Blogs are usually created for sharing , expressing and voicing certain thoughts, opinions and information to reach out to more and more people , comments on the blog prove that this exercise has been fruitful and has a multiplier effect on the outreach.
Blog comments are the most valuable UGC (User Generated Content) which benefits the blog as well as the commenter. It works both ways , the blogger gets the opinions and view points of the readers which initiate a discussion, if the discussion has been meaningful and highlights the importance of the topic then it makes the blog post a valuable resource on the topic.
Such kind of regular value added comments from regular visitors which create interest in other visitors also help build a community. The success of any blog is based on the regular readers it has and how many additional visitors become regular readers on a regular basis.
No doubt the blog posts have to be interesting enough to generate that interest but to maintain that interest level the blogger too has to reply to every comment to make the person who wrote the comment feel that he was heard and what he shares regarding the topic is a value added content for the blog.
The back link you get from the comment thread may or may not pass on the link juice. I shall not mention the core SEO benefits derived from commenting as I think it is not ethical but when you share links in your comments do it from the perspective of adding content value to it or purely for the purpose of sharing the content on the link shared which according to you is correlated and will help the readers in some way or the other.
There are certain things to keep in mind while commenting on other blogs:
- Never just post a comment for the sake of getting a link back. It is unethical and also resorts to comment spamming.
- Share valuable info. related about the topic or share your opinion about it.
- Reply to other people’s comments if you think have something to add to.
- Do not make your comments too long so that they end up superseding the blog post itself.
- If you think that your comment is worth being shared to other beyond the community of that blog tweet the link on Twitter or share it on social media. This again subtly benefits the blog too.
- Comment only on topic for which you are passionate about or have knowledge about.
- Incase you are posting a comment on a blog post about which you do not have Much knowledge, you can even ask a question in the comments section.
- Be honest and authentic about who you are and if possible allow your logo or picture also to be displayed
By having such a commenting policy and approach your web presence can reap the benefits of promoting your brand, having a voice in the selected community, have indirect SEO and marketing benefits, reach out to new communities beyond your blog and search engine presence and also manage to get additional direct and referral traffic.
