Blog commenting is a great way to drive targeted traffic to your site, as well as create great backlinks.
However, the question that I get asked a lot is “What’s the point of commenting on NoFollow blogs?”
There is obviously a lot of uncertainty on the subject, so I decided to give it some attention. If you need to brush up on the basics of NoFollow/DoFollow concept, read my previous post Juicy Blog Traffic: Want Some? DoFollow!
To level with you, there is no right and wrong answer here because nobody really knows for sure. There is evidence to support both claims.
My job today is to provide you with some food for thought regarding commenting on NoFollow blogs. What you do with it is up to you.
There are several studies posted on the subject and they all bring different value to the table.
My favorite one was done by Michelle MacPhearson (her website is down for some reason, so I can’t link to it) for its simplicity and transparency. I am sure some of you will object to her conclusions and, since I did not do the study, I say with relief “Talk it out with Michelle”.
I thought I’d run the same study as Ben did last year and see if I could get my site to rank for a keyword that (1) is not on my site and (2) only use blog comments to get anchor text links for my keyword. I, like Ben, chose a misspelling simply because I’d be able to see results very quickly that way.
The term: ultilevel marketing
The results as of 5:44pm PST on 2/18/2008 after leaving about 15 blog comments with the help of Comment Hut to find relevant blogs are that I am ranked #1 for the keyphrase in Google, Yahoo and MSN.
What does this mean?
- Nofollow links with well chosen anchor text can pass link juice
- Blog commenting on nofollow blogs is still an effective way to increase search engine ranking for a term.
- Thoughtful and interesting blog comments will always bring human visitors.
And that’s THE KEY to the entire debate, as far as I am concerned.
Thoughtful and interesting blog comments will always bring human visitors.
DoFollow or not, one of the biggest ideas behind blog commenting – driving targeted traffic back to your blog – still rules.
My suggestion: don’t waste your valuable time trying to figure out whether a post is worth to leave a comment. If the content deserves it and you have something valuable to add to the discussion, do it.
How about you start now? Whenever you leave a comment on this blog, I will always come back to your site and even leave a comment. So you see you WILL get comments and traffic by commenting on Traffic Generation Cafe.
Love it or hate it? Comment to show me that you’re alive!
This post was brought to you by Ana Hoffman
I am the founder of Traffic Generation Cafe and if you liked the post you just read, then you'll love my email updates. Just click on "Get Instant Access" below to join me:
Ana has written 236 great posts for Traffic Generation Cafe.
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi ana, and thanks for this nice post about the point on commenting no follow blogs. I tend to comment same quantity of dofollow blogs and nofollow blogs because it’s a more natural looking netlinking. And by the way it think you are also right for stating that it helps to rank on your keywords anyway. Well at least I hope so …
Thanks for coming by and Happy New Year!
Thanks for this great post Ana,
it is my first of being here and it is a pleasure for me to comment on your blog, I’ve read your post and I found it really useful. I invite you to visit my website also. You are welcome!
Yasir Khan.
Hi Ana, I accidentally stumbled onto your site whilst checking on marketing blogs and am glad I did. No-follow sites or do-follow, I comment either way. Providing the article has substance.
There are difference of opinions on this subject matter online. But I have to say I agree with you to apply both options for more natural link building.
Shefiu Francis invites you to read: Easy Ways To Vastly Improve Your Email Open Rate?
Definitely so. Welcome!
I was looking for some backlinks on blogs and I find you.
I have read your article and I can not decide if to waste me time with nofollow blogs.
It`s nice to see a nice christian girl at the other side of the world.
I hope will meet in heaven with our Saivor – Jesus.
Keep the good work! Be a light!
I definitely think you should comment on blogs whether they are do or nofollow, Filmari – both have their advantages and their place in link building.
Blessings
Commenting on relevant blogs, whether nofollowed or not nofollowed, is worthwhile because it’s not all about the link juice; it’s about sharing something worthwhile with the community. Posting ‘great comment’ or ‘nicely said’ comments is pointless, regardless of whether the link is followed or not because the value of the comment is useless.
If you have something to say, share it – don’t worry about whether Google looks upon your link with loving eyes
Darren Jamieson invites you to read: Bing still creeping up on Google
You’re absolutely right, Darren. Thanks for pointing that out.
Just wanted to say thanks Ana! This has been something that I have also been sweating over, but my instincts were that the no-follow links still had value. I appreciate the heads up.
Just wanted to say thanks Ana! This has been something that I have also been sweating over, but my instincts were that the no-follow links still had value. I appreciate the heads up.
I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement, Ana. “Thoughtful and interesting blog comments will always bring human visitors.”
I’ve seen this to be true with my own commenting. Since I am in the middle of my 90 day challenge (which includes making 3,000 comments), I am in no place to be extremely picky about the posts for which I’m commenting.
Still, I want to spend my time reading quality posts so I’ve expanded my comments to the big no follow blogs like ProBlogger. What I’m seeing in Google Analytics is one of my top 10 sources of referral traffic is no ProBlogger. I used to read and not comment since there was no link juice being passed, but now I see that wasn’t a very smart strategy.
Hey Ana,
So many gurus with contrasting opinions supported with valid evidence that sometimes you don’t know which one to believe.
Anyway, what I do is comment as much as possible on contents I think deserve my comments and leave the rest for the almighty google.
Thanks for sharing this, Ana!
Tosin
Tosin invites you to read: How to Promise Success Without Being One Yet
Ana,
I know this was not your conclusion, but I wanted to get your take on it. With regards to the first statement:
“Nofollow links with well chosen anchor text can pass link juice”
It seems to me that just because a site can rank for the phrase based on nofollow links, doesn’t mean the links pass link juice. The only way I’ve seen Google use the term link juice is in relation to PageRank, but I don’t think the link has to pass page rank in order to show up in the SERPs. So maybe it passes TrustRank (or AuthorityRank, or whatever you want to call it), but maybe it’s not passing PageRank juice. Thoughts?
TJ McDowell invites you to read: Make Money With Photography By Cutting Costs
I see your point, TJ.
And yes, I agree that it’s not necessarily PR we are talking about, but overall site/page authority.
As you and I both know, you don’t need PR to rank highly for a keyword, but rather “authority” that is passed through such links; “vote of confidence” if you will.
Ana
Ana invites you to read: Search Engine Ranking Tip- How to Search Google Incognito
My wish DoFollow link is best, because it generates very strong backlinks and also increase Page rank..
Of course, it is and it does, Fareed.
I too think that both are important. Both are having their own importance, either Dofollow or …
Thanks
Sharat invites you to read: Tips On Search Engine Optimization For Bloggers
You definitely need both, Sharat; you are right about that!
I’ll start by admitting that I am really new to blogging, I setup my blog just a few weeks ago and have not really got into it yet
The impression I get from reading this though is that I should add the WP do follow plugin to my blog site.
I will be reading and checking into this before going ahead with that though
best wishes
Thom
Doing proper research is always the way to go, Thom. Let me know if you have any questions.
Ana
Ana, most people can safely ignore the nofollow/dofollow aspects of a blog post. Google likes “editorial” type links that someone has taken the time to review and make sure that it is not a spammy comment or just a junk link to a bad neighbor.
With that said, as long as the blog owner “controls” the comments and makes sure they are quality content and adds to the discussion, then relevant comments become dynamic “spider food” which will keep them coming back for more.
You’ve done an excellent job with this blog…very impressive!
Hello Kerry,
Thanks for the comment. Yes you are right, the blog owner is still in control to what comments he/she wanted to be published, but as much as possible I always wanted to reply to all comments coming as long as its related to the blog.
Have a great day,
Ana
In my experience, Nofollow no follow and I am going to be very honest with you. When it comes to looking for links I look for dofollow. However, when is about blog commenting I like to do it well. If I am going to receive a link in exchange of comment, I like to give something of value to the blog owner.
I understand that, Daniel – when I do my link building, I too look for DoFollow blogs.
If you are putting all the work, might as well maximize the benefit, right?
However, when I am trying to network and connect with other bloggers, I don’t really care that most of them are nofollow.
Thanks for coming by!
Ana
Hi Ana,
An awesome piece of writing, I believe for traffic generation do follow, no follow does not matters, more commenting make the blog or website indexing very fast.
With Quality Dofollow links you can able to increase the highly PR an site or blog value. We cannot ignore it, whether doFollow or nofollow we have to be on traffic, that is the only meal what our blog or website required.
Thanks for Sharing
-Imran
Imran invites you to read: How to Make your Web Marketing Strategies
If I like the content of an article or post I leave a comment, dofollow or not, comments also increases your traffic
Manie invites you to read: How Google Works
Ok, this was a great concise post on do/nofollows when it comes to comments on other people’s blogs. Thank you! I’m still considering the WP plug-”WP-dofollow” for my comments, but I am relaxed about commenting on blogs that are nofollow.
Hi Sally,
Thanks for taking time to read my post. I’m glad you did and hope to see more of you.
Take Care,
Ana
Can’t agree more on what you say Ana! I never check whether a blog is a dofollow or a nofollow blog, good quality content is the only thing that deserves my attention and my time for leaving a comment ! Michela
Hello Michela,
I’m glad you learned something from this blog. Actually lots of us usually don;t bother knowing if a blog i a dofollow or nofollow. Me myself didn’t know that before but I also realized its importance.
All the best,
Ana
Hello Chie,
That’s a nice thing to hear from you. Since you’ve mentioned that you just started your blog, you can really learn lots of strategies and techniques here to keep your blog going.
Hope to see more of you,
Ana
Hi Ana, I don’t believe in this topic of “nofollow blog commenting is waste” like that. I have done commenting on both dofollow and nofollow blogs and I have got backlinks from both kinda blogs. That’s the reason most of my blog posts are in the front page of SERPs. Anyways, Thanks for sharing a wonderful article.
Sathish invites you to read: From PR0 to PR5 In 3 Months- Case Study
You are very right, Sathish – we need both to achieve high rankings.
The only difference is that DoFollow link are valued a bit higher than NoFollow ones.
Glad to hear you are doing well in SERPs!
Ana
I had to leave you a comment just because. I was trying to find information on commenting on nofollow blogs and I came to your site. Whether your site is or is not a dofollow, I would have commented. So really regardless of pagerank, commenting still can give you notice in return.
Glad you came my way, Timothy.
You are absolutely right, there are advantages of commenting that apply whether you are on a dofollow or nofollow blog.
See you back soon.
Ana
Ana,
I place comments on mostly cooking blogs which mostly are no-follow. This is good point to know that follow or no-follow, putting right, relevant and useful comment should help.
Pam invites you to read: Healthy Eating Guidelines
Yes, and good comments will also bring you traffic – the other plus of commenting on other blogs.
Thanks for commenting on mine!