I found this over on Andy Wibbels blog (by way of Rich Brooks blog) and thought I would share.
Commenting on blogs is probably not at the top of your To Do List — but maybe it should be. It’s certainly one strategy to build good solid traffic, as well as subscribers, to your blog.
Darren Rowse at http://Problogger.net recently wrote a post about Caroline Middlebrook who did a great job of increasing her traffic through the use of blog comments.
I know it’s fun to write our own content, but let’s not forget about going out there to share our ideas, while at the same time promoting good relationships among readers and bloggers.
With the New Year soon to arrive, this might be a good time to think about writing a resolution to make 10 solid comments on other blogs each week. That would be 520 comments by the end of next year. There’s no doubt in my mind that this will increase traffic to your blog. How much? I don’t know, but I know it will make a difference.
Let’s keep in mind that our comments should:
- Provide value by offering substantive material
- Further the conversation
- Be inviting and friendly so as to promote community and the sharing of ideas, and
- Be relevant to the topic being discussed
And let’s not forget about some of the benefits of leaving comments on blogs:
- Opportunity to use your creativity or problem-solving skills on a regular basis
- Increase your knowledge by learning new things by reading not only the original post, but also the other comments prior to posting your own
- Increase your visibility by leaving a link to your website in the comment form
- Increase your credibility by writing valuable content
- Increase your traffic when others read your content and want to find out more about you
If you have any success stories to share as a result of leaving comments on blogs, we would love to hear about them.
I tend to read and not comment, which I suppose is quite common. Thanks for this piece… very informative and hey! I commented!
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I too am guilty of lurking on a lot of blogs…but will step up my commenting a little due to this piece. I certainly appreciate all comments 🙂
Cool story, J. Thanks for sharing… I always love the comments you and Em leave on my blog. It means a lot!
I’m glad someone took the time to convey this message so well. So many photographers are in the dark about how to boost their traffic and search engine rankings.
I just started to blog and to learn how to lead traffic to my site.
It’s not the first time I read that commenting is important and I’m conviced it helps a lot (can not yet prove it).
Another point with comments and the links to the own blog is that more links should raise the search engine ranking – but I’m not sure about this.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
J’s Reply:
Hey Günter, it works! Blogging is like life…it is all about relationships and investing in others will pay off!
Great post! I seem to read more than write, which is probably why I feel like I am talking to myself on my blog. I think making posting to other blogs a habit is a great idea. Any little bit helps!