Comment posted on Blog Comment Traffic Research: Signed, Sealed, and Delivered by Steve@how to go green
The data don’t lie.I am glad someone (that would be Lisa, thank you) finally undertook the job of doing a fairly scientific study.
Thanks to both Ana and Lisa for this one. I learn something here almost every day.
Recent comments by Steve@how to go green
- Best Aweber Autoresponder Review? You bet!
AWeber is the only autoresponder I have used, and I like the fact that it is easy yo set up and and e-mails can be pre-programmed to go out on pretty much any schedule you want. - Ana Hoffman vs Nick Cardot Twitter Faceoff: Quality Trumps Quantity
Ana and Nick: I am still somewhat skeptical about how valuable Twitter is. Since I know that I cannot afford to spend much time monitoring tweets throughout the day, I have tried to largely automate Tweets (@greenwise1). It built the followers up steadily for a while and then plateaued. I get some traffic from Twitter, but it has never been above about 5th place. Perhaps if I engaged more, as both of you recommend, Twitter would provide a bigger pay off. For me, I don;t think Twitter is useless; I just have found so far that the cost in time is not worth the value it provides. (But I am admittedly less experienced and ready to be set straight!) - Dofollow Nofollow Links: Is There a Happy Medium?
I cannot say that I “do follow” all the technical reasons behind your solution, but the general idea sounds good. So, I’ll be sure to stick around, Ana! - How KeywordLuv Can Get You on the First Page of Google
Ana, I’m convinced. The last tip I got form your site was pure gold. I’m going to install KeywordLuv right now. - How Two Days Without Internet Made Me Stumble Upon a Great Idea
Thanks Sanjeev. Great tip.
Steve
powered by SEO Super Comments
Article by Ana Hoffman
Ana is the founder of Traffic Generation Cafe and wants you to know that Thesis + Scribe = SEO Made Simple. Get more from Ana on Facebook or Twitter.
More Great Posts on the Topic:
- Appetite For Traffic? The Secret Is in the Source We all want traffic - that much is a no brainer, but where we get it from and the methods...
- Blog Traffic Challenge: Did You See My Glove Laying Around Here? A couple of weeks ago I threw a white glove in your face challenging you to come up with a...
- Does NoFollow Follow? Blog commenting is a great way to drive targeted traffic to your site, as well as create great backlinks. However,...
- How to Drive Traffic To a New Blog Through a Commenting Tribe Looking back at the start of my blog this past July, I am completely blown away with how fast it’s...
- Stress Less: 4 Tips To Stress Free Blogging This is a guest post by Lisa Drubec. So, I settled into my chair last night to write some great...
Traffic Generation Cafe happily runs on Thesis Theme
What do I love about Thesis? Everything would be the short answer.
If that doesn't work for you, then the fact that Thesis Theme framework is designed to serve is the rock-solid foundation for any website. My Traffic Generation Cafe and I fully trust and rely on the airtight SEO, incredible design flexibility, and lightning-fast loading times that Thesis provides.
Still not sure about Thesis? See what you can do with it, then decide.
- Thesis Gallery - Lots of well designed blogs powered by Thesis
- Thesis Awesome - AMAZING customization packages for Thesis
- Thesis User Guide - see how much incredible support you get
{ 61 comments }
Question for both Lisa & Ana - Are you saying this would work for any blog, in any market? I’m curious about that.
It seems like a great tactic for blogger to blogger networks.
No doubt that it is a great method for building relationships with bloggers! I just think that not everyone can elicit the same type of response - especially the conversion part.
BUT, I think it works. It’s a lot of work in and of itself, though.
Cheers,
Tia
Tia´s last blog ..don’t waste time finding your company’s blog voice find your customer’s
Personally, I think it might bring about even a better reaction, considering the smaller “niche population”.
What do you think, Lisa?
Known around town as a tried and true comment commando, I’m really glad to see others learning what I’ve been saying for years.
It works!
On my last blog, for nearly 2yrs it was my ONLY promotional method.
At the time, return comments were my only metric. With nearly 8000 comments on approximately 200 posts, I concluded…..yea, it worked pretty well.
Of course, to use comments as metric, you also need a kick-butt title with a call to action to match.
Dennis Edell@ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Should Guest Bloggers be Responsible for Their Own SEO
You have proved that not only comments on certain blogs have good effects on the increase of traffic but also they have good conversion rate. For me with dropping comments, beside traffic, I got new ideas from the posts I read that are useful to develop my own blog.
zammax´s last blog ..Samsung Galaxy S II Preview
Commenting, like Lisa said, brings very targeted traffic, which is easier to convert because they are coming from a site like yours (usually) to your site looking for similar content. Commenting takes time BUT it’s conversions pay off.
WASH-RINSE-REPEAT comments every week!
Awesome job ladies!
more comment =more traffic… and get relationships, but the comment should be more related to post what we are saying…
mrbusiness´s last blog ..3 steps easy- How to Start a Cheap Online Business
Hello Lisa,
I guess this is related with the post on iblogzone, which is the way you found the websites for your research?
I must say, that I am astonished on how well that traffic converted, it practically meant that 150 visitors from comments worth more the 1000 visitors that would have just read one post and left. I can only imagine how well will this have converted on a niche website, I already have some ideas.
Thanks Lisa, for spending the time to make experiments so that we don’t have too!
Alexandru Petru´s last blog ..Plante versus Zombie
Great work you ladies. You have proved something excellent and revolutionary. I know many bloggers are hesitating to put the time in commenting, since they think that reading other’s blogs for the purpose of commenting would distract them.
Now they should all read this.
Excellent work, keep it up.
Jane.
Jane@Blogging Tips´s last blog ..My Twitter Breathes I Can Now USE Twitter Ultimately!
Jane:
Thanks so much for your kind words!!
I knew there would be a benefit to commenting, I just didnt know how much!!
Glad you agree
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..SiteLinks- What Google REALLY Thinks Of You
A great look at one of those “everybody knows it” topics. Taking the time to look at the value behind the initial visit numbers is a key takeaway, and I thank you for sharing your experiment with us.
Denise´s last blog ..God’s Ice Sculpture
Denise :
So glad we could help! I have to give Ana the credit for the idea though.
Although, I did the sweating !!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
Alright I’ll be that guy. For those peeps here that know me, I’m all about the metrics and the data behind them. So I gotta ask…
Were the blogs that you commented on in the same niche that you are? I know Lisa that you’re site provides “blog basics for success” and therefore caters to beginning bloggers and others. Were all the blogs you commented on about blogging, or were they in other niches?
Thanks for the additional insight.
Robert Dempsey@Internet Marketing Strategies´s last blog ..How Much Differentiation Will Get You Paid
Hi Robert:
Yes, all the blogs were “blog building/monetization” niche related. I would say, a couple were fairly well established blogs…although the others again had high interaction/low alexa.
Hope you’re feeling better today!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Top 5 Reasons I Will Unfollow You
Good stuff Lisa!
What’s funny is that behind those numbers are real people, and unlike the numbers that ‘stumble upon’ your site, these small and targeted few are undoubtedly going to spread the word about you, say something positive in a comment thread somewhere - whatever, and (I hate to use this analogy) like MLM your downline network just grows bigger and bigger.
Social Bookmarks and directories do NOT do that, not last time I checked anywy…hmmm, maybe if I made a plugin….. oooh brb
LOL! Kudos Lisa, I for one am coming over to subscribe because you are obviously someone who takes action.
Alex´s last blog ..Who Stole My Pagerank
Alex:
Coming from you, I am honored. I appreciate the support and I am glad you found some valid points in this test as well.
Always appreciate your input Alex,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Can We Talk-Keyword Research & Rainbow Poop
Great Experiment Girls..
Anything that increases your subscribers and followers is a win, win period.
It is really the holy grail of targeted traffic online for every reason, seo, backlinks, traffic, etc..
Thanks
Exactly Jack! Thanks for taking the time to check out this little experiment!
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
Great post, I had always thought commenting was a waste of time and even skeptical of how valuable the actual backlink was. What is everyone’s thoughts on outsourcing blog commenting?…unethical?…just wrong?…or a good traffic building practice?
Marcus Ochoa´s last blog ..How To Make More Money As A Personal Trainer
Hi Marcus:
I have seen very bad things happen with outsourcing commenting. I think you could outsource other functions of running your blog, while keeping the commenting on a more personal level yourself.
You could run into a spammy situation otherwise.
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
Hey Ana and Lisa,
Thanks for doing this experiment and for sharing the results with us.
Congratulations Lisa on your “ROI”! It does goes to show that blog commenting is every effective.
I have been doing a lot of commenting lately and my efforts are truly paying off. I even have some top bloggers come to my blog and leave comments - yay!
Have a great weekend!
Mavis
Mavis Nong @ Online Business Tools´s last blog ..How to Build a Loyal Reader Base For Your Blog Using These Easy Tips
Thank you Mavis!! It’s so much fun when the top bloggers leave comments..oh, wait,,,,isn;t that you??!
Cheers my friend,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
This isn’t really news to someone with common sense.
Now, I’m far from “celeb” status, but have had people come to me asking how I got the following I have now.
Answer: commenting. And specifically, quality commenting. Not just “nice post!” or “I like this, follow me because I like what you said here” spammy crap, but actual responses to the given topic.
At heart, people want to be recognized for who they are, on and off-line, and the comments that engage that dignity of who they are as a human being is what brings others to follow.
A very wise blogger told me in the beginning: “I respond to EVERYONE, whether I agree with them or not, whether what they said has any merit or not, and I just try to acknowledge their presence. They could comment ANYWHERE but they chose to stop at MY blog and comment. That’s a really big deal! They deserve some respect!” (paraphrased but that’s what he was saying.)
Of course, we as commenters have the obligation to be respectful, attach a name and a path to ourselves and be decent human beings even when others around us are losing our heads. That goes a long ways. (And if we’re having a bad day and lose our heads, if people “know” us they will do damage control in spite of our bad day…and we’ll do the same for them.)
Another thing: BE WHO YOU ARE! Be HONEST!
Everyone can smell a rat, even a rat that wears cologne.
And everyone can recognize sincerity, even where sincerity goes wrong - which is a much better place to be. That’s what generates conversation. Rats just produce disease that infects even the most good-willed.
It’s not rocket science.
If I may step in, Lisa.
Actually, it wasn’t common sense to me, Adoro - that’s why I needed proof.
I am not sure if the blog you connected to in your comment is your primary blog, but judging by the traffic numbers, you do need to read posts like this one.
Ana
Ana,
I connected to my blog. My personal blog.
What are you saying? Why do you think that I “do need to read posts like this one”?
Please explain yourself.
Thanks.
BTW..should be common sense. No offense intended to you or others.
I wrote from experience as well as early advice received, but really…it should be obvious to anyone in the blogging world that if you don’t participate, you won’t obtain returns.
Myself, I don’t operate according to “numbers”, but according to quality. My followers are quality, personal emails that don’t show as public are even more quality, and they are things you can’t quantify here.
Don’t get lost in algorithmic equations to define success…you’ll get lost at every turn. The moment you turn your human visitors into mere statistics, you will lose them.
The only reason you get them here and why your current commenters report volume is because right now, you’re popular.
Over time, your followers will lose interest, simply because you don’t actually CARE about them as human beings.
In fact…all you’re out for is mere NUMBERS and ‘helping” “people” get numbers. But what is “traffic” that doesn’t remain?
In reality, you’ve lost the game before it’s ever begun because you don’t respect the people you pretend to entice. All you want is to manipulate them.
Yeah…that gets numbers, but what are numbers in and of themselves?
Nothing.
Adoro:
You seemed to not have read the post.
It wasn’t about whether you should comment or not - of course you should.
The point was whether comments BRING TRAFFIC.
And now, it’s time for you to get off my blog.
You don’t respect me (we established that), I don’t respect you (the way you choose to express yourself) - let’s call it a day.
Ana´s last blog ..Blog Comment Traffic Research- Signed- Sealed- and Delivered
That’s where you’re wrong. I DO respect you. That’s why I commented and added my perspective. (ie expressed myself).
Could I have done so more clearly? Yes. But I didn’t flame you, even though you took it that way.
But yes, I’ll go, and I won’t be back and I won’t link to you since all you’re looking for is people to agree with you unconditionally.
Have a nice weekend.
didn’t know church folks talked so crazy geesh… crazy crazy….
Here’s how crazy we talk, Eric: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Now, let’s stick to topic, shall we?
I think Ana and Lisa did a decent job with this brief study and I concur in saying that it isn’t common sense to expect traffic from comments. In fact, it’s not common sense to expect comments from anyone, since often I’ve witnessed that nobody comments until somebody first “breaks the ice”. That means lots of eyes and no fingers doing the walking until somebody voluntarily walks the tightrope at least once, risking a reply from the host or some other reader.
Notice that Lisa had to craft provocative comments and be first in line before the comment thread got too long and she disappeared in ignoble irrelevance for getting there too late. As an unknown to those sites, she was also risking alienation as a newbie or perhaps even hostility. Some blogs I know of require secret handshakes for you to fit into a thread.
Is dealing with all this common sense? Nope. This is deliberate planning. It’s strategy.
Same goes for expecting traffic from people reading those comments left behind. What would prompt anyone to follow a commentator? Just the fact that that person left a comment? C’mon! How many of us would follow a commentator who only said, “Ditto, Ana. Cool stuff you wrote just now…”?
It matters what kind of comment you leave. It matters in its positioning, voice and prose style. It matters in its value proposition to the reader and to the comment host. It matters in its call to action.
And, when you can’t say “Hey, click here to go to my site where you can learn how to start your own business if you’re a graduate student looking to become an entrepreneur to get out from under-employment” (yeah, sneaky I know…crazy, huh?
), then you know that you got a particularly unique challenge to overcome in generating traffic from just a comment, which we cannot presume common sense will take care of.
So, I would argue that there may be a particular way of commenting that could more effectively yield better results for the purpose of traffic generation and not just back-linking, which is what I perceive most of us seem to be in the business of leaving comments for.
Therefore, I’m all for further experimentation and a bit more rigor in the practice.
Carry on valiantly, Lisa and Ana!
Get crazy!
Arturo@Starting Your Own Business´s last blog ..The Blood And Tears Dance Of University Student Debt
Arturo,
Had you bothered to follow this blog for a while, before you lit into Ana’s and Lisa’s motives, you would know how much they care about people. And quoting the scriptures doesn’t excuse your attack! If you read on, you’ll know how dangerous it is for you to be angry with someone without a cause! So make sure you have all the information before you get angry and attack people, especially your brothers and sisters. (I’m amazed she hasn’t put you in her spam file. I would. Shows you what kind of person she is.)
Lou Barba
Lou Barba@informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com´s last blog ..YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ANGEL
Thanks Lou..I just dont know where all this hoopla comes from sometimes!!!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
Lisa, same goes to you as I said just now to Lou Barba. I wrote encouragement to you not criticism. I was countering Adoro’s remarks on whether the work you did was mere common sense, and Eric’s quip about church folk talking crazy.
Please read my stuff more carefully next time.
Arturo@Starting Your Own Business´s last blog ..The Blood And Tears Dance Of University Student Debt
Lou Barba, you need to re-read my post. It was not addressed to Ana or Lisa until the very end, and I closed it with plaudits to them. On the contrary, I addressed it to Eric, particularly the opening verse from 1 Corinthians. And at no time was I angry in the least, though now you’ve bothered me.
Your presumption I do not appreciate. I have been following Ana’s blog for several months. I attacked no one, while you misread and fired off hastily without thought and sanctimonious criticism.
Is that wisdom?
Is it, considering you ought “make sure you have all the information before you get angry and attack people, especially your brothers and sisters”?
Besides, if you have an issue with a brother, what does Matthew 18:15 tell you to do?
You can reach me privately at my blog, if you’d like to be obedient to the Word.
Arturo@Starting Your Own Business´s last blog ..The Blood And Tears Dance Of University Student Debt
Nah…you’re not getting away with that! I read the whole exchange, not just your comment to Eric. You talk the talk, now walk the walk.
Lou Barba
Lou Barba@informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com´s last blog ..YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ANGEL
Arturo,
Unfortunately, your name is similar to Adoro, so please accept my apologies.
Good thing I don’t have to be an angel…yet. Adoro, my comments are transferred over to you.
Lou
Lou Barba@informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com´s last blog ..YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ANGEL
My blog - my last word.
Arturo - our apologies.
Adoro - get off my blog. Actually, I banned you altogether, so there.
Lou, thanks for stepping in, my friend.
Lisa, you got some heat, girl!
Despite the fact that Adoro tried to discredit God by his behavior, Jesus Christ is still Number One and he rules my heart… and my blog!
Ana
Ana´s last blog ..Blog Post Promotion- Increase Your Blog Popularity Like the Pros Do
Now i need a brain scrubber to get the picture out of my head of the Evil Russian commanding Lisa to build a flux capacitor while blue sparks arc across the room; and Lisa does an Abby from NCIS talking to Major Masspec.
Whoooooo’s the rock star now, Lisa?! Look at you!
The great thing about Lisa’s research, Ana’s idea and the post altogether is that anyone has the ability to, and can duplicate the results. Not some magic mumbo-jumbo. Not some theory. Actual results that can be duplicated.
COOL! Really, really cool!
Thanks for the great information!
Gibby:
you made me LOL at that one!!
Ha, the evil russian…I love it.
And that is precisely why Ana came up with this, it’s practical and strategic and can be easily implemented by anybody.
Thanks for the smile,
lisa
Lisa@start a blog´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
Thanks for very informative feedback. This makes me very happy.
Happy to be of help Wade.:)
Lisa@start a blog´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
I can attest to the greatness of commenting and how it effects site stats, sign ups, and people generally hanging around on my blog.
There are some “howevers” though!
You have to have great content on your blog to get the most benefit, you have to be ready to answer any comments, and the comments you make in the great wide, have to be relevant, and show some “Look at me! I know stuff too!!”
Ken Nadreau´s last blog ..How Article Directories Are Dealing With The New Google Algorithm
Ken:
You are absolutely correct with great content. What good is it for them to come to my place and be served up a bunch of junk?!
LOOK AT ME…I love it ken!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..SiteLinks- What Google REALLY Thinks Of You
Hi Lisa-
First, loved your creative analogy about finding energy sources:). I don’t do a lot of comparitive analysis re: traffic generation/conversion, altho I should. This was an interesting experiment. I think there’s so much competition for viewership, inboxes, and customers, it pays to be strategic. I notice when I’m not interacting on blogs, nor Twitter, and FB, my traffic drops.
I completely agree that sharing producing multiple streams of conversions.
Thanks for being Ana’s guinea pig;)
Linda´s last blog ..Why Anxiety Is A Choice
Absolutely Linda! I steered clear of analyzing things too and it has made a world of difference for me now that I do. I can stop doing things that dont work!
I agree, more interaction produces great results!
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa@start a blog´s last blog ..Can We Talk-Keyword Research & Rainbow Poop
Just wanted to let you know I added your rss to my twitter feed after reading how to manage twitter post…
happy blogging!
I’m a commenting addict and I also noticed the amazing conversion phenomena. I had a brand new site where no other marketing was done except commenting on other peoples blogs. Within a week I had 36 subscribers to my list… and I think I was doing maybe 2-3 quickie comments a day.
I have a little trick though… I always try to do a lot of comments on Fridays because people are less likely to post updates on the weekend. Thus your comment/link stays on the homepage a lot longer, which usually generates more traffic.
Dahlia Valentine´s last blog ..Passive Income Monthly Report for February 2011
Ohhh Dahlia! I like that lile tip, or should I say big tip??! Excellent.
I can see from completeing this experiment how you got those 36 subscribers. I think we need to be focused on 2 principles after publishing: traffic and conversion. What good is traffic without an action?
Seems like you got it down!!
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..How LifeTime Movie Network Helped My Blog
I’m glad you liked that one Lisa. It is a goodie!
By the way, if you haven’t already, take a peek at “How to Guarantee 100 Comments on a Blog Post,” by Tristan over at BloggingBookshelf.com. He also ran the numbers on a comment-a-thon he did back in January. Nice tips there as well.
Dahlia Valentine´s last blog ..Passive Income Monthly Report for February 2011
Hey Dahila
Thanks. Its a great tip.
I think commenting on commentluv enabled blogs brings more traffic to your blog
than other blogs which have other comment system.
Rahul´s last blog ..Is Content The Prominent King Of Your Blog
Thanks Rahul… I look for comment ‘enhanced’ blogs too. I think of the link as a resource box.
Dahlia Valentine´s last blog ..Passive Income Monthly Report for February 2011
I like that tip, Dahlia
Thanks for sharing.
Mavis Nong @ Online Business Tools´s last blog ..How to Build a Loyal Reader Base For Your Blog Using These Easy Tips
The data don’t lie.I am glad someone (that would be Lisa, thank you) finally undertook the job of doing a fairly scientific study.
Thanks to both Ana and Lisa for this one. I learn something here almost every day.
Steve@how to go green´s last blog ..Green Product Alert- Biodegradable Sneakers
Steve:
This is a great place to learn stuff…glad I could I add to that for you!
Have a great day,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Can We Talk-Keyword Research & Rainbow Poop
Of course you know I’ll comment. Now a days, I’d reduced my commenting and tried networking. Every successful blogger I know is a great networker but wait…
Who’ll knock out 8 minutes plus of content engagement? And loads of backlinks…if for those reasons alone, it’s worth it!
For Me, I comment to get noticed by the author and maybe, someday that’ll bring a nice result!
Tim
Hey Tim, then you have grasped the idea and you are well on your way! People will take notice, just be patient!!!!
Have a great day!
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..Can We Talk-Keyword Research & Rainbow Poop
Ana and Lisa,
Thanks for running this test further than Google Analytics. What I like is that there is a quick ROI. There is no doubt that it is because you are getting targeted traffic results.
The other thing is that Lisa’s site is set up for conversions.
Sheila Atwood@landing pages best practices´s last blog ..Your Landing Page- Are You Creating A Compelling Image
Hi Sheila:
I seriously thought Ana was going to have me create a new search engine!!
I did like the fact that it was a quick ROI…I left my footprint and the actions took place. I think it also has a lot to do with the quality…like you….you always leave such great comments that provide quality to the discussion. That stuff matters.
I tried to do the same…or even disagree with others if I needed to. So much better than “oh hey, great article”
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
You know, everyone go around saying it’s good to leave comments on other blogs, providing moreless accurate explanations of why is that so, but no one really bothered to crunch some number before.
Sometimes it’s good when a theory is confirmed by practice, this is definitely the case, so we can all keep doing what feels right with some evidence to back it up.
GabrieIe Maidecchi@Esimple Studios´s last blog ..What Can You Learn From Your Blog’s Niche
Hi Gabriele:
Glad you found the experiment useful! Appreciate the feedback.
Have a good one,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..How LifeTime Movie Network Helped My Blog
Hi Ana,
Besides all the great benefits Lisa mentioned, commenting gives me a chance to do something other than SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. I don’t know how important these factors are for bloggers getting 10,000 visits a month, but for new blogs, it has to be absolutely necessary.
Lou Barba@informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com´s last blog ..YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ANGEL
Lou:
Who would ever want you to shut up?!! Never sgut up my friend….you have a plethora of goos thoughts to share.
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa Drubec´s last blog ..400000 In Prizes- Blog Contest
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }