Blog commenting for links doesn't really have much “SEO” value these days, and if done incorrectly will actually have a negative impact on your site's ranking. That doesn't mean there's no value to commenting though. In fact I do my best to comment on other sites as often as I can.
There CAN BE a small benefit to blog commenting for SEO though, so I'll start with that. For other link-building tactics and off-page SEO explainations, check this guide.
Blog Commenting For SEO
In all honesty if you're commenting for SEO purposes, you're missing the bigger picture (which I'll go into later). That said, when a site is new and doesn't have many links to it, this is a good starting point.
Just like giving your site a social share will help it get indexed and get Google noticing it, a few blog comments here and there will do the same. If you've done some good keyword research and built out a good site, you might even start to notice your rankings increasing after a few links have been built.
You aren't going to get to page one from this, but you'll get your site noticed and start the ball rolling. It's like “setting up the foundation” and letting the world see you exist.
If you are planning on doing this, I wouldn't suggest doing it on more than say, 20 sites. Some of them won't approve your comment anyway. Make sure you go about it the right way though. Here are some rules you need to follow:
- Just use your name or website name. Don't try to stuff a keyword in there. Ugh. Spammy.
- Make sure your comment contributes to the discussion and is relevant. No “Nice post man” stuff.
- Come back later to see if your post has been published and reply to anyone who has joined in the discussion.
- Only comment on sites relevant to your site.
You NEED to make it look natural. Google will punish anyone who is lazy enough to spam, but if there is natural discussion and contribution going on (on a small scale), then it will usually let it fly.
If you check this infographic, you'll see that putting keywords into your anchor text is pretty much worthless when it comes to ranking now.
Use common sense when building back-links. Don't spam. Don't be lazy. Add value and people will reward you.[Tweet Me Please]
Other Advantages Of Blog Commenting
Hands down the number one benefit of blog commenting is to network. Visit a site you like a few times, drop some comments in, make friends with the site owner, and they'll likely visit your site and return the favor. They might even throw a link or two to your site from theirs, and THOSE are back-links you want to attract. Especially if you are commenting on relevant blogs.
Further down the line you might end up working together, guest-posting on their site, or getting some traffic from people reading the comments and clicking your name to learn more (it does happen actually).
You'll also learn a thing or two. Reading other people's sites regularly and commenting will teach you many things and you can get questions answered. I've learned a ton from sites like NichePursuits or AuthorityWebsiteIncome simply by reading and joining in.
Who knows, maybe one day one of them will swing by here and leave a comment too.
Seriously though, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to network with other sites in your niche. The Internet is a network of links, so if you're not getting engaged and are just living in your own bubble, your site will look weird.
I guess that's another SEO advantage to blog commenting, it shows that you are in the right circles.
A Summary
Off the top of my head, here are 7 reasons to blog comment.
- Gets your site “noticed” by Google (but not necessarily ranked).
- Gets your site noticed by people.
- Builds relationships with other website owners (can lead to better links later).
- Demonstrates your authority and enthusiasm in the niche.
- Helps you learn.
- Encourages people to return the favor.
- Makes you feel less lonely as a blogger (aww).
BUT, doing it wrong, doing it on far too many sites, or trying to put keywords and links into your comments will result in a Google slap and your rankings could be penalized.
Also, make sure the site you comment on lets you put links in the “name” section, otherwise it's not as worthwhile. Even though I use Disqus, it still allows you to link to your website in your Disqus profile.
Bryon when my site is relatively new like one months old, how much blog commenting is too much?
Can I do like 5 posts per day for next 2-3 months?
Should I continue to blog post consistently or should I stop after some time?
Nice informative article. SEO is one such subject which has lot more to learn that is never ending. I have been checking regularly on Internet about SEO tips and techniques. Thanks.
Great post Bryon, thanks for sharing. Couldn’t agree more, poor quality back links will do way more harm than good. It is important to establish Page Rank with both Quality and Quantity of Visitors to establish affordability. Commenting is an excellent way of building knowledge by engaging the Right Audience.
nice article amazing
I am totally agree with you. is blog commenting effect ranking?
Very good article and very useful list for blog commenting website. The Blog commenting still plays a very important role when talking about SEO and backlinks. Thanks for the share.
Bryon when my site is relatively new like one months old, how much blog commenting is too much?
Can I do like 5 posts per day for next 2-3 months?
Should I continue to blog post consistently or should I stop after some time?
5 posts per day is fine, but I’m not sure if you want to continue for 2-3 months. It’s good for building brand links and topical links for the first few weeks, but after that there are no real SEO benefits. Of course, if you want to do it for networking purposes then go right ahead!
Hi Bryon.
Your site is really starting to draw my attention LOL. I have learned from WA that if someone comments on one of your blog posts, it will increase you chances of getting ranked.
If you get comments on a specific post, will it increase the ranking of that specific post and will it be beneficial to the ranking of that post if I draw as many comments as I can to it?
1 comment on a post isn’t going to increase ranking. Number of comments is just one metric Google looks at when choosing which post to rank highest. It’s likely that a post with a lot of comments will rank well, as long as those comments are on topic.
However, things like social shares and links are going to benefit it much more.
I love getting comments, but they aren’t a part of my SEO strategy.
This article actually talks about you commenting on other people’s sites.