Disclaimer: This can be massively abused. Please note that I am not at all condoning the use of this tactic to spam blogs!
Finding CommentLuv blogs to comment on
This is pretty obvious once you soak it in, so there isn’t much detail to this tip. CommentLuv is a Wordpress plugin that allows your blog to search for your commentators’ last blog post. (if they have a blog and they put their blog address in the URL field when making a comment on your blog)
CommentLuv will go to their site, check to see if its a blog, check to see their last post, grab the link and the title of that post, and come back to YOUR blog and put the title of their last post which is also linked.
You can go through some of my older posts and see it in action or check out my post on the CommentLuv plugin to see how it works.
CommentLUV links are pretty valuable, even if they are no-follow links.
I have noticed a significant increase in the number of clicks from blog comments I’ve made on sites using CommentLuv. Obviously, people are given a convenient link to click on with the title of my last post which sells the click well if I’ve made a good headline (title) for the post.
Given that fact, I have done searches in my niche to find out which of my fellow internet marketing bloggers are using CommentLuv.
Here’s how to Google and find all the CommentLuvers in your niche:
keyword “Enable CommentLuv which will”
Put your umbrella keyword for your niche in the keyword area. It can be a phrase like “blog marketing” or just one keyword like “marketing.”
You will turn up dozens if not hundreds of blogs using this plugin and talking about your topic.
Now you can go get into the discussion on these blogs (making REAL and VALUABLE comments!) and also pick up that extra link CommentLuv puts on the bottom of your comments.
Food for Thought: What other popular Wordpress plugins can you think of that work like CommentLuv to do similar searches?
Example: If there were a popular plugin a lot of bloggers use to reward their most active commentators with a link in their sidebar, (Top 5 Most Active Members, e.g.) you can isolate text from that plugin that is pretty unique, put it in quotes with your keyword as above, and find every blog using that plugin so you can become active on those sites.
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Eric Brown 06.05.08 at 2:13 pm
Great idea for generating some traffic but I totally agree…many people abuse this and just comment on whatever as much as they can. They don’t even leave relevant comments. Most of it is crap.
So if your going to use this tactic…make sure you are leaving somewhat relevant comments on niche related blogs to add value to their readers as well as generate your own traffic.
Eric Brown’s last blog post..Dreamweaver and Fireworks CS4 Beta Releases
Jack Humphrey 06.05.08 at 2:32 pm
That’s why people are INSANE if they don’t use Akismet plugin and moderate their comments.
There’s no stopping spammers from hitting your blog. But handling all those spams by hand or just letting them go through is truly insane.
I doubt even if people use this tactic to spam that it will amount to anything significant compared to the blue pill pushers.
I got 15000 spams last month alone, but Akismet caught 99.9% of them and I got rid of the rest in seconds while moderating good posts.
Marianne 06.06.08 at 2:04 am
Are you familiar with Comment Hut? The have a free and of course a paid version, but they do a nice job of finding related WordPress Blogs with high PRs for commenting. They have done a really nice job on it.
Len Estrada - Jaguar Marketing System 06.06.08 at 8:09 am
I’ve been using this search method to find relevant content related to my business and it works really well. It’s great that you write this Jack, because I’ve been debating on whether I should train my guys to use this method.
We’ve also been using this same tactic with Google Alerts. Aside from getting duplicate alerts, it has proven to be very helpful at finding great conversations to dominate.
Len Estrada - Jaguar Marketing System’s last blog post..A Social Marketers Must-Have Dream Program
jp moses | REI Tips 06.06.08 at 11:39 am
Great idea, Jack!
I just searched for my niche (real estate investing “Enable CommentLuv which will”) and frankly wasnt’ expecting much. But I was surprised at what it brought to the surface.
thanks for another great tip…one that I can actually USE!
Also thanks to Len for the Google Alerts idea - a great, easy amplification.
…jp
jp moses | REI Tips’s last blog post..New Success Story: $57,019.84 on Her First Deal
Cassie 06.06.08 at 11:41 am
I’ve noticed a lot more traffic since commenting on blogs that have CommentLuv enabled, but I wasn’t actively searching for those types of blogs. Maybe now I will because it’s not only traffic, but very targeted traffic.
A lot of bloggers might think about adding the plugin to their own blogs to encourage more comments as well.
Also, Shoemoney’s blog not only has a top commenter plugin (which he wrote himself) but he rewards them with regular links, not nofollow links. Lots of people worry about having too many outgoing links from their blog and being penalized in the search engines, but increasing that sense of community within your blog is pretty important I would think.
Cassie’s last blog post..Offering bonus content to increase RSS subscribers
Rob from Best CD Rates 06.06.08 at 3:40 pm
I’m new to blogging, but CommentLuv seems like an excellent idea. It both encourages commenters (spammers can still be moderated) and also keeps commenters’ anchor text clean, and rewards them with an extra back link.
Rob@Best CD Rates’s last blog post..Countrywide Bank CD Rates
app 06.07.08 at 7:02 am
There was something you failed to mention about commenting on CommentLuv enabled blogs…the psychological effects it has on comment makers that are regular readers of a blog.
If you become a regular reader and commentator on any one particular blog, and the writer of that blog posts very frequently, you will find yourself posting more, just to have a different link show up in your comments instead of the same ones repeatedly.
The more they post, and the more you comment, the more you will post on your own blog. You will start keeping pace with them.
What an incredible productivity booster!
It only takes a single blog owned by a prolific poster that draws you in and captures your interests to start the chain reaction.
So if you are the lazy type of blogger that doesn’t post that frequently, go find one to comment on that uses CommentLuv, that will push you to be more productive.
app’s last blog post..You Proposed. She said yes. Now what?
Jack Humphrey 06.07.08 at 10:23 am
app,
Yes! Glad you brought that up. The “dead zone” a lot of bloggers fall into is they expect to have to “reach out” a lot less and post less often than you really need to.
Getting truly involved in other blogs, especially with features enabled like CommentLuv, really does a number on your willingness to take it up a notch in your own publishing schedule.
Not only do you not want people to see the same post in your CommentLuv comments on other blogs, you also don’t want to leave posts up for too long because you disappoint readers who you now owe good content to.
They want it, you supply it, you monetize it!
Nikki Backshall 06.07.08 at 12:16 pm
I haven’t heard of this before but I will go and seek it out. I’m still quite ‘green’ on the blogging scene (that rhymed - ugh!).
Thanks for the info Jack,
Nikki
Nikki Backshall’s last blog post..Back to Basics in Online Marketing
Web Success Diva 06.07.08 at 4:01 pm
CommentLuv enabled blogs has been a great source of some valuable links. Your right, as usual, it’s not just about the NoFollow either
Maria Reyes-McDavis
Web Success Diva’s last blog post..Internet Marketing Link Love for June 5, 2008
Kaye Dennan 06.08.08 at 3:46 pm
Thanks for this tip Jack. Keep following your blogs and find them so helpful and also the links to others that you find.
Eric Brown 06.09.08 at 6:21 am
For those of you who are unaware (thanks for the Akismet mention Jack!) there is a new player in the antispam field. SixApart recently released TypePad AntiSpam which works with WordPress and Moveable Type as well.
Read about it here: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/sixapart-challenges-akismet-on-the-antispam-front-002737.php
I agree that as of now Akismet is the way to go, but SixApart may have a good tool also.
Eric Brown’s last blog post..Dreamweaver and Fireworks CS4 Beta Releases
Tom Lindstrom 06.09.08 at 9:13 am
Thanks for the tips Jack! I just installed the comment luv plugin on my blog as well.We need to encourage commenting, it´s a fantastic way to get fresh content too.
Tom Lindstrom’s last blog post..How To Choose The Best Affiliate Program For Your Site
eligio 06.09.08 at 12:50 pm
I was about to used this commentluv stuff as link building method and found your site #3, great tips. thanks
eligio’s last blog post..Busby SEO Challenge Clarification and Update!
PotPieGirl 06.10.08 at 12:17 pm
I use CommentLuv on my blog. I am also a no-nofollow blog. I know there are plenty of people out there that will attempt, and have attempted, to test my good nature.
I heavily moderate my blog and it takes a lot of extra time to do this. It would be ‘easier’ and more time-efficient if I simply removed CommentLuv and replace nofollow…. but I refuse to.
You see, there are so many wonderful people who add to the discussion of the page and make my site better… Why shouldn’t I give something back?
However, trying to ‘game’ my site makes me very cranky…lol! I believe my exact words were -
“If you spam my blog, I will haunt you, hunt you down, and make fun of your clothes, your hairstyle, AND your car.”
In other words - no link for you!
Great post!
Jennifer
PotPieGirl’s last blog post..Keyword Research 101
RealityBoy 06.11.08 at 6:36 am
If everyone would put the amount of effort into delivering quality content (and that includes developing good writing skills) and developing real relationships with others in their topical space (quality bloggers and quality commenters) that they do into all of these various techniques for “gaming” the system (just to get what really amounts to about 95% crap traffic), the blogosphere would be a much more valuable place to hang out.
If a blog isn’t being seen, half the time there’s one fundamental reason why: It simply isn’t worth looking at. The blog offers nothing to merit readership.
The other 50% has to do with TIME and RELATIONSHIPS. It takes TIME for a blog to rise to prominence in almost any topical space, and it takes RELATIONSHIPS to make this happen. Neither alone will do it, but everyone, it seems, thinks that there’s some black bag of tricks that can circumvent these immutable realities - especially TIME.
It’s this business of time that gives rise to some of the biggest lies on the Internet, even by respected people. Terry Dean, for instance, will teach you how he “did over a $million in sales in one day”, implying that you can do it too. John Reese never, ever, ever did a $million in sales in one day. That “day”, first of all, was the day he launched a product that had been MONTHS in development. That “day”, second of all, was the day he cashed in on over 14 YEARS in the internet marketing game, during which he developed the RELATIONSHIPS and the REPUTATION that made his “$million day” possible. Yes, the sales came in during the course of 24 hours, but he didn’t make those sales in “a day”. No way, Jose.
So, I could have handed you his product, and I could have handed you all the names of the “list owners” who agreed to help get his message out, and YOU WOULD NOT HAVE SOLD ANYTHING. What John Reese, Morin, and everyone else who claims to tell you how to make “$X thousands in a month” are doing is telling you an unconscious lie. Every one of them, if they are doing that kind of business, is cashing in on YEARS of previous effort, YEARS of reputation building, and YEARS of relationship building.
So now you know the truth about internet marketing, including the “marketing” of your blog. QUALITY + TIME + RELATIONSHIPS. Forget the “games”.
RealityBoy 06.11.08 at 7:02 am
No, I’m not done yet! I got sumpfin’ else to say.
I’ll give you a good example of what I’m talking about in my earlier comment:
Let’s say that you blog in the “internet marketing” topical space, and let’s say that your niche in that space is “traffic building”. You get your blog up and running, and you start to look around this space to identify the leaders in the field that you want to be associated with. People you want to learn from, to borrow content from, and….well, people you’d like to emulate is the best way to put it.
It wouldn’t take you long before you’d run into Jack Humphrey and the Friday Traffic Report, would it? Of course not. So you do a little checking, read a lot of his content, etc. and you see you’ve identified what you might call a BINGO! Make it your business to see what you can emulate, participate in HIS space, and in a totally non-artificial way let him know that you’d appreciate any advice or assistance he can give you. You might even go so far as to ask if you could hook up at a conference where he’s speaking or something like that.
Do this sort of thing with a handful of the very top, most quality-conscious leaders in your topical space, and I think I can guarantee that one day you’ll look up and find that your own efforts are being rewarded in surprising ways.
You know the one thing that a very extensive study of wealthy people discovered they ALL share? At some point they learned to associate themselves with others who are already doing what they want to do. They learned from the trail-blazers, emulating some things they did and improving on others.
Jack Humphrey 06.11.08 at 7:48 am
So, no CommentLuv for you then?
I had to look back in the Warrior Forum for a post I made years ago (when Reese’s launch was the thing everyone was talking about) to see if you lifted some of this from there!
I was telling people the same thing, John chimed in, and it was all good in the end as the group decided that reasonable people really didn’t think that million dollar day came out of the ether without a lot of work behind it.
I’ve decided that I am going to assume people are listening to me and everyone else who say over and over again that content, originality, time, and effort are the key ingredients to blogging or authority site success.
I can only say it so much before my blog starts looking like everyone’s Mom nagging them to take out the trash and to go look it up in the dictionary.
Then MY content suffers. So, KNOWING that everyone is paying attention to the golden rules of business, online and off, I focus on new trends, neat little harmless tricks, and methodologies that help people who are putting in the effort.
That’s why people come here. That’s what they want to read about WHILE they are working their tails off to get noticed and get profitable with their sites with good content.
If I don’t do it this way and I focus on the more vocal “losers” in this industry who want everything handed to them without doing a lick of work or learning, well, it gets kind of depressing for me.
If there was a way I could hold back a post showing a marketing tactic by saying “You can’t read this until you’ve finished your linkbait!” (there’s mom again. replace “linkbait” with “spinach”) I might do it.
I prefer just helping those I can help knowing that the ones who aren’t really listening to the core rules are also reading.
I was one of those people back in 1998. The guys in the Warrior Forum were telling us to settle down with the MLM crap and money making scams and get to work on our own products and build a real business way back then.
I wasn’t open to it. I wanted quick cash. Money for nothing. I treated the internet like it was a video game where, if I collected enough rings and played through all the levels I would make a ton of money.
It took me 2 years to figure out what my problem was before I started listening to my elders and putting in time to build a business.
People who didn’t listen to me years ago have emailed me later saying “I should have just done what you were saying.” This has happened a lot.
So even the people who aren’t listening today might come back later and get to work, and that keeps me from focusing too much on the negative stuff.
I ain’t Tony Robbins. Not a life coach. When people are ready for the message they need to hear, they can get a lot out of this and many other sites willing to teach them.
Eric Brown 06.11.08 at 7:55 am
RealityBoy:
So sad what you said…I have downloaded Jacks ABB and read some extensive research into his Social Powerlinking and no where have I come across the types of things you are talking about. Not to mention that I don’t see any on this site that comes to mind.
I find it fascinating that you felt the need to leave two comments in regards to blogging ethics and values but fail to provide any sort of indication that you have any foundation to back what you are saying. No blog….
Eric Brown’s last blog post..From CMSWire.com: Dreamweaver and Fireworks Beta Reviews
Eric Brown 06.11.08 at 8:01 am
The more I read your post actually I think I misunderstood, and had not seen Jack’s response. I agree that work and dedication are the only way to make something work. The world already knows the scams.
I do believe that there are tricks…like comment love that can aid in those endeavors. If you misuse it…you have to sleep with yourself at night.
Eric Brown’s last blog post..From CMSWire.com: Dreamweaver and Fireworks Beta Reviews
Eric 06.15.08 at 1:35 pm
Re: Akismet - oh yeah it is such a must-have. Has to be in any blogger’s top 10 plugins!
Eric’s last blog post..MTV reality show for graphic designers
Steve 06.18.08 at 12:22 pm
Interesting article, I have enabled CommentLuv on my blog to see what level of increased traffic I receive. I am using the CommentLuv plug-in alongside Akismet and recaptcha to cut down on spam.
Steve’s last blog post..Lower Back Pain Relief In A Few Minutes
Bali 06.21.08 at 6:19 am
Great article jack.
And I agree with you steve, to block spammer on dofollow blog we can use akismet and captcha and/or moderate the comment
Bali’s last blog post..Polls and Surveys
allan from free poker bankroll blog 06.24.08 at 5:31 am
Yes a bit of moderation is needed, but in general the spammers only use the non captcha sites. This might change, but then I’ll change my captcha system to something like .. choose the ugly girl
allan @ free poker bankroll blog’s last blog post..Great new offer at PokerSpace
Gert Hough 06.25.08 at 2:04 pm
That is about what I did to get here and I enjoyed reading your blog post. I have just really started enjoying wordpress blogposting and since about 3 weeks ago I cannot log into my reseller hosting account and could never figure out why. Soon though, soon - just as soon as I get the time…
I have installed commentluv at my main blog and I have been hit with so many traffic that it ate all my hosting bandwith
Ok, next month I will start using my blog again and by that time I should have been able to login and increase my account’s bandwidth.
Before I forget… I wanted to say I intend to start using keyword luv as well on my niche related blogs…
Gert Hough’s last blog post..Business email list for sale - 5000 email addresses cheap cheap
Rick NHS 06.26.08 at 4:45 pm
CommentLuv is a fairly new concept for me, I’m seriously considering adding it my company blog… I have no problem sharing link love, but I agree with some of the concerns regarding spamming. I’m just going to have to weed them out as normal I guess, I just hope it won’t attract more spammers than normal..
Rick NHS’s last blog post..Permian Basin Home Sales Up
EffortlessHR 07.01.08 at 12:57 pm
I love CommentLuv. It is a great way to increase your traffic and get to know the blogs of your readers. It has the potential to increase web traffic many times over.
EffortlessHR’s last blog post..Going “Green” – Small Business Can Do Its Part
Shaun 07.12.08 at 10:12 am
Comment Luv has been one of the most important aspects of my link-building strategy. I never thought about actually searching for websites that use it. Haha, thanks.
Shaun’s last blog post..How the “Gurus” Make Money
Brad 07.14.08 at 11:39 pm
I have been promoting the plugin for a while now, but until recently hadn’t really started using it for my own backlink purposes.
Brad’s last blog post..WordPress 2.6 First Impressions
Free Country Websets- Eren 07.17.08 at 6:51 am
Hey Jack,
I really liked you answer about knowing the golden rules of business(great content, etc.)
I also agree that there is no problem with being smart and using great techniques to generate traffic. Some people get on a high horse about nothing ranting about this and that and don’t even stop and think that you are giving excellent advice to work wisely.
As the saying goes, “Work smarter not harder.”
All the best,
Eren
Free Country Websets- Eren’s last blog post..By: learningheart
Jeffrey Posner 07.23.08 at 9:06 pm
I LUV the Comment love plugin!
Jeffrey Posner’s last blog post..The Anatomy of a Good Business Meeting
Chelle 07.24.08 at 11:40 am
Have you tried the wordpress plug-in keyword luv yet?
It gives your commenters a keyword anchor link of their blog, instead of things like their name. (For example, right now I can google Chelle and my blog comes up on the first page! - but with keyword luv you can choose a keyword so it shows up Chelle from “Love & Relationships” instead
I just installed it on my blogs today if you want to check out how it works
Chelle’s last blog post..Keyword Luv & Other Blogging Goodies
Clive 07.26.08 at 2:48 am
Does using the ‘Do Follow’ plugin as well make ‘CommentLuv’ comments do follow?
Clive’s last blog post..Expert Wordpress Launch - will this program help with your Wordpress blog setup issues?
Brad 07.26.08 at 9:21 am
Clive, it has been a while since I abandoned the do follow plugin for nofollow free, but I believe it does. In no follow free you have more control over what is and isn’t nofollow. On the other hand it would be pointless to make the name link dofollow, but not the CommentLuv link.
Brad’s last blog post..5 WordPress Plugins That Drive Comments
JS from BusbySeoChallenge 08.17.08 at 7:32 pm
Interesting!
CommentLuv helps you reward your commentators by separating their name from their keywords in the link to their site. This gives them improved anchor text, which can help their site rank higher in the search engine results.
You can now leave a comment with your name as well as a keyword of your choice here and get a PR5 link back to your site! How cool is that? People pay big bucks for that and all you have to do is comment here.
JS@BusbySeoChallenges last blog post..Busby SEO Challenger Sphere Going for the Top Spot Again
Link Building Blog 08.18.08 at 12:52 pm
I’ve had great success using commentluv and I’m seeing a lot of return visitors and commenting because myself running the plugin.
Link Building Blogs last blog post..Blackhats Are Using Mashable.com For Top SERPs
Dave Sherwin 08.20.08 at 7:00 am
– Eric Brown–
Great info on comment luv, and in this thread I love Jack’s philosophy too. OK, so there’s only one Tony Robbins, but I bet he can’t blog worth a crap
Dave Sherwins last blog post..4 Great blogs to “rob and duplicate”
Jon 08.24.08 at 1:55 am
You might want to check out the article “Don’t let your CommentLuv be Stolen Away” which tells you how to adjust your FeedBurner settings so that CommentLuv links point direct to your blog, rather than to your FeedBurner account. It’s at -
http://www.scratch99.com/2008/02/commentluv-benefits-lost-feedburner-redirect/
HTH
Cheers, Jon
Jons last blog post..Salons on TV - “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover” launches in USA
Andy 08.26.08 at 10:39 am
Cheers for the tip!
Andy Bailey 08.30.08 at 1:57 pm
thanks for promoting CommentLuv, it’s getting busier and busier now. over 2 million calls to the remote script so far this month!
Andy Baileys last blog post..Euromillions MASSIVE Rollover and Free Contest - 1 more week!
Anna 09.02.08 at 6:07 am
@ Jack - I really liked your comment above (”Jack Humphrey on June 11th, 2008 7:48 am So, no CommentLuv for you then? :)”) and it made me laugh! I love how you respond to negative comments on your blogs. I always get a kick out of it. Thanks!
Jack Humphrey 09.02.08 at 7:52 am
@anna - I’m glad someone picked up on that lol!
I have to work really hard at not taking too much seriously on the web. I have to remember anyone can say and do most anything online that they probably wouldn’t offline.
So, I figure while we’re at all this, why not have some fun?
Anna 09.02.08 at 8:34 am
It’s a great approach Jack. You’re right, we are behind the curtain of virtual anonymity (ie, our computer “screens”). It’s a great approach you have, and my hat’s off to you! (I saw you do it before too.
)
Kaye 09.02.08 at 1:53 pm
WOW, Jack, you really hit a nerve with this one. I have not seen for some time so many posts, in such a short time, on one topic. That really does show how many dedicated followers you have and how many people are serious about their business.
Tips on back links are so helpful to newish bloggers like myself. Even understanding the terminology can be hard enough sometimes, never mind the process.
Thanks again
Scott McAndrew 09.07.08 at 10:17 am
With Google favoring blog content for so long now, and the desire for them to keep people from gaming the system, I wonder if they’ll take aggressive steps against DoFollow blogs and those using CommentLuv.
Scott McAndrews last blog post..SEO company stupidity search (win an iPod Touch)
Jack Humphrey 09.07.08 at 3:26 pm
@scott - The irony would not be lost on me if they ever did that. That’ the nicest statement you’re likely to hear on the subject from honest bloggers.
But, I wouldn’t be surprised by such an act. It wouldn’t be the first time real publishers were punished for what the spam community does.
Anna 09.08.08 at 7:13 am
Well that’s a take on it I hadn’t heard before. Wow … that would seem a bit far to go though. I mean, Google appreciates real commenting and traffic on blogs, this has been tested etc. And the fact that it is a blog usually means it has its own anti-spam feature built in as most bloggers delete spam comments. Which means that mostly relevant and good quality comments would come through. Shouldn’t that be worth some kudos for the commenter?
Or maybe it is only the blogger who is receiving the comments, who gets the kudos?
Does high-quality off-site content with backlinks merit “points” from Google? That would include articles as well as comments. Makes me wonder. Only time will tell I guess.
Probably the best defense is to make sure we have good original content and real social activity on our blogs. Even nofollow links from intelligent comments do result in traffic and this results in comments on the commenter’s blog. As well as RSS subscriptions etc.
So in the end it should still be a relatively strong strategy to post valuable posts and comment and interact realistically with others. Other strategies might fluctuate as to results but when it all comes out in the wash, this should be a pretty stable backup.
Scott from The Passive Dad 09.09.08 at 1:35 pm
Akismet has been good, but I notice that sometimes it will classify a friendly blogger as spam? I’ve had this happen 4 times and so I have to go through each and every spam comment to make sure legit comments are accepted. Kind of a pain, but I guess Akismet will learn who they are eventually.
I’d like to try comment luv on my blog and see if it generates more comments. The other question of course, how to encourage people to subscribe to the RSS feed? Some good plugins for this, but I wonder how many “organic” google users will know what an RSS does.
Jack Humphrey 09.09.08 at 3:07 pm
Yeah Akismet isn’t nearly perfect but imagine all those spams being dumped in your comments folder every day with the good comments - would be even worse! (And it does learn from you.)
People don’t and will not know what RSS is for a long time, if ever. The regular surfer uses this technology without knowing it. The only people who talk about RSS are the people in the know - but we shouldn’t heap jargon like that on our visitors.
That’s why I have people subscribe to RSS via email through FeedBlitz. They never need to know what the technical meaning of RSS is to take advantage of it.
Microsoft Messenger is peer-to-peer networking. But they don’t CALL it that and hundreds of thousands of people who use it don’t care. They just use it and that’s it.
RSS is the same. The reason it is so hard for people to get visitors to “subscribe to RSS” is they are asking people to do that instead of subscribing to their blog!
Only the website owner need know that the information is delivered via their RSS feed. Regular visitors, for all they know and care, are simply subscribing to a blog.
app 09.09.08 at 7:16 pm
I can’t remember where I read it, but it seems that only 5% of internet users actually use a feed reader (desktop or web based) and subscribe to RSS feeds. (was a believable source, which is the only reason why the number stuck with me)
I have spent more time educating people about the concept of RSS feeds and feed readers, than promoting my own feed. (although I start all friends out with an opml that contains all my feeds :D)
I am also amazed at how many people have misconceptions on the usefulness of feeds…people that should know better.
About a year ago I contacted a tech savvy developer that writes some really great but infrequent articles & essays that I enjoy reading & sharing, to urge him to consider adding a feed to his site. He replied to tell me that feeds are only for blogs and sites that have new content on a daily basis. (what a job I had educating him!)
He eventually added the feed (probably to get me to stfu & leave him alone), and not only is he keeping it up to date with his latest article when he publishes one, he is now also announcing new software and updates to existing applications, as I also suggested. (Success!)
Common people that have no clue, click the link for your feed on your blog and are taken to a page they don’t understand, and if it is all in XML, they get confused or think there is something wrong. This was why bloggers started using FeedBurner initially.
So Jack is right about offering the option to subscribe to the feed by email. This is especially important if your content isn’t targeted at other bloggers (they usually understand feeds better than most).
Newsletters and email announcements, common people understand…feeds, they don’t.
apps last blog post..Free MP3 Download: Eldad Lidor
Andy Bailey 09.09.08 at 11:57 pm
@jack: I got your response by the email subscription on this post and had to come back and say that you’ve got a really good point there about asking organic surfers to subscribe to your blog rather than saying subscribe to your feed, I asked someone once if they subscribed to a sites feed and they said they didn’t see the feed, they just subscribed to the blog instead. hahaha
Andy Baileys last blog post..Beating the beta out
Eran Malloch - No B.S. Search Engine Marketing blog 09.11.08 at 9:58 pm
This 1 tip - in conjunction with the (final!) launch of our blog - has changed my link building totally!
I had fun the other day searching for ontopic blogs with commentluv and posting comments on them, AND the joy of seeing a link to our newest blog post as a gift for adding value to the conversation was great!
Thanks for the great tip Jack, and I’ll be on the lookout for other plugins that I can use in a similar way, as you suggested.
Eran
Eran Malloch - No B.S. Search Engine Marketing blogs last blog post..5 Top AdWords Landing Page Tips
Anna 09.13.08 at 5:27 pm
That’s a good point! I didn’t really understand RSS for years, to be honest. And it put me off from using it. I think I will remember to switch my messages over “subscribe to this blog.” Much better!
Bytetips 09.20.08 at 6:29 am
I tried to use CommentLuv wordpress Plugin in my Blog. But i heard from other bloggers that dofollow comment can Damage Blog rank. Some bloggers told me that if i use Dofollow plugins google will sap me for having too many links. I m new in blogging i can’t decide i should use it or not.
Bytetipss last blog post..Completely Remove Old Data From Your PC
Paunchiness 09.24.08 at 1:22 pm
hehe…I found your site by doing that same thing.
I had to install the dofollow plugin on my blog because commentluv wouldn’t do it by itself. I’m wondering if there’s something in the newer releases of wordpress that break it. Or, maybe it was something in my theme.
Either way, I do enjoy the commentluv… especially the new version that lets you choose which post to add in your comments. Check it out on my site and download it from you know where…
Chicago Salon Equipment Blog 09.27.08 at 10:17 am
Using askimet is a must when dealing with such a great tool like commentluv. I also heard that it can hurt your overall ranking if you have many dofollow links on your blog. Do you think that comments originating from commentluv parsed feeds are going to damage SE ranking?
Gigi Barber Chairs 09.27.08 at 10:21 am
How to monetize or make use of RSS other then using it for feed plugins like commentluv? I’m really new at these kind of stuff and trying to figure rss out seems to me like a “mission impossible” (no, really!)
Could you send me some links of pages explaining rss? (”for dummies” would be just fine, thanks
)
Cheers!
doug 10.04.08 at 12:18 am
i guess i will make a move to wordpress.. blogspot won’t allow this..
dougs last blog post..All American Rejects - Gives You Hell Mp3 N Lyrics
Time Tracker 10.09.08 at 12:50 am
Great writeup Jack! There’s also the highly underrated KeywordLuv plugin:
http://www.scratch99.com/wordpress-plugin-keywordluv/
Time Trackers last blog post..T-Mobile halts Android orders while iPhone goes unlocked in Hong Kong
Bob 10.18.08 at 8:46 am
Being new to blogging in general and wordpress in particular, I always appreciate find posts like this. I have to admit that I am confused about DoFollow and CommentLuv and what works with what after reading the comments. I will read everything again and see if I can get myself straightened out.. Thanks for the information.
Justin Wright 10.23.08 at 10:27 am
Thanks for the great information. CommentLuv is a great tool to help make your blog standout and give your readers some link love. I used to have it on my blog but for some reason it stopped working. I am working on getting it back up as soon as possible.
Justin Wrights last blog post..An Interview With Tim Ferriss
Daniel 10.24.08 at 9:43 am
On the subject of getting links to help your site,
I don’t think it’s quite fair to say that commentluv is a cheap trick to cheat the system.
First of all it does take a lot of time to build links and actual effort. You can’t just leave a bunch of crap comments on a blog that don’t add to the conversation. With that in mind, commentluv and keywordluv help all parties involved as long as Akismit is activated on the blog. The post gets real comments that add to the interest of the article and the value of the page. Because the more comments your page has, the more google likes it. In return the commenter gets a couple links to his site with relavent key terms. It’s not parasitical but rather symbiotic, so no one is getting cheated.
Second, links are not gonna help you dominate someone’s site that has many years invested and is already recognized by google as an authoritative site. They will only help you rank for terms that there is no authority which means that you’re not robbing someone of their hard work or time vested.
Third, if you don’t have relevant content on your site it would take tens of thousands of links to get anywhere. Plus google doesn’t give a crap about how many links you have if your site isn’t relevant, so the first person that knows anything about SEO or internet marketing in general can get you de-indexed in minutes. And there are a lot of internet marketers out there, so even if a black hat does make $20 from spamming commentluv or keywordluv sites and ranking for a few hours, they are not in it for the long run and will shortly lose all value of whatever domain they are using.
So overall commentluv and keywordluv are awesome tools that don’t really help scam artists.
PS: Thanks a lot for the post. It’s good info for people that are just getting into blogging. It let’s them know right off the bat that you can’t prosper as a black hat. everyone I know that used to do it says they would go back and stop themselves if they could.
Daniels last blog post..Cosmetic Contacts
Joan 10.24.08 at 12:27 pm
I’m using CommentLuv on my blog now, but I hesitated because of the potential spam problem. I asked some bloggers who are using it if it was a big issue, and they all agreed that it wasn’t. They said they did get some spam, but they also got some great comments. So I’ll see how it goes. So far, so good.
Joans last blog post..Make Your Landing Page Relevant to Your Keywords
app 10.25.08 at 10:01 am
There is something else you need to know about CommentLuv and commenting on blogs that use it, and that is that your link is not just appearing on the page in which you left the comment.
In many cases your link is also being sent by email to everyone that is subscribed to that post’s comments.
And yes, some of us do check those links and click the ones that catche our eyes.
I have clicked a few from this post, in my email, so you are getting additional traffic, even if the links in my email have no SEO benefits to you.
And that is what it’s about…getting traffic, any way you can. It’s not about SEO, at all.
apps last blog post..[Blog Action Day] The American Spaghetti Crisis: Part 2 (Our Nation’s Starving Students)
Taylor 10.28.08 at 8:40 am
As long as you have something relevant to add to the discussion I think CommentLuv is a great feature for both parties. The blogger is getting relevant discussion and the reader is rewarded with a good link back to their site for contributing. Hopefully CommentLuv will help rid the blogging community of spammers.
Eric 10.28.08 at 9:34 pm
I agree with Taylor, CommentLuv is great feature for users
if it goes both ways, thou Its not sure if Google likes it.
link building 11.02.08 at 4:22 am
i think building links using comment love is right as long as we leave relevant comments and write something that makes sense as this also helps the website gain some authority as well as content.
link buildings last blog post..Advertise On Your Competitors Website
Rhys 11.07.08 at 10:35 pm
Hi -
You said; “CommentLUV links are pretty valuable, even if they are no-follow links.” I agree, but just wish more CommentLuv plugin users would also use DoFollow, so that we would ALL benefit.
Rhyss last blog post..CommentLuv Guarantees Premium Keyword Backlinks
The Geared Investor 11.08.08 at 5:28 am
Nice post. I found out how important commenting on other blogs was when I was contacted by a well known financial blog who now wants to feature my articles on their site. This will more than double my traffic, so it was the ultimate reward. Nice article.
The Geared Investors last blog post..How to Use My Forex Signals: Grab Pips, Get Out
deden 11.10.08 at 2:58 am
I’ve just done my CommentLuv installation on my personal blog, its great as far as I can see.
It push me and other reader backto basic on Link Building, U Comment - I Follow and so on. I’m a little bit curiuos to some web which promising a linkback, or social networking like Techn0rat1 or some other.
I think the best link building is U Comment I Follow method plus CommentLuv, i looking forward to Blogspot to make an official/default tool based on CommentLuv
dedens last blog post..CommentLuv untuk Blogger
Money Amulet 11.10.08 at 2:20 pm
Commentluv is a really great plugin/ i`m use it on my blog too
Money Amulets last blog post..Investment tips in crysis times
Augie 11.13.08 at 8:17 pm
I tried installing commentluv, but for some reason it jacked up my theme, so I had to deactivate it. It’s a good concept, though.
Augies last blog post..When the bank won’t be the bank, the real estate investor can be the bank
bebo skins 11.28.08 at 2:43 pm
great blog you got here jack thanks for the tips also, love the way you respond to some of the idiots on here
Lbug 11.30.08 at 6:13 am
The problem is CommentLuv doesn’t choose the most appropriate post to link to, just the most recent.
George 12.02.08 at 12:31 am
CommentLuv…what’s next? CommentLust?
I get tons of spam on one of my blogs…50% of the time it doesn’t even relate to the page in a way that’s recognizable. And the other 50% is crap.
Once in a while I think I might see a real comment…but not very often.
If you use CommentLuv…use it with diginity…that’s all.
horoskop 12.04.08 at 8:57 am
That’s why people are insane if they don’t use Akismet plugin and moderate their comments.
Electric Vehicle Blog 12.06.08 at 6:05 pm
Wow thanks so much for the tip above, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for - I’m just getting into link building for my own blog through blog backlinks, and this tip along with all the others I’ve seen in the comments will really help. CommentLuv - what a great idea!
Electric Vehicle Blogs last blog post..Military To Go Electric With 4000 New Electric Vehicles
John from Bella Band 01.04.09 at 3:22 pm
Keywordluv and Commentluv are two great tools for rewarding readers for adding relevant discussion to your blog. The reader is rewarded with a valuable backlink for contributing to the conversation.