All bloggers want readers to post comments. Why?
Comments offer the blog both social and SEO benefits. Comments increase the percentage
of text on the page. They increase the keywords, and hopefully, include a keyword
anchored link to a webpage or blog with the same content and keywords.
This increases the pages rank.
But, rank in itself is of little importance to a blog. Social Networking, using
Technorati, and del.icio.us, to promote the blog and pinging every new post, will
do more to attract targeted readers than comments will.
Writing a blog that will target other bloggers has two benefits. Unofficial statistics
suggest that bloggers leave more comments than non-bloggers. The authentication
process does not offend them, and they can write a good comment. Bloggers are more
likely to link back to your blog, or include a trackback. A trackback in the hands
of a spammer can have detrimental effects, whereas a blogger can use a trackback
to attract more readers and offer relevant material to their readers.
Search engines want new content. Most search engines drop old web pages from their
searches, and some search engines drop pages after they are only a few months old.
Comments change the page enough to keep the web pages content new. It is not a Black
hat SEO trick to add your own comments, or to update a blog content. Adding new
information is a legitimate method of increasing a web pages content, even if the
information is included in a comment. A comment gives the blogger a second chance
to include keyword relevant content in their blog. It also gives them a chance to
address readers problems.
In March 2005, Google officially announced their new rules, which included two surprises.
The first was their new aging factor. This means that the length of time a domain
name is purchased for, and the length of time a blog is online, both have a direct
effect on the web pages rank.
The second surprise was the importance of keyword anchored links and in-bound links.
Encouraging comments can help a blogger use these new rules to improve their blogs
rank. The comments increase the opportunity for a keyword anchored link back to
related content. This can be undermined by new anti-comment spamming techniques.
It is possible to write the url out completely including the http:// in a blog reply.
Doing this ethically requires a few rules. Make sure the keyword anchor copies the
words used in the host blogs title and sub titles. Make sure the link back is to
a blog with similar content. Do not leave a comment unless you have something valid
to say. Do not leave comments like Great idea.
A blogger who leaves comments in another blog will be more inclined to link to that
blog. Many bloggers will reply to a similar blog and then include a keyword-anchored
link to that blog. This gives their blog credibility and makes the bloggers opinions
appear more legitimate.
Tip: Search engines give the top of the page most relevance. This means that links
to other pages should appear near the top of a blog post.
