments on a post simply agreeing with my opinion add to the value of my content? It wouldn’t. That is why I am happier with a handful of solid comments rather than a plethora of empty comments. My traffic is awesome. It is climbing weekly. My repeat visitor count is on the rise and the search engines are indexing me like gangbusters.
Nothing to complain about here, folks.
The “Me Too” comments are great just for motivation. Everytime I get a comment of any sort, it’s just motivation that my blog is being read. Which is a victory of its own.
“Me too” comments are fine with me, as long as they are coming from a new reader. Because if a new reader agrees with you, they’ll probably check back.
But even better is when a new reader links to a post of your own, wouldn’t you say
And I agree that TechCrunch comments suck. Commenters come in one of two kinds: 1) People kissing Arrington’s butt, 2) People trying to make him mad.