Leaving comments on websites is a popular way of generating traffic, but too loads of people go around it the wrong way and are doomed to fail. What are the correct procedures for leaving comments and what are the benefits?

The Benefits – Well first, the benefits. There are 2 clear benefits from leaving comments:

1. If the website you leave the comments on goes along with the dofollow theory, then you are very slightly helping the search engine optimisation of your web site.

2. If your comment is useful then some readers are bound to take an interest and want to find out more round you and will click your link back to your web site. This is the big bonus!

Do not worry round nofollow / dofollow if you don’t understand it. But in short, a lot of sites prevent the search engine benefits to reduce spammers hitting their web site and in fear it will leak their own Page Rank. The main benefit is the visitors that the comments will produce.

Successful Traffic – So, what steps do you need to take to successfully gain a trickle of traffic through commenting?

Well, for a start, you need to find a few blogs that will be of interest for your customers. Preferably some with a load of readers. But, if you can find them so can your customers.

Add Value – Next, read some posts and comment on merely one post. But forget the “Nice post, I really enjoy your writing” type of spam comment. These are possible to be deleted by the blog owner and it is not beautiful to the readers.

Your comment needs to add something to the post. If, for example, the post is talking round a fish keeping problem and you have experienced it, then a mention what you did. Other readers might be interested in the fact that you cured the problem and then want to read additional about what you did.

Don’t Get Greedy – This leads to the second point. When you leave the comment do not give any web site addresses in the actual comment text. You risk being deleted as spam before you even start by doing that. Merely write a bit round your experience. Along with the comment you might leave your website address. This can point to your home page, or if you have a extra relevant page, link to it there.

Use Your Name – Next you leave your name. Lots of people try to spam the comments by not leaving a name but by entering their favoured keywords. Another amazing way to have the comment deleted as spam. Leave your real name so that people see you as real.

Return For New Posts – And that, in short, is all that is required. Add the weblog to your RSS feed and watch for new posts and perhaps comment on them as well. Watch your web site visitors stats and see where traffic are arriving from and then you will know which sites to keep commenting on.

Get An Avatar – Only one last hint for this. Not an indispensable, but fabulous to do. Go to gravatar.com and sign up to their service and load a suitable Avatar. This might be a picture of you or a company logo. It doesn’t matter. But it means that on most sites where you place a comment this image will be what readers see. This has two benefits.

First, the website owner sees your face / logo and is extra associated with you as a real person.

Second, if readers are visiting many posts where you have commented they will see your picture some times and this will build up trust and they are then extra budding to use the link.

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Also, leave a comment below. We are a 'DoFollow' blog, so it is well worth your time. Thanks for calling in.