Too many choices?
Most bloggers blog because they want to make money online.
What are the ingredients of making money blogging?
Having something worthy to sell – whether it’s a product or a service, and a readership that is willing to buy.
How do you get readers who are willing to buy?
By providing consistent value, building relationships, and building TRUST.
How do you cultivate such trust?
By giving.
On the Fence about CommentLuv?
When I first started blogging, I was a nobody in the blogosphere; just another wannabe trying to “make it” online.
We all have to start somewhere, right?
I knew that creating loyal readership was what I needed to focus on. Once you have readership, they will be the ones to spread the word about your blog and bring in even more readers.
And one way I did it is by giving my readers every reason to comment on my blog.
I made my blog DoFollow, which it still is, and installed CommentLuv to give my readers even more incentive to engage.
The result?
Traffic Generation Cafe as you see it in just over a year.
If you are still on the fence on whether to use CommentLuv on your blog or not, consider this: do the potential negatives outweigh the benefits of creating steady readership?
If you ask me, the answer is a strong NO.
Benefits of Commenting on CommentLuv Blogs
There are two major benefits CommentLuv provides to blog commentators:
- Traffic generation
- Link building
Seems to be simple and straight forward: when commenting on a CommentLuv enabled blog, you build an additional link back to one of your latest blog posts (link building), plus entice other commentators to click on that link by using a brilliant and catchy title of sorts (traffic generation).
Two birds with one stone, right? Not so fast.
Traffic generation and link building are two entirely different goals, which require two entirely different approaches.
CommentLuv Traffic Generation
How do you generate traffic from CommentLuv enabled blogs?
- You read the post in its entirety.
- You leave an intelligent comment providing additional feedback, resources, or even a different opinion.
- You pick a preferably relevant post as your CommentLuv link, the one that…
- …has an incredibly CATCHY and CLICKABLE title.
- You wait for other readers to click on that title to satisfy their curiousity.
Traffic generation from CommentLuv links comes down to the blog titles.
How’s that different from link building?
CommentLuv Link Building
As many of you already know, link building is the cornerstone of any successful SEO campaign.
However, not all links are created equal.
Google uses links to determine the topic of the content the link is pointing to.
That’s why using your main keywords as your anchor text is so vitally important in link building.
Side note: you shouldn’t get 100% exact anchor text links back to your blog posts – that would be an obvious link building footprint and Google doesn’t like to see that. Keep the ratio to about 60% exact and 40% other keywords.
So how do you generate exact anchor text links with CommentLuv?
The way CommentLuv works is it taps into your RSS feed to come up with the list of your 10 latest blog posts.
Whatever the current titles are, that’s what you see in your CommentLuv link choices.
Another helpful thing to know about CommentLuv is that it’s not dynamic, meaning that once the link is posted with your comment, it won’t change even if you change the title.
Now imagine you are going on a commenting spree and would like to build links to a specific post with your chosen anchor text in mind.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Change the title of your blog post to your EXACT keyword. Save.
- Go ahead and start leaving comments on CommentLuv enabled blogs.
- Pick your new title as your CL link.
- Post the comment.
Once you are done commenting, you can always go back and change the title of the post back to the catchy one. It won’t affect the links you already placed on other blogs.
Easy and brilliant, wouldn’t you agree?
As you can imagine, these kinds of titles won’t generation much traffic, but they are an excellent way to build some quality backlinks.
Traffic Generation AND Link Building Mixology
I realize that many bloggers are not the kind of link building fanatics you need to be to give up potential traffic generation in favor of pure link building.
Is there a way to accomplish both?
You won’t get as good results doing it this way, but it’s better than nothing.
What you do is change your catchy blog post title to the one that contains your keywords in the very beginning, as in:
- “Your Keyword: Come And Check Out My Brilliant Blog Post”
Needless to say, your keyword has to make sense to be included in the title this way.
Google tends to give more weight to the words placed first in the title, so you still might get some link building benefit, while keeping your title enticing to click on.
How to Do It Even Better with CommentLuv Premium
The new CommentLuv Premium has a great feature that allows you to add your top 5 favorite posts/pages to your list of 10 latest posts.
So now, when I comment on any CommentLuv enabled blog, whether the blogger has the premium version installed or not, I have a choice of 15 posts, 5 of which are pure anchor text posts and the rest are posts with unedited titles.
Your top favorites don’t change unless you change them in your settings, so you have complete control as to what posts you choose.
I use my 10 latest posts to generate traffic and my top 5 to build links.
Speaking of which, how would you like your copy of CommentLuv Premium to be on me?
CommentLuv Premium Giveaway
As you may know, CommentLuv Premium is currently closed to new members, but the new launch is quickly approaching in the second week of November.
And I’d love to give YOU, one of my lucky Traffic Generation Cafe readers, an opportunity to get this incredible plugin completely free.
ALSO, I’ll add to it a 30-minute consultation with me, where you get to pick my brains on any traffic generation/SEO/blogging topic you can think of.
All you need to do is to help me spread the word about my giveaway by linking to it from your blog.
Here are the simple steps to become eligible for this giveaway:
1. Place the following snippet into your next blog post:
There is a great giveaway going on at the Traffic Generation Cafe Blog, your ultimate hub for all things web traffic, where you can win your own copy of the hottest plugin release of the year – CommentLuv Premium. Participating is very easy: just visit Ana’s CommentLuv Premium giveaway page for more information.
2. Leave me a comment below with the link to the post with the snippet.
I’ll announce the winner on the day of the launch.
Meanwhile, to stay in the loop about the upcoming launch, I highly recommend you tell Andy Bailey to include your name on the CommentLuv Premium waiting list – just click on this banner:
Marketing Takeaway
My personal take on this whole traffic generation vs link building idea is this: I’d rather rank my posts on Google and start bringing perpetual SEO traffic than hope that a few readers will click on my CommentLuv link here and there.
What about you? Comment to show me that you’re alive!
Image source: ComicVine.com
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Ana has written 240 great posts for Traffic Generation Cafe.
{ 194 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the Keyword -change title tip. I should have thought about that already. Sometimes the most obvious things are also the most counter intuitive things.
If all my readers figured everything out on their own, I’d be out of business. lol
When it comes to milk I’m more of a ‘raw’ milk fan.
. I’m loving comment luv, didn’t feel completely comfortable surfing around and making comments but for what ever reason feel more comfortable with luv.
I like mine as processed as possible. lol
That’s probably because you don’t have much traffic, Arun.
I’m adding CommentLuv to my offsite SEO routine and REALLY seeing the benefits from it. Especially getting the +1 from each post. Clearly link building is important, but I’m starting to see the social aspect really affecting SERP placement for monetized blogs
Yes, Michael – I’ve noticed the surge in +1′s (thanks for giving me one!) since I installed CommentLuv Premium.
These are some excellent tips! I’ve got to give this some serious thought. I’ve not yet monetized my blog, so it’s difficult to justify purchasing the premium version of CL, but I need to install the free one. Thanks for the tips!
doug_eike invites you to read: Eight Writings Everyone Should Read Before The Age Of Twenty
I’ve built my blog with the free version, Doug – the premium one is just the icing on the cake.
I’m using CommentLuv free on my blog and it’s a very good plugin, not, it’s really great. But I would have never thought to use it as you perfectly described. I’ll print this article for further reference, thanks a lot.
Hope you’ll put it to good use, Andrew.
Thanks Anna, just joined… I’ve heard great thing about commentluv and am looking forward to learning the ropes…
Kellie invites you to read: Many Chronic Issues Are Related to Food
Thanks, Kellie; hope you make the most of it!
I have read a lot about this plugin in your website and I believe that at the end I will try it, at least for one of my blogs. I’ll tell you my experience because I think it’s a bit complicated, the normal edition, but let’s see.
Let me know how it goes!
CommentLuv behaves differently when I type in a “deep” link to a page on my blog. It offers a different selection of posts and pages (including ones I haven’t set as favorites). It’s more of a feature than a bug, but it takes some getting used to.
It’s a bug, Astro – most bloggers don’t have that; I asked around. lol
Another handy feature of the Premium version of the ComLuv plugin is the ability to use it to boost articles at places like ezine, etc (I did this with this comment to show you readers how it works). I know the Panda gave most of the article directories a severe slap but the backlinks they give out do have some juice even if the articles themselves don’t rank so well anymore.
Very good point, James; article directories are still great for link building.
Take a look at this new CL search engine: http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/loves/cl-search-engine/
Ana – Thanks for the tips. You are right, I have never seen the idea of commenting for traffic vs commenting for backlinks. Nice work!
Michael invites you to read: How Blog Backlinks Drive Traffic to Your Site
Thanks, Michael; hope you’ll put these tips to good use.
Commentluv has improved blogging and readership since it was launched. With commentluv creating quality links and generating traffics was never impossible.
Noel Addison invites you to read: 5 Things to Look for in a Web Dev Company
Hi Anna, great tip on changing the title of the post to keep varying the anchor text. I’ve been taking you up on your advice but a thought hit me the other day. Does Wordpress automatically ping your post to search engines and directories each time you update it? I heard this somewhere and I’m just worried that if I keep pinging these services with the same post it will look spammy and count against me. Do you think this is an issues and do you have any advice for how to get around it? I think there may be plugins that restrict when your posts gets pinged?
Thanks loads for your help again, Ted
Sure, Ted.
You are correct: WP does automatically ping your post every time you update and it’s not a good practice.
I have MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer (free plugin) installed on my blog and it ensures that your blog isn’t pinged every time you update a post.
This plugin will take care of the issue.
Hi Ana,
Coming back from your other post. I have a demand from you
I would like to see a post where you run through the merits of CL to the blog owners. So far what we have come through is more like a “win-win bribe” to the content and link seekers. But would be great to analyze the factors apart from regular readership, networking and trust vs. your “make it” conversions/target
Saikat invites you to read: 3 New Important SEO Factors To Rank Your Website
I am not sure there are that many more benefits to talk about, Saikat.
Did you see this post: http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/commentluv-premium/ ?
Hello Ana,
It’s about time I participated on your blog. I see you as a real gem in the world of internet marketing. You’ve become my de facto “blogging coach.” As an author learning the ropes of blogging, I’m incredibly grateful to you. What’s more, you’ve made blogging fun. So thank you!
That said, it’s time for me to upgrade to CommentLuv Premium. Cheers!
Well, thank you, Srinivas – look forward to seeing you around.
This is a really awesome article Ana. Building backlinks via blog commenting is one of the best means of FREE and TARGETED traffic, both from blogs and search engine.
What we should do is to keep on making blog comments, set a schedule of checking blogs and making comments on new articles.
Love this post. Keep up the good work
Kharim invites you to read: CommentLuv Premium With Awesome Bonus Packages
Finally got CL Premium with the Deal Coupon bonus
Although I missed the boat when it just $20
Caleb invites you to read: Free CB Products
At least you got it before the price is raised even further, Caleb (and it will be).
Deal coupon bonus? Do tell!
Its one of the bonus plugins Andy threw in called “Dealpon” that can turn your posts or whole WP site into a Groupon like site allowing you run special pricing offers that count down including sharing options…the way it displays within a post is absolutely awesome
Hi there and thanks for your wonderful blog!
Do you know by any chance if there is a possibility to comment on CL enabled blogs and link back from them to non-wordpress sites? I know it grabs the posts links from the blog’s rss feed… but maybe there is a way to link to other platforms as well?
Thanks
Hello John
You can comment from non-WP blogs. I hope that answers your question?
Hi Anna
Maybe I didn’t ask the Q correctly. What I’m asking is if I have a website which is not Wordpress based, can I still comment on CL blogs and pick a post or an article to link to to my site from this comment? As I tried this and didn’t see any post/article apearing under the comment.
Another question if I may – I have noticed that in blogs that didn’t upgrade to CL Premium, the “pick a post to link to” option is dissabled now, so basically about 80% of the CL blogs are not enabled to comment in for link building purposes… Did you notice that? and if so, do you have a solution? or maybe an idea on how to find just the blogs who upgraded to premium?
Thanks!
Yes, John – as long as a web property in question has an RSS feed, you should be able to use it for CommentLuv links.
Your CL links did show up under these comments; were you referring to a different site?
As far as your second question is concerned, I just visited several CL enabled blogs that are running a free version and was able to see the dropdown menu to CL links without a problem.
Only one of them said that their version of CL is not working any longer – it’s probably because some webmasters failed to keep their plugin upgraded. Doesn’t mean that they’ll have to buy the premium version.
And yes, there’s a way to search for CL Premium blogs only. Go to DropMyLink.com and choose “CommentLuv Premium” in the drop down menu.
Thanks for the info Ana
I wasn’t refering to the site i placed here but to another site that’s not built on an open source platform but in the old HTML way.
And I’ll try that link finder.
Thanks again
John
Check out this post on how to create an RSS feed for a static site, John:
http://www.2createawebsite.com/traffic/create-rss-feeds.html
Thanks for the help!
Ana,
It was great timing for your giveaway, our readers don’t post comments. After a simple test I found that they don’t know how. I changed the theme to allow easier comments, and I pray they start to increase. We don’t have a product other than our story of inspiration. I do have affiliate products that I would like to sell more of. So my post was about commenting.
http://brandonmulnix.com/comment-love-barefoot-runners-speak-out/
Brandon Mulnix invites you to read: Comment LOVE!… We enjoy hearing from you
Hi Ana,
Here’s the link to my post with your contest added. http://www.jeffwittfitness.com/2011/11/p90x-iphone-app-is-here-finally/
Hope I win! I’d love to pick your brain for 30 minutes. Just imagine how much I could learn. Would take months of trial and error off my schedule.
Thanks, Jeff!
Was it you who asked me if there was a CL search engine? That’s what inspired me to look into it; thus the email today. LOL
CommentLuv has been a fantastic addition to my blog. It is an excellent tool because as you said it provides a nice incentive to you readers but I also enjoy using it as a way to find new/interesting blogs to read.
It really has been simply outstanding for both purposes.
Jack invites you to read: Should You Create a Google+ Page For Your Blog
I so agree, Jack.
Just got back from your blog – love the quote!
Hi Ana! I’ve been away but now I’m back. Hope all is well. This is good information re CommentLuv. Andy Bailey actually sent out an email a while back where he provided a link to a Beta CommentLuv search engine, listing sites that were actively using CommentLuv. Incredibly useful! Naturally I’ve lost track of the email. If you or anyone should have that url available and was willing to list it, I’d be grateful — and I’m guessing some other folks would be as well. Thanks again for the good information.
Yes, I do have access to that search engine, Thomas, but I think Andy would like to keep it private for now.
Here are two choices to find CL blogs:
1. My post: http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/commentluv-enabled/
2. MyDropLink.com has a function to search CL Premium enabled blogs.
Welcome back!
Great post, Ana. I wasn’t aware of this premium option. Looks really useful. Judging by the whole conversation here, CommentLuv is sure working for you! It is my first visit here, but I will have to come back to check out the rest of your tips and advice.
You’re most welcome, Rika. I look forward to getting to know you. CL sure is working for me – worth a try!
Great tips! I’ve been posting on CommentLuv blogs for some time now and thought i knew how to make the most of it. Guess i was wrong! Thanks so much for sharing.
How would CommentLuv work with Disqus? Which would be better?
I don’t like Disqus or any other non-native Wordpress commenting system, Louis – it generally decreases the reader engagement.
Additionally, I don’t think CommentLuv will be available with Disqus much longer. I know for a fact that it won’t be available with IntenseDebate; I assume it’s the same with Disqus.
Yes I agree with you there Ana: I don’t like Disqus either.
It puts people off commenting when they type out a comment and then find that they have to sign up for or in to Disqus.
Also I’ve never seen a variety of Disqus plugin yet that is better than or makes commenting any easier than the original WordPress comment system – with a little help from the Brian’s Threaded Comments plugin, among others.
I’m using on my site but still can not say I have achieved many great comments or requests for I am much better and my content but your comment about CommentLuv helped enough to take some questions.
I am constantly debating the merits of discuss versus CommentLuv. You mentioned the potential negatives of CommentLuv… what are the negatives?
Thanks!
Ryan H
In my opinion, there are no negatives, Ryan.
Some people might argue that spam increases and rankings might decrease because of all the extra links, but I haven’t found either one to be true.
Thanks Ana! Are there any concerns with switching from Disqus to CommentLuv? Do you lose anything?
It’s not exactly switching from Disqus to CL, Ryan.
Rather you’ll be switching to the native Wordpress commenting system and then installing CL as an additional plugin.
I’ve used Disqus on my blog for a brief period of time and switching back to Wordpress wasn’t a problem; I didn’t loose any comments.
Hi Ana,
Building upon what you said. Would it be possible to just come up with new blog post titles and 301 redirect those to older posts? Is that an option at all? Seems to be easier then changing the titles in case that causes 404 page not found issues.
What do you think?
Nik
Nik invites you to read: Do I really need a career coach?
Well, changing titles doesn’t change permalinks, Nik; so there won’t be any 404 errors.
I have personally noticed that CommentLuv helps in link building. It is a nice alternative to paying for quality links. It is extremely useful for newbies.
I’m not sure about the comment luv approach I’m afraid. Surely its community building aspect is very limited as the people who are commenting will be doing so simply to gain links/traffic and therefore very unlikely to truly engage in your community. Do you find the people that utilise the @ keyword functionality add much value to your blog, or are they just leeching link juice?
Very interested to hear your opinion, thanks.
Colin
I think your questions can be easily answered by checking out my comment section, Colin.
Surely link building is not the last consideration for many of my blog commentators, but they do understand that commenting on other blogs goes way beyond simple link building and the advantages that networking and traffic generation bring.
I have a very thriving and active readership that made my blog what it is today, and I firmly believe that rewarding them with better links is the least I can do for them.
Thanks for getting back to me Ana, and you’re quite right, your comments how what a great community you have.
I wonder if it’s perhaps a perfect tool for those that write around internet marketing, SEO, link building, etc, because your community will be actively looking for link building opportunities and therefore will very much thank you for allowing that, much as I’m doing right now by both interacting with the community and building a link.
But, in the niches I write about, Gardening and Mountain Biking, my readers haven’t the slightest idea about link building and probably don’t have a website, so I think Commentluv probably isn’t for me. I can see it’s a great tool in small number of particular niches though, so no arguing there.
Or, could you suggest a way it might benefit me on a mountain biking blog? Happy to be proved wrong!
Colin
I definitely see your point, Colin; not every niche would benefit from giving a link building incentive to build a community around a blog.
You can certainly install the free version and see how many commentators are linking back to their blog, i.e. you’ll see their CL links popping up.
This is where I think you are right, you need to assess your niche first before you decide whether or not CommentLuv is for you.
A more technically oriented niche is probably better for CommentLuv.
Hey Ana. Thank you for this opportunity. Here’s my link: -
http://kkomp.com/2011/11/01/win-a-commentluv-premium-wordpress-plugin-this-november/
- Yes I did an article all about your competition, and I hope that it pulls in many new readers – because this blog is top quality, full of great content, and needs as much reading by as many readers as possible.
The flattery was no more than a bonus for creating a great blog and shouldn’t be taken as an attempt to gain an unfair advantage. – Though if it does work that way then so much the better.
Just got back from your site, Sharron – thanks so much for your thumbs-up!
And yes, flattery does work in mysterious ways. LOL
Is an “in-content” link an actual link inside the content of your blog comment?
Tyronne Ratcliff invites you to read: A Network Marketing System For Fun And Profit
No, “in-content” meaning comes from the content of the post, Tyronne.
More than anything else, Ana. I would love to pick your brain on my new wordpress website (not the one linked above). I have put your snippet on this blog because this is the most suitable one for your niche. It’s a blogger blog, and the article is here.
http://www.abloggersbooks.com/2011/10/blogger-to-wordpress-migration-diary-2.html
I’ve also tweeted your post. It’s a wonderful article on link building with comment love. Personally, I’m with you. I’d rather build up the Google ranking by link building.
Anne Lyken-Garner invites you to read: Blogger To Wordpress Migration: Diary 2
Thanks so much, Anne!
I look forward to the next week’s launch and giveaway results…
Yes, our results are in direct relation with the effort we put in.
Very nice and informative post Ana. I am first time visitor to your blog, discovered you in Google+.
I recently changed my blog to a DoFollow and I wrote 2 posts about it. The biggest challenge I have is the huge increase of spam to valid comments (ratio is about 30 to 1).
Here are my 2 posts DoFollow Versus NoFollow What to Choose for Your Website? and How To Turn Your WordPress Blog From NoFollow to DoFollow Without a Plugin
Boutros Abichedid invites you to read: Top 5 Cheat-Sheet Directories for Developers and Designers
Welcome to TGC, Boutros!
What do you use to control spam?
I bet you it’s Akismet. If so, I’d suggest you install GASP plugin instead; it’ll get rid of all bot comments.
Ana,
First, thanks for the great tip. I’ve never seen this idea anywhere and I certainly wouldn’t have thought of it myself.
Second, this is probably going to sound like a very noob question, but how do I get my links to show up? I comment on CL blogs, but I never see a link back to one of my posts.
I wish I could help you with your question, Fred, but off the top of my head I can’t think of a good reason. Checked your blog; everything seems to be OK.
I’d go to ComLuv.com blog and ask the help desk what might be the problem. Andy is very good at handling those kinds of things.
Hey Ana,
This is a very informative post, as always!
First, I want to say that I cannot believe Traffic Generation Cafe is only a year old! That is wonderful that you are already so popular after just a year! I definitely love the changing the title thing, I would have never thought of that on my own. Thanks so much for the CommentLuv info! =)
~Pianolessongirl,
Dakota
Thanks, Dakota. That’s exactly what TGC is for – brainstorming. The more we talk and interact in this community, the more we all learn.
You don’t actually explain how to make a site ‘do follow’. My understanding is that simply means removing the html code about nofollow. However, I also understand that if you have paid links on your site that Google does not like this. What are your thoughts in this regard?
You make your blog dofollow by installing a dofollow plugin, Kathie.
Then you can still add rel=”nofollow” code to all links that you don’t want to pass your authority to – like affiliate links, social media profiles, and DEFINITELY any paid links.
I really have appreciated your knowledge on SEO and I especially love the information I’ve learned from you about comment luv. I installed it today on a blog of mine and intend to submit it to youdofollow.com, which you wrote about in your email.
The blog is plantsomeseeds.com in case you are interested in checking it out. I don’t have a lot of posts on it, as of yet, but I intend to use it as my dofollow platform, I’ve been inspired to start by your website; so the posts will be multiplying.
I am also very curious to know what you think about autoblogging networks with do follow websites as a method for people to get backlinks. I am tempted to sign up for one, but am not sure if it can hurt in the long term. Thanks for the Luv.
By “autoblogging networks” you probably mean a way to build links by using a blog network to submit your articles to, like SENuke or BuildMyRank.
I don’t use them on this blog at the moment, but used wisely, they can definitely be of some benefit.
However, I would never recommend to use them for a new blog; it might be suspicious to Google to see a multitude of links coming in to a new site. Starting to build links manually is the best way to go.
Yes Ana. The blog network is something like you mentioned. They have some kind of software, from what I understand, that creates blog posts on blogs of the individuals that are signed up. After that their software gets backlinks on all of the other peoples blogs in the networks in comments or something like that.
I appreciate your thoughts on not using these types of networks for brand new websites. I can see how that would look suspicious.
Hi Ana,
Do you think it is possible to rank high for squeeze page.? I see some people do that with success. I mean with no other content ON site, just off.I use SENukeX and I get traffic but my page is 0/10 for 3 years now.
Definitely, Kat.
I have a squeeze page that has been ranking at the top of the first page for a while now.
Maybe you should throw some quality links to your page to help it out a bit.
And do some competition research; see what they have that you don’t.
Thanks for the dofollow link!!! I have been using dropmylink…it is great!
You ALWAYS have very pertinent information. Thanks Ana!
O my Ana! So many comments, I can’t find mine to add a little info… you said
“I actually update it every couple of days, Dave, since I comment on all those blogs, plus get more requests to be included in the list.” —-
so will you please help me lobby Dragonblogger.com, one of my fave blogs (on your CL list), to bring back CommentLuv, which has been missing from that blog for WEEKS.
Thanks
Dave Lucas invites you to read: Fly Blog, Fly!
Yes, I noticed Justin went the LiveFyre way.
I am not much of a deep thinker so I prefer to contribute and share my knowledge in commenting to other informative blogs. Aside from gaining extra knowledge, somehow I may help someone or some people for the contribution/comment I made.
That is another great thing about commenting on other blogs. Sharing and gaining knowledge.
Ana,
Wow! I had not even thought of temporarily changing post titles while commenting to change the anchor text of the links. How helpful is that? The keyword specific back-link would be nice.
Sign me up for the contest. I added the snippet to this post.
http://cubedwellerfitness.com/2011/10/24-minutes-kettlebell-fun/
I’m curious. What tool(s) are you using to track entrants and select a winner?
-Troy
You are so welcome, Troy, and thanks for entering the giveaway.
To pick winners, I do one of 3 things:
1. Get my 4 year-old daughter Emma to pick the name out of the hat and put that on YouTube.
2. Rafflecopter.com
3. Random.org
Oh, I love the Emma-Selector on YouTube. That’s awesome.
I’ll check out the other resources, too.
She’s my favorite as well.
Maybe I should think of giving her as a loaner – new business model? Or would it violate child-labor laws? LOL
Great post, Ana! I had to read it a couple of times, but now I’m getting it. I have put comment luv on my blog, and I continue to recommend you to all my associates. Thanks!
So good to see you, Bethany; glad you are getting the hand of it.
By the way, you are beautiful!
Hey Ana – Somewhere on your blog you posted a list of commentLuv sites – when will you update this?
Dave Lucas invites you to read: eCommerce: Key To Your Digital Future?
I actually update it every couple of days, Dave, since I comment on all those blogs, plus get more requests to be included in the list.
You can find it here:
http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/commentluv-premium/
Hi Ana,
No doubt in that this is perfect one post for all, Now it’s depend on us how we will take benefits from these steps with one of the great tool in online work.
Anna, I swear I learn something new every single time I read your blog. Like from this one, my biggest takeaway (something that should have been quite obvious anyway) is, choose the post link that is most appropriate for the post you are commenting on. I just let it be the one which is latest. Although, this time I might do it deliberately as I want everybody to know about my notes from the problogger training event that I was lucky enough to attend, last Friday. You think people might click on it?
Marya | Writing Happiness invites you to read: Lessons from the ProBlogger Event. Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett, Sonia Simone & Tim Ferriss?
You are so welcome, Marya, and I know I definitely want to click on your link!
Very nice tips Ana
I love the tip of rewriting titles for anchor text links then change it after! I find blog commenting is really fun. It’s not like other boring link building techniques when I do it alone. Blog commenting makes me feel like talking to real people and I really like the conversations.
Thanks again for sharing this Ana, have a nice day!
Duy.
I enjoy it too, Duy.
Hi Ana,
I notice your giveaway encourages readers to create a backlink to your site; in fact, to the giveaway itself, so it goes viral. How does this traffic building strategy compare to your Comment Tribe idea?
Thanks,
Graham
PS: I suggest changing the default CommentLuv message about “TGC uses premium CommentLuv, which allows you to use your real name and then @ your keywords (maximum of 4 keywords).” to “TGC uses CommentLuv Premium…” including your affiliate link so newbie visitors can easily find it.
Two completely different traffic generation techniques, Graham, as you can imagine.
Giveaways are a bit difficult to make successful when you don’t have stable readership yet, since they are the ones who make it viral.
PS Great suggestion; thank you.
Ana,
My blogs are DoFollow as far as I know. But all comments have to be moderated on both. I have been getting a lot of sp-my comments from the UK. If it is a good looking comment from the UK or other questionable places I run the URL through this bad link checker: http://www.bad-neighborhood.com/text-link-tool.htm It shows all the questionable links that the website is linked with and then you can decide whether or not to let the comment go through. Almost all of the dentistry links that I get are OK. This is an easy way for me to check, but then I don’t get the volume of contributing comments on my two blogs that you do on your blog, because mine is much more specialized.
Yes, I have actually mentioned that tool in another of my posts. Thanks for sharing!
Rewriting the tile while writing the comment and then changing it back again is brilliant. However, I am not sure I understand about have 15 titles showing. I also own comment premium, but have only a choice of 10. I bet I am missing something.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read: Authentic Writing – Can You Define Yourself As An Authentic Writer?
If you go under “CommentLuv” section of your CL Premium, Sylviane, and scroll down closer towards the bottom, you’ll see a section called “Favorite Posts” – right before technical settings we are not supposed to touch.
That’s where you add the 5 additional posts.
These are great tips, Ana… I love the idea of changing your titles to rank for desired keywords, then changing the title back to the more catchy original. I didn’t know you could do that and not affect the back link.
Also did not know about the 5 favorites that you talked about. Need to go back and set that up. Thanks as always for your cutting edge information.
When I want to learn about something new, or need to make better use of a tool or product I already have, I always check here first. I almost always find what I need!
Dr. Bob Clarke invites you to read: Top Productivity Tips for Time-Challenged Online Marketers
You’re welcome, Dr. Bob and yes, activate the 5 favorites. It’s a really nifty tool. Glad my blog is useful.
Clever: re-naming a post as a keyword, then changing the title back. The post title below hasn’t been renamed, but I’m thinking.
Do it; I dare you! LOL
Hi Ana,
Great info as always. I am happy to help promote your campaign.
Ray
Thank you, Ray!
Try this tool, Tim: DropMyLink.com
You can enter your keyword and choose CommentLuv Premium as parameter and see what it comes up with.
Hey Ana,
I have been doing this (changing title) since (I think, but not sure) reading one of your guest posts on (I believe) comluv where you briefly touched on this point. So thank you for such a great tip.
Although I can not say for sure, but I know it has been helping with the serp already.
CL premium is just brilliant.
I am also so glad GASP was included in it as it was how I found GASP. Its been working wonderfully (unlike some very famous spam catching plugin,!)
Satrap invites you to read: How to Make Money on eBay
Don’t even get me started on Akismet, Satrap… LOL
This link building strategy is so effective that it ranked me on the first page of Google for many of my keywords without any other link building efforts.
Not anything to sneeze at…
Glad you are using it!
Another great post, Ana! There are so many things to think about (from SEO, to traffic generation, link building, etc.) that my head is usually spinning!
My blog is a little bit different…I’m a deal/coupon blog. So I post a lot of short posts just getting the coupons, deals out, etc. However, I know that I can still use all of this great advice on my blog, I just need to figure it out. I also need to get myself in the habit of writing more quality content so that I have something for people to actually comment on. I did buy CommentLuv+ though because I knew how valuable it was. Now to just get people to my blog! 
Well, getting ranked on Google for some of your most popular coupons would definitely help with traffic, Dawn.
And that’s where my CommentLuv link building strategy comes in…
Hi Ana,
CommentLuv and no end, lol. Thanks for sharing your insights. I also have used it from the beginning and have upgraded to CommentLuv+. I definitely love and recommend it to anybody serious about attracting serious readers. Of course, it also attracts its share of notorious spammers.
Be blessed
Oliver
Oliver Tausend invites you to read: Why Your Physical Trash Equals Your Mental Trash
Oh, spammers… No way to get rid of them, is there? LOL
At least, GASP cuts down on any bot spam.
Ana,
When you refer to changing the title to a keyword rich one, I believe you are referring to the page title as in the H1 or H2 title seen at the top of the page that is visible to the readers as opposed to the ….. that targets the search engine.
I am finding this a confusing point when learning SEO and would appreciate some clarification.
Sure, Tim.
I am talking about the blog post title proper, not the SEO title your theme or an SEO plugin lets you add.
When you are in the “edit” mode for a post, it’s the line right above your permalink, where you add your post title – that’s what also shows up to your readers as the post title.
First time commentor, short time reader.
I’ve always loved the concept of this plugin, commentluv that is. Do you have any stats that you can publish, or perhaps percentages, on what the increase in linking or traffic was for you when you started using the plugin? You mention that it really helped but by how much?
Also, it would be cool if someone had a list of blogs that use the plugin. That way we could work in a community of like minded bloggers as far as reading, following, and commenting.
Welcome to the commenting club, Miguel!
No, I don’t have any concrete numbers I can show to compare the engagement lever.
CL Premium does provide some statistics on how many clicks my commentluv links get from other blogs; turns out people do click on those links! LOL
As far as social media is concerned, I eyeball the numbers more than anything.
As for the list, here it is: http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/commentluv-enabled/
Holy smokes, thanks for getting back to me and addressing each of my concerns! You have a great site and excellent engagement tools. I’ll be back for sure.
Couldn’t agree more to the great benefits of CommentLuv Premium!
This was also one of the main reasons for switching my blog to Wordpress, and I am glad I made the timely move as well. I can see it going great places already.
Thanks for sharing
Harleena Singh invites you to read: Developing Trust in Friendship
You are so very welcome, Harleena – I am so glad you switched!
I’m still sitting on the fence regarding the CommentLuv premium plugin. I’m using the free version on several of my blogs but spam remains a problem. how is this addressed in the premium version?
You’ll get spam no matter what, Manie.
I strongly suggest you stop using Akismet and install GASP plugin instead; it controls spam a whole lot better.
GASP is actually built into the CL Premium.
Anna, thanks for the reply and advice, I will certainly try GASP.
Thanks Ana, you are so generous. you are giving away a lot of useful information’s
besides the commentLuv plugin and for sure I entered.
here it is a link where the snippet added
http://www.awesomebloggers.com/how-to-get-free-seo-report/
Salah Messaoud invites you to read: How To Get Free SEO Report
Wonderful, Salah, and thank you!
Hey Ana- that idea about changing the title is brilliant. That never occurred to me. Something new to learn every day, huh?
Larry Lourcey invites you to read: She Rocks: An Interview Kristi Hines
Thanks, Larry.
Life would be quite boring if there was nothing new under the sun, right? LOL
Thanks for the interesting post about CommentLuv. It sounds like a decent way to build visitors to your latest blog post.
Probably, better in terms of link building, Darren.
Hi Ana,
That’s brilliant. I love it. A tiny bit of work and you can achieve greater SEO and link building results. Why didn’t I think of that! LOL.
Btw, I did buy Premium ContentLuv (via you link) a few weeks back. I love it and highly recommend it.
Keep up the phenomenal work you do. We all appreciate your tips and instruction! XO
Deb Augur invites you to read: 10 Things I Like About You on Twitter
You are so very welcome, Deb; hope you’ll be able to put this link building tip to good use.
There’s a free version of it as well; doesn’t have nearly as many bells and whistles, but is still great.
Thanks for your help, Daniel.
Unfortunately, CL won’t be available through Intense Debate much longer.
I have commmentluv premium on one of my sites and will roll it out on others when I feel I have got to grips with it more. Bottom line – I can’t enter to win the giveaway, but I am happy to promote it to others.
I work on article titles to put keywords into some of them. On other articles I just go with what feels right for the article. I figure that in the long run it will all pan out.
I just couldn’t go in and change titles and change them back for the sake of the dofollow link back – it is just too brain-sapping for me, although I can see the benefit.
It makes sense, David.
You really need to want those SEO rankings pretty badly to use this strategy.
Thanks for helping me to promote the giveaway though!
Done, posted, and promoted.
Here’s the link:
http://www.photographworks.com/2011/10/26/chance-to-win-commentluv-premium-at-traffic-generation-cafe/
Just left you a comment.
OK, Ana – now you’ve got me thinking, and that’s a dangerous thing. I have CommentLuv Premium and have my favorites set up, so I’m good to go there. I was somewhat perplexed about changing the titles, but I just did a test on one of my wife’s sites and that worked fine. So in essence, what we’re doing is creating better “keyword rich” anchor text back links while blog commenting. The actual permalink in WordPress doesn’t change. Am I correct?
Steve-Hostirian invites you to read: What is Anchor Text?
That’s exactly right, Steve.
Nothing else on your blog changes, just the post title.
I can see smoke coming out of your head from here… LOL
Got my copy! I’ve been using CL for over two years now, and can honestly say I believe it’s one of the reasons I have such a great community around Website In A Weekend.
One caveat: CL works best when you work it, which means periodically going back through your older comments and weeding out dead or bad links. A link checker can help with some of this, but it will report success when the original domain or post has expired and the link now points to a parking page loaded with hosting company ads. Which really goes to show there is nothing at all “fire and forget” about blogging.
Dave Doolin invites you to read: Content Curation is it Real or Just Another Sleazy Marketing Ploy?
Great point Dave. I’ve been using a Broken Links plug in all along, but never thought to actually go back from time to time to manually check the links to make sure they don’t lead to parked pages full of ads.
Steve-Hostirian invites you to read: Why You Should Blog
Great advice, Dave.
Won’t work for my blog though – I’ve gotten over 20K comments in the past year; would be a full-time job to check them out. LOL
You would need it scripted, then run the script in batches, say oldest 1000 comments, and match returned pages with spamminess. It could go very quickly once the process was nailed down. And might well bump your rankings too.
Janis Elsts (Broken Link Checker) might be willing to add such capability to his plugin.
Dave Doolin invites you to read: Learn is a four letter word – and a good thing too
I am definitely not even nearly equipped to do something like this myself, Dave.
I might write to Janis; see what he says.
Hi Ana,
Commnetluv is really great plugin which is really beneficial for your readers, I would love to spread your giveaway though I don’t have a blog yet.
sorry for that.
Aarti invites you to read: SEO Company
No problem, Aarti; always a pleasure to see you around.
Hi Ana,
I enjoyed this post very much. Thanks for the great tips. I much enjoyed your analysis and suggestions for traffic generation in linkbuilding vs traffic generation.
I spoke quite a but about this in the post I just made regarding your post here
I normally post here under a different blog of mine, but this post I felt was deserving of my other blog
Thanks!
Saw your blog post, Martin – I really appreciate you going all out to talk up my blog!
Ana,
Thanks for sharing about the difference between link building and traffic generation. I also need to go read the forbidden fruit pdf you sent earlier this week about Google. I am teaching my team that engaging with other blogs is critical to success online.
Danielle Parsons invites you to read: Make Money Online
You are so right, Danielle – without networking, your business is as good as non-existent.
Thanks Ana for this post.
I am a rank newbie to blogging. I have just installed CommentLuv on my blog.
You are quite convincing.
Santu Mahapatra invites you to read: You Are Awesome
Well welcome to the blogosphere, Santu!
Yes, I am a big fan of CommentLuv; not difficult to notice.
This is a great post Ana, it’s very important too. Very few are taking advantage of the keyword anchor text on my blog. Either that or they are trying to use the keywords in place of their name. A lot of comments never see the light of day from that. I’ve been thinking of a way to get the point across and this point explains it perfectly. Thanks.
Brian D. Hawkins invites you to read: Blog Engage RSS Service – Is It Worth Investing In?
You are so right, Brian; the same goes for my blog.
Beats me why people refuse to understand the SEO benefits they are missing out on…
Hi Ana,I’m really enjoying your blog posts (especially your voice which is a nice break from all the hyped insanity out there). All the best.
I very much appreciate you saying that, Evan.
Ana,
I have been reading your posts about CommentLuv and think I am convinced! Thanks also for the post on Anchor Texts…very good!!
Have a great day!
Scott
Scott invites you to read: How to Make Your PC Run 10 Times Faster than an Athlete?
You are so very welcome, Scott.
I’m alive.
Exhausted, but alive. All this traffic-link-SoMe-luvfest stuff has me icing down my hands, but it’s fun, too – and I appreciate the tips that make it easier/more effective, so thank you for that, Ana.
See my CL link at the bottom of this comment? I feel old – so many young bloggers who don’t get the joke.
Oh well, Kristi is a rock star for playing along!
Holly Jahangiri invites you to read: She Rocks: An Interview Kristi Hines
Exhausted… I can relate to that, Holly! I suppose it’s called “life” and there’s no such thing as “catching up”.
As far as your CL link goes: blame it on English not being my first language. LOL
She does rock though!
Good morning, Ana! This is certainly an interesting tactic. However, isn’t there an easier way to accomplish this, without having to edit your post tiles?
I was actually trying to find that pillar post of yours, where you clearly showed the difference between the URL, the Blog Post Title and (I think) the brower’s post title.
(Does that come from the slug?)
Since CommentLuv pulls what we see from the Post Title, is there any way to use the URL or the SEO friendly slug to use what would have been the title, so that we don’t have to change anything?
Where dat post you wrote? LOL
Cheers,
Mitch
Note: the URL for this CommentLuv is slightly different than the displayed title – I removed both “the”s
www . morphodesigns . com/archives/2011/tribe-jungle-and-terrifying-idea/
Mitchell Allen invites you to read: The Tribe the Jungle and the Terrifying Idea
I wish there was a different way, Mitch, but so far I couldn’t find any.
No matter how you go about it and what your slug or your SEO title is, CL will pull out your post title. So the only way to get what you want is by changing it.
http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/what-is-slug/ – I think that’s the one you are referring to.
Also this one talks about SEO title vs post title:
http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/thesis-theme-review/
LOL! As soon as I saw the little snail on a scooter …! Thanks for hunting it down.
Well, Andy was asking for ideas – I wonder how hard would it be for him to allow you to use slug? If you had a choice, would you want that option or something different?
I find the whole thing fascinating. Is this post, then, a suggested “fortification” technique? Would the CommentLuv title change benefit you more than a slug? (I’m guessing that answer depends on how many times you repeat the process.)
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen invites you to read: Flight of Fancy
Interesting thought, Mitch…
What changing the post title does is provides you with complete control over the anchor text. I don’t see any way of doing it with a slug.
SEO title on the other hand is a possibility.
However, most people don’t use them, so there would still have to be an option of pulling the post title for the link.
I think it gets complicated and confusing pretty quickly…
Thanks, Ana.
Indeed, I never bothered with SEO title until I read your blog.
So many tactics, it’s like chess!
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen invites you to read: Flight of Fancy
Ana,
You are amazing insight Ana. Only SEO I’ve read talking about these tactics regularly. BTW, I think it’s a crack up that whenever I search for Comment Luv Enabled blogs, using the queiry “keyword” &”title=”CommentLuv Enabled, that you’re always the 6-8 result. You’re the best.
I support your love of CommentLuv, it has really done wonders for my blogs. The premium feature of being able to add in additional pages and older posts that you want to build links to is awesome in itself…
I’m also in the same camp as you regarding wanting my posts to get ranked rather than hope people click on my link – the former is usually easier.
Finally, great give away. I would get involved if I hadn’t already splashed out on CL Premium
Thanks for the thumbs up, Sunny!
I think this is one of the most useful plugins of the year; my engagement went through the roof since I added it.
Ana,
Love the breakdown of commentluv premium here, It really does rock. I also like the way you separated your topics for link building and traffic generation. What you say about them being two distinct and separate approaches makes a lot of sense
Steve invites you to read: Get More Blog Traffic
Thanks, Steve!
The CommentLuv plugin is just a great plugin overall.
I never knew about the 5 additional favorite posts, which will definitely come in handy. There are just so many great settings within CommentLuv plugin that I apparently have yet to understand them all.
Some of the settings I talked about come with Premium version only, Paul.
Yes, they do. I have installed the CommentLuv Premium version, but Andy has included so many great features that I never noticed the favorite posts option. Thanks to your post, I have now added a few additional posts to my list of 10.
That’s definitely one of my most favorite features, Paul; glad you found it!
Nice clarification Ana!
I’m a big stickler for relevance, so I’d like to hear any experience you have on the value differential between using CommentLuv to share links that are as relevant to the post being commented on as possible, and simply sharing a link the commenter wants others to see.
I mean, we all know comments that follow the course of a discussion are of a far better value than irrelevant “buy my product” ones. But it seems to me, the value of a CommentLuv link would also be more beneficial and weighty if it too had some relevance to the topic at hand for both traffic generation and link building.
So do you allow people to add just any old link, or do you take what they link into consideration when you accept or reject comments? What if the comment is relevant but the link isn’t?
Ken Nadreau invites you to read: How Experience Plays Into Business Success
Ooh, Ken, I love this one! I want to see Ana’s take on this.
I think the human spammers are betting on your liking the comment more than the link. I get so many vacuous me-too comments that are, on the surface, relevant but in actuality are canned, pasted or on second look, downright stupid.
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen invites you to read: 45 Caliber Conversation Pieces
As a blog moderator you do have the ability to shut off CommentLuv for individual comments, so if a comment is relevant but the link isn’t, you can remove it without killing the comment. But how much does CommentLuv links effect the relevance of a comment in the eyes of the search engines?
Is it worth running the risk of losing future comments by these people if what they link to has little effect on a comment but is of value to their traffic getting efforts?
After all, if a comment is relevant to a post, then there’s some sign of intelligent life behind it
Ken, Sigourney Weaver ran afoul of intelligent life. LOL
I’m not sure I want comments that pass the Turing Test but set off the BS alarm.
Perfect example are those responses that use flattery in a very generic way.
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen invites you to read: Flight of Fancy
Nice discussion, boys; allow me to jump in.
I do have plenty of commentators who are not from niches related to internet marketing, so naturally, their CL links will be entirely off topic.
However, my target audience does include people who need traffic to whatever niche site they have.
So as long as their comment is relevant and insightful, they can post whatever link they wish.
There are some types of blogs though that I simply refuse to link to, no matter how much value the commentator provides.
Just the other day I sent an email to someone who’s been actively commenting on my blog. At first, I kept the comments, but got rid of all the links, but after a while, I felt I had to tell him that I simply won’t link to his site because of its nature.
Also, I used to be a lot more liberal with approving comments when I had little traffic. Not any longer. I can now afford higher standards for commentators. LOL
Thanks, Ana. I try to be liberal in that regard. After all, I know that many commentators are link-building or (now that I know more) improving their SEO.
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen invites you to read: Flight of Fancy
Now if Comment Luv would just work with Blog*Spot…
I love the way it leaves links to my comments, but I never ever and absolutely refuse to “milk it” just by leaving a crappy comment just to (hopefully) snag a visit from another blogger or netizen!
You’re so smart, Ana! How do you think of all this stuff?
Blog On!
Dave Lucas invites you to read: #Wordless Wednesday
I think my brain simply refuses to think of anything else, Dave. LOL
Crappy comments never yield good results; that’s for sure.
Ooooooo….. Yum.
Very Clever Ana. CommentLuv Premium is proving to be unbelievably versatile, it’s the most compulsory premium plugin I’ve ever seen.
I’d wondered about the possibility of doing something like this and you sussed it.
Nice work
Jym | Blog Marketing invites you to read: How to use Strategic Blog Commenting to Market Your Blog
Thanks, Jym – I am full of surprises. LOL
CL Premium is definitely one of the most useful releases of the year!