Why Google thinks your Blog Comment is SPAM
Did you know that Google had updated some of their Guidelines and particularly about Blog Commenting? This is REALLY important if you have a site or blog that accepts comments and if you comment on other blogs (which you should). Read about the new guidelines to protect your site from being moved down the rankings or even de-listed from Search Engine Results for spam.
Google is trying to do the best possible job when we make a search for information using their search engine. They recognize that the internet contains a lot of useless sites and information, pages we have all visited before quickly clicking away because the page we visited was totally irrelevant or just contained adverts or lists of links to other spammy sites. Google wants to promote the best possible content and de-list those spammy sites from its search engine results. And it’s cracking down in its new guidelines on sites publishing spam – and I can guarantee that if you take part in linky parties then your blog is at risk!
A key component to Google’s new rules is commenting. When you receive or allow a comment on your blog you need to make sure that it adds value and deserves to be there.
Of course if you are a blogger you will probably get a lot of spammy comments. Some of them are entirely obvious, just contain a bunch of links, are written in very poor English, are completely irrelevant to the post content etc.
But what about these comments? Are these Spam?
“Great tutorial! I’d love for you to link it up to our **** Linky Party at ****! “
“This is so great! Would love you to share it here****. Have a good one!”
“Thanks for the great post! So glad you linked up with us at the ****. We’d love it if you would link back to **** at the bottom of your post. ****** Have a great week.”
These are just a few examples of some recent comments received at Moms Make Money. Sorry if any of my readers recognise their own comment above but these had to be deleted. All of the **** are links back to the commenter’s website or linky party. And these, in the eyes of the Google algorithm, are all spam comments. They do not add any value to the page or post, they do not relate or refer to the article above but are totally generic. If I post two articles to a linky party I will get the same copy and paste comment on each one. And Google recognises this too. If I allowed these comments on my page, Moms Make Money could be considered to be publishing spam. My site could be de-listed from the Google search engine results. And that would be the end of that!
Read the official Google guidelines here at User Generated Spam – https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2721437
“Some examples of spammy user-generated content include:
- Comment spam on blogs
Since spammy user-generated content can pollute Google search results, we recommend you actively monitor and remove this type of spam from your site.”
I LOVE comments on my blog posts and articles. We all do. And I like to spend some time each day reading posts that interest me and leaving a comment when I have something useful to add, or just want to thank the blogger. But now we all need to consider our comments more carefully.
If you make a comment, make sure it is relevant to the content and do not leave links in the comment text. If someone likes your comment and wants to find out more about you, they can usually click on your name to go to your site. If you leave a generic comment and a link to your site – you may find you comment is never published or is even deleted. Bloggers now have a duty to protect their own sites from being considered publishers of spam, and may have to delete your comment as a result.
Watch this video from Google about comment spam too.
So sorry – but if you leave a comment that includes a link to your own site in the comment text, or leave a generic comment that could apply to any post without refering to the content, I will either edit the comment or not be able to publish these comments going forward. And I reluctantly recommend that other bloggers do the same.
I bet you have some pretty strong views on this – what do you think? Let’s discuss below.
Authored by: Deby at Moms Make Money
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
July 10, 2013 @ 6:13 am
I hate those link party comments anyway seriously leave me a genuine comment showing you read my comment and I will come to your blog. If I see a linky I will check it out and even link. I was at a blog a read and she had posted the saddest story and a comment was left saying “cool blog, follow me and I’ll follow you” I mean really. This is a great post and I will delete them with pleasure. 🙂 thanks for sharing.
July 10, 2013 @ 6:54 am
I have the plug-in Comment Luv. Sounds like it’s not a good idea to have it on my blog, since it encourages people to leave links to one of their posts. What do you think? Great information as always.
July 10, 2013 @ 8:35 am
Hmm, I honestly don’t know how Google would view this. Its not really added by the commenter so as long as the comment was still relevant and didn’t include other links it would seem logical to think CommentLuv would be OK. Who can really know how Google thinks? And they might change their mind tomorrow..
August 3, 2015 @ 9:50 am
Comment Luv allows you to specify in the settings “Nobody gets dofollow links” to control linking and spam if you choose.
July 10, 2013 @ 9:48 am
Wow, I had no idea! Thanks for the info; good to know. I usually publish these comments, although they are pretty annoying.
July 10, 2013 @ 10:51 am
Really great info, I had no idea! I am going to go through all my comments and delete the “spam”. Does this also apply if they have a URL after their name, but it’s not actually a hyperlink?
July 10, 2013 @ 11:08 am
As long as the comment is part of the ‘conversation’ and is relevant to the post, then leaving a signature is probably OK without a link. If someone leaves a comment that I can use, I will try to keep as many as are useful and use the edit feature to remove links to linky parties etc, and just keep the relevant part of the comment. I hate to remove comments after someone has taken the time to write one, so editing is another option.
July 10, 2013 @ 11:11 am
Thanks so much!!
July 10, 2013 @ 11:10 am
And does this also include if they have a link in their signature?
July 10, 2013 @ 11:03 am
Thanks Deby! You are fast becoming my go-to person for the best blogging advice!!! I am still so new to this any advice t[like this is invaluable to me. I wouldn’t want to lose the tiny Google ranking I already have through some small error! Thanks again
July 10, 2013 @ 11:11 am
It’s only something I’ve become aware of recently myself, and I haven’t seen any other bloggers covering this kind of thing so I do try to pass on whatever I learn. Thanks for reading Ruth and taking the time to comment – I won’t delete it – promise!
July 10, 2013 @ 12:42 pm
I can’t stand those type of comments anyway. You aren’t on my site to read MY content, you’re there to get more people to read YOURS.
It’s important that we leave engaging, relevant comments for both manners and what you’ve outlined here.
July 10, 2013 @ 1:30 pm
Wow! That’s a lot to take in. Though I get what you have said here, I makes me wonder how many true comments I would really get if I deleted those that are spammy but from real bloggers. I know that I have most certainly left comments that you have described that could be considered spam, I just don’t have the time to get around to everyone and read and take time to leave comments. I link and host link parties. Actually, you have linked up with me 🙂 So I guess it’s time to re-think what I have been doing. Thanks for all your advice.
July 10, 2013 @ 10:23 pm
Great information and I had no idea adding your url to your signature line would be considered spam!! I guess I am totally guilty because I usually sign off with our blog name and url. Hopefully the people I have visited won’t view it as self promotion because I genuinely enjoy visiting and reading posts by other bloggers. Lesson learned!
There are so many “rules” to learn that it is hard to keep them all straight and they are constantly changing – you should have your social media on your side bar and now you shouldn’t (which by the way makes you spend way more time than you have available trying to search how to connect with others) and you should not share your google plus shares with anyone but the public and now I have read that you should give people notifications. Can’t keep track of all it. Hopefully fellow bloggers will have patience with any of us that are still “newbies” and working through the steep learning curve. Thanks for sharing and you now have a new follower visiting from The Project 6 stash.
July 10, 2013 @ 10:32 pm
Blogging is an ever changing landscape and with the ever changing rules and goalposts, I feel like I am constantly running just to catch up. I think Google just wants us all to be real and genuine, and comment because we want to, not because we are trying to use it as a way to drive traffic back to our own site. So I thank you for leaving such a well thought out and relevant comment!
July 10, 2013 @ 10:57 pm
Wow, didn’t realize this – good to know, thanks! Any idea if Google take your whole blog out of the search results if it finds “spam” or is it just that particular post that someone commented on?
July 11, 2013 @ 2:29 pm
I can’t say what Google’s thinking might be on this. I would guess that if your posts have a lot of what they consider spammy comments of no value, then the domain as a whole would suffer in their rankings.
July 11, 2013 @ 5:17 am
Interesting! Thanks for posting….I’ve never left links in comments. I always considered it Spam myself. Thanks for the clarification. Visiting from Domesblissity.
July 11, 2013 @ 9:15 am
I never leave links even if I do invite them to share at my weekly party. I just haven’t felt comfortable with that. Looks like my spidey senses were correct 🙂
July 11, 2013 @ 9:56 am
This is important to know about. I have been guilty, myself, of using a “thanks for hosting” kind of comment when in a hurry. That is going away RIGHT NOW!. If a site has not allowed the URL of the blogger’s site because they are trying to eliminate those commenting from having to do the captcha code, I assume that the commentor adding the html code for their site would be OK as long as their comment has some “meat” in it. Am I right?
July 11, 2013 @ 11:01 am
Well, Google says that the comment must be real and genuine and add to the content of the page, be part of the conversation. Therefore including a relevant link would be OK I should imagine. Such as linking to a similar project/site/tutorial for added tips? Google always keeps the exact nature of their algorymths close to their chest because they don’t want people looking for loopholes and ways around it, so I think if we bear it in mind and do our best, hopefully all will be well. It will be down to the receiving site if they choose to allow your comment or not.
July 11, 2013 @ 3:52 pm
Thanks Deby. I have already shared your post with a number of blogger friends. 🙂
July 11, 2013 @ 10:03 am
Something to think about as my blog grows. I’ve only had a couple of those types of comments so far.
July 11, 2013 @ 10:43 am
Ugh my head is spinning… watch out for projectile split pea soup!
I’m a baby blogger and there are so many rules and etiquette to learn and as soon as I think I have it figured out they change! From the comments I get on my posts, it’s pretty easy to figure out which ones are spam and real. But for me, I treat the blogland like I would do meeting people in real life. Hi, I’m Holly. I’m the Coconut Head. I leave my link so people know who I am and recognize me and I also enjoy when others do the same so I can check out their sites and meet some new folks. No bad intentions, just getting the lay of the land. But that also answers the question of why some of my comments aren’t posted, they have probably landed in the Spam Bucket.
Oh fiddle dee. Tomorrow is another day!
Thanks for all of the advice and comments from everyone. I have found the blogging community to be very supportive.
Hugs, Holly. Just me and no link. Holly 🙂
July 11, 2013 @ 11:02 am
You can always leave your URL when you leave a comment if there is a box that allows it, and then a reader can usually click your name to go to the URL, rather than leaving it in the comment.
July 21, 2013 @ 6:31 pm
That’s why my “Name” is usually my name @ my blog name so then I don’t have to leave url and, if people want to check me out, they know to just click my name. Most blogs are great about you leaving url and even some link back to your last post. But because I am wordpress, I sometimes have the most horrible time getting my comments past a blogger blog. For some reason it never recognizes my wordpress url. It’s infuriating because I’ve SO wanted to leave some really relevant and great comments and walked away frustrated when it won’t go through.
July 11, 2013 @ 12:26 pm
What if you simply make your comments section a nofollow? Basically saying I give no credit to these links? I thought WordPress was nofollow comments by default…. I’ll read more deeply on the other info you linked to at naptime. Thanks for making me revisit a subject I hadn’t thought about in awhile.
July 11, 2013 @ 12:42 pm
I don’t think the links left in the comment are the only issue. It’s also the irrelevant content and generic ‘hello, thanks for sharing’ kind of comment that Google says is basically spam. By allowing these comments you are publishing ‘spam’ where a person is only really commenting to get themselves published on your site to try to attract traffic, rather than taking part in the blog topic conversation or adding value to the post. That’s pretty much what Google thinks is spam too.
July 11, 2013 @ 1:40 pm
Ah man, I just looked at my comments since I know there are tons of comments with links. I have 70 pages of comments to go through. I think this will take some time to go through them all. Do you mark your comments as spam or just delete them?
July 11, 2013 @ 2:28 pm
If the comment is useful and relevant to the discussion, then I edit it to remove the link and leave the comment. But I really don’t get very many so its easy for me to do this manually. I wouldn’t mark a genuine blogger comment as spam because then any future comments they make would also be sent to the spam catcher/folder and you would have to accept them manually. I suppose it all depends on how thorough you want to be.
July 11, 2013 @ 2:32 pm
makes me wonder if commentluv has issued anything about their plugin yet.
I also did one of those “how did this effect your site” reviews and see that I have neutral score.for this spam update. But have been hosting a link party for 18 weeks now, but I make all my pages, no index, no follow. to avoid duplicate pages and googles wrath. Wonder if this includes the comments.. mmm
July 11, 2013 @ 3:10 pm
I’m really interested in your comment about the ‘how did this effect your site’ review. Can you tell me more about this? It is a Google Webmaster Tool? It’s not something I’m familiar with but it sounds really interesting.
July 11, 2013 @ 4:59 pm
Its a free google penalty checker tool via fruition dot net. I havent figured out how to get advise on how to fix the negative impact areas yet…
July 11, 2013 @ 6:16 pm
Thank you, I”ll go and check it out. Anything that can lift the veil on Google and it’s secrets will be useful.
July 11, 2013 @ 3:20 pm
Hi Nicci- Just wanted to let you know I found this post off your Pinterest pin. Thanks for sharing great content!
July 11, 2013 @ 5:01 pm
hehe! your welcome 🙂 us bloggers stick together!
October 5, 2013 @ 9:33 pm
Oh my! I’m a pretty new blogger- there are 3 of us who blog together, and we’ve been at it for about 7 1/2 months. This is the first I’ve heard of any of this. Unfortunately, I know I’ve left my URL on a lot of comments, since that’s what I saw a lot of other people do and I just followed suit 🙁 We just switched over to WordPress last week, and I have no idea what you mean when you’re talking about no index, no follow. I would love it if you could point me in the right direction to where I can find more information about this. It seems I’m learning that blogging if about FAR more than just writing and taking pictures. This is all kind of overwhelming for us newbies, but I’m so thankful that there are more seasoned bloggers out there willing to share their wisdom instead of hoarding it for themselves. Thank you for sharing!
October 6, 2013 @ 8:34 am
Hi Jamie. Yes it can be ovewhelming when you start out! Here is the Google Webmaster guidelines on no-follow links – https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/96569?hl=en. A quick search also brought up this page that explains it a little more – http://www.builda-website.net/nofollow.html#axzz2gwboR8b6. Remember that if there is anything you don’t know, Google is your friend and a quick search will usually bring you up more knowledge than you will ever need to know!
There is usually no need to leave your URL in the actual comment itself because you enter it in the boxes when submitting your comment and a reader can click your photo or your name to go to your site. But just including your URL doesn’t mean your comment is spammy of course. But this article is more a consideration for what you publish on your site – if you wrote a recipe for Christmas Pudding, and someone left a comment which said ‘You can get a new ipad free at xyz.com’ would you publish that comment? It’s spam and Google knows it!
July 11, 2013 @ 3:05 pm
Thank you for this great article. I had no idea. I have disqus and had it on the no moderation setting. I am going to change that. I do not think I have that many “spam” comments. I do participate in some comment chains so I will probably be using those less. Again thank you!
July 11, 2013 @ 3:07 pm
If you add no follow to the links in the spam it looks like they can still leave them and not mess with page rank. 🙂
July 11, 2013 @ 3:17 pm
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! As a new blogger the list of everything you need to learn is so overwhelming and when I find articles on key points like this (Found you on Pinterest) It sure does make it much easier to learn the ropes than wading through the huge ocean that is the internet! By the way, do you want to come join our linky at…. Haha just kidding!!!!
July 11, 2013 @ 3:47 pm
Hi Kimber, I’ll certainly be dropping over to visit your site. I do with everyone who leaves a ‘real’ comment. And if you have a party I will no doubt find it and link up. Thanks for following on G+
July 11, 2013 @ 4:50 pm
Oh boy! I am so confused! Ok, so I don’t ever leave a link in comments (I have no idea how!) and I always try to leave a relevant comment. Although I am definitely guilty of the “thanks for hosting another great party” comments. I will stop that, but should I go back now through my comments and delete the ones with links to linky parties included, do they count or only new ones that come in? Thanks for the info Deby!
July 11, 2013 @ 5:06 pm
Really good advice here. Even long before this new Google crackdown, I was not a fan of leaving links in a comment. And the hit and run ones that just say “follow me back” are always disappointing too. After all, comments and social media should be about conversation. If all you have to say is “follow me back”, I’d rather not have a response to my post at all. Like you, of course I want to get comments and have people linking to my site, but I’m interested in thoughts, not just links.
July 11, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Good information! I have found legit comments in my spam folder also because the commenter has included their URL at the bottom! Hopefully they will see your post! Thanks for looking out for us!! 🙂
XO,
Christy
July 11, 2013 @ 7:44 pm
Thank you for sharing this – I feel like I can’t keep up with all of the rules, but am glad to now have this tip in my pocket. 🙂 I rarely leave links, except when specifically asked too, but I wont be doing that in the future!
Thank you again for the great information!
July 11, 2013 @ 10:40 pm
Very relevant information, thanks for the low-down. I’m trying to learn all the “rule” and sites like yours really help. Thanks again!
July 11, 2013 @ 11:39 pm
Hi Debbie! Thank You so much for the information. It is really overwhelming how things change from one day to another. I used to sign my name with a link to my blog…I guess I better don’t do that now right? It’s actually turning into a full time job triying to catch up with the latest to do, must do or not do. Lot’s to think about here. again…thank you.
Lizy
July 12, 2013 @ 11:18 am
Wow, I never thought about that. I always put an address to my site below my signature just because I have tried to find other blogs hosted by wordpress and have clicked on other’s pictures and been taken to their profile page not their blog. I will change that. I hope it is still okay to sign it like I have done below? Thank you for keeping us updated.
Manda Wolf @ Our Wolf Den
July 12, 2013 @ 11:37 am
Yes of course that is fine. Your comment is clearly relevant and adds to the conversation and publishing this to my site is just fine. I have no trouble with the signature.
July 12, 2013 @ 11:57 am
I always learn something new when I come across your site :). This is great information-especially for bloggers who troll for comments or links to their parties. Great job! Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Projects.
July 12, 2013 @ 12:16 pm
Thanks, Deby. I believe I have some work to do when it comes to editing comments with links. I’ve always wondered whether the generic comments that say “thinks for linking up” or “come to my party” have any value, and it appears that they have negative value. Thanks for the great summary!
July 12, 2013 @ 3:16 pm
Thank you so much for keep us all in the loop, Deby! I’ve just started trying a little harder to crack down on regular spam comments. Now this changes the rules again!
Hopefully this will cut down on spam and self-promoters, but I do like being invited to parties and some links are just part of the signature. Very tricky!
Do you know if they are looking through old comment traffic as well or just newer comments?
Thanks!
Sara
July 12, 2013 @ 3:49 pm
This is a great article and lots to think about. I have pinned it so that I can re-read when I am not so tired. I had always left my url on the bottom of my comment and am glad that I stopped doing this. I also think it is very important to write something that is pertinent about the post, showing the blogger that you did read it and that you are not just making a general comment. I especially try to do this when commenting on links that are shared at parties that I co-host. This post was shared on one of the groups that I belong too. This is the first time I have been to your blog but I think I will find a lot of information from you once I start going through other posts. I started my blog as a hobby and it is still that but have been thinking of broadening it, so with help from people like I hope to find out what I should and should not be doing. Thanks Marlys.
July 12, 2013 @ 4:08 pm
Very interesting read and great info to have! I recently began signing my comments with Bev @ followed by the a < a href link to my blog as part of my signature, but every comment I leave is always genuine. So is this saying leaving my signature above is endangering your blog by posting this? I have to admit, it is much easier to leave a heart felt comment and kind of a hassle to leave the ‘signature’ but I was lead to believe it was okay. I am just now starting to get a descent amount of traffic to my own blog so don’t want to risk it or anyone else’s!
July 12, 2013 @ 4:34 pm
Its hard to know exactly how Google think. Its most important though to consider what the accepting blog thinks – you want your comment to be published so to be sure I am going to make the comment genuine and relevant, leave the URL in the sign in box with your name and email address if requested, and just leave the unlinked blog name in the comments. A reader can always visit you by clicking your name to go to the URL you entered. For example – Deby @ Moms Make Money
July 12, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
Thanks Deby! I appreciate your input and will do that!
Bev
July 12, 2013 @ 10:02 pm
Hmm, I’m the type of person who only comments if I actually have something to say… I hate that on a lot of websites, people will come to your page and says thanks for following me! Or something like that… But never add anything else. On my deviantART, I have 3 comments on my page, and all 3 just say thanks for the watch. I literally never go to peoples pages to do the same. If I comment, I have a real reason for doing so… If I want to say thanks for subscribing to my whatever, page, blog, etc, I will continue to blather on about other stuff as well….
July 13, 2013 @ 6:48 am
Great post! most people don’t realise how much the links on their own site, bad or good, contribute to their page rank. I set up WordPress to hold all comments for moderation if they include any links in the open text field. This has allowed me to either A) edit out the link, or B) never publish the comment.
July 13, 2013 @ 8:19 am
Deby, this is a great article and I appreciate the effort you took to explain how these spammy comments affect ranking. I have a question: If I edit the comment in WP does this change it or does the entire comment need deleting. Thanks so much
July 13, 2013 @ 8:32 am
Editing is a great way to deal with this. I would rather edit and keep a comment I can use.
July 13, 2013 @ 11:19 am
Wow thanks for sharing! I had my comment moderation set to 3 links before (just changed it to 1) I had no idea. Thank you.
As for generic comments, delete away.
July 13, 2013 @ 2:59 pm
This is so good to know. My comments are genuine, but I have left links in posts too! And, if I’m a new follower to their page, I let them know and say that they can follow me back at….and leave a link. I see nothing wrong with this, but if it’s considered spam, I can still say that and they cal just click my URL:) It’s only fair to let them know you bothered to share a face book like or page follow and them return the favor:) That’s genuine communication and networking in my world:)
July 13, 2013 @ 7:15 pm
Wow…as a new blogger, I had no idea about this! Thanks so much for the info. Found you via the Sundae Scoop link party.
July 13, 2013 @ 8:01 pm
Deby, Thank you so much for the wealth if information you share on your site. The entire no follow thing is so hard to wrap your mind around. I have just recently changed my link party to no follow on all of my links in the post. I had a conversation with another blogger about the links on our blogs with a link party. So confusing. I am off to go back and check all my comments with a link. I know I have them, it just will take some time to edit them all. Again thanks so much for the spam information. Off to check my comments.
July 13, 2013 @ 8:21 pm
Deby, I started to check some of my comments with links and noticed as I was in edit mode that some of the bloggers are already putting no follows in their link. So if the no follow is in the link this should be a good link, correct?
July 13, 2013 @ 8:35 pm
Thanks for this – so how do we fix this retroactively! Is there an easy way to find these types of comments? I have over 4000 comments on my site, would I have to go through each one?!
July 14, 2013 @ 7:40 am
If its a really big job, I would concentrate on those posts that rank well and bring search engine traffic and tidy up those important posts first.
July 14, 2013 @ 12:04 am
Hi! Deby, I’m a member at some forums where we can share our projects and I leave my link for others to check out the tutorials or patterns , will it be considered as spam too?
July 14, 2013 @ 7:40 am
I don’t think you would need to worry about leaving your comment and links in a forum environment. These wouldn’t usually be concerned about search engine traffic on their individual topics and posts in the same way that a blog or website would be. Usually these also form part of your posting signature too. And your comments are always part of the discussion. I’m sure it’s fine to carry on as usual.
July 14, 2013 @ 7:49 am
This is really great info. I do comment on a fair amount of blogs and have on occasion invited people to link parties and left a link, but only when I really liked the post! I don’t do it often and now I won’t be leaving any links in my comments ever! And I will be going back through to look at mine as well. I actually have comment luv because it makes it easier for me to find a new visitor and return the visit to their blog. When you do a link party, should the links be changed to no follow? I’ll be sharing and pinning this. Thanks again for sharing it with us!
July 14, 2013 @ 9:21 am
I agree that links in comments are frustrating as a blogger – but what defines a valuable comment? If something like’ thats cool’ or superb work are considered generic comments then most bloggers wont have any comments on their sites
July 14, 2013 @ 10:26 am
I just found this on the Sew Many Ways linky party, thanks for this info, it’s hard to keep up with all of the changing info for blogs!
July 14, 2013 @ 12:55 pm
Good Evening Deby, Thank you so much for this useful information. I have to agree with everyone elses comment ,that it is hard to keep up with the ever changing rules and regulations and so it is wonderful to come across a blog like yours which is willing to share information with us all. I have found the blogging community to be a generous community.
When I leave a comment on a blog I enjoy reading, I never leave a “one liner”, I like to leave an interesting comment which shows I have read the post as these are the type of comments I love to receive. Recently I have been sent a lot of “linky party” comments and I shall now delete them. I think as blogging has grown, there are some, who, for whatever reason, only leave a brief comment which does not really show whether the post has been read or not and that I find disappointing.
I am genuinely pleased to have found you and I am now subscribing to your emails and I thought you would like to know that I found you via Karen at Sew Many Ways.
Best Wishes to you,
Daphne
July 14, 2013 @ 1:13 pm
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment Daphne, and I’m pleased to have you on the team here at Moms Make Money.
July 14, 2013 @ 5:37 pm
Thanks so much for this info. I didn’t know that a link in my comment would leave me as a spammer. I sometimes have linked to a picture on my blog, or Flickr.
July 14, 2013 @ 6:08 pm
I feel like I’m still on a learning curve. I always try to leave quality comments because that’s what I want people to do on Practical MOMents. I DO usually sign my name as Karen @ Practical MOMents and leave a link to one of my recent, relevant posts where it asks for the website address in the comment box. I don’t share other links in the content. I like it when I am reading blogs and people sign their comments like this because then I can see quickly whether or not I’d be interested in checking out their sites. If someone just leaves their name I know I can click on their names to see their blogs, but I generally don’t take the time to do it. I’ve just clicked on too many names only to find I’m not at all interested in their content. Then this busy wife, mom, and teacher just feels like I’ve wasted my time. But should I NOT be signing my name that way? Thanks for sharing your insights! I look forward to reading more of your blogging tips 🙂
July 15, 2013 @ 1:29 pm
Good to know…I occasionally leave a link to something but it’s usually because it’s related to the post or helps the blogger in some way (usually)…I will for sure be more careful about how often I leave comments with links! I never leave one for my blog though. I leave that up to the part where you can click on my name. 🙂
Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog
Exercise Encouragement GROUP Blog
July 16, 2013 @ 11:16 am
Wow! I didn’t realize they cracked down so much. I don’t get many comments like that, but I’ll be sure to watch out for them. Thanks so much! (Visiting from Ginger’s Link up)
July 16, 2013 @ 10:51 pm
Great post Deby!!! I’m guilty of adding my link after my signature.I do have a question though from reading through all of the comments. You said that you EDIT the comment instead of deleting them. I don’t know how to do that – Is that a wordpress thing or can it be done in blogger also?
Thanks,
Robin @ Fluster Buster
July 16, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
Ah sorry Robin, I don’t use Blogger and do not know if editing comments is possible. Can anyone else help?
July 16, 2013 @ 11:48 pm
Hi Deby, this is definitely a great share I would never thought comments were so important for google. I mean, I still consider myself a newbie so I could be wrong, I always thought comment were important to us as a way to see the impact or the reach of our posts but never, never thought it was something google keeps track of o.O. Anyway, I’m so guilty of those kind of comments mostly on link parties which makes me think: I have a Link Party myself (you know that lol) that particular post is mostly to share, offer exposure and get traffic, there is nothing much to comment about but I assume we all leave “Thanks for the party” comments as a way to show respect and gratitude to the host. It would be so sad not having one comment each week just because Goggle considers it as a Spam =(.
I understand when you say G does it to make us better bloggers and authentic but ever since I started blogging I hadn’t adapted to some rules when I read that they have changed again, it is hard to keep up and please Google all the time. I do like to leave valuable comments on others blogs but when it comes to Link Parties I just don’t know what would be the right thing to do, i would feel awful to go link up and not leaving the thanks LOL, I ALWAYS do it… It is a lot to take in.
Any way Thanks so much for sharing all this. There are a few things that we all have to adjust in order to keep happily blogging =D.
Hugs and xoxo
Cami @ TitiCrafty
July 17, 2013 @ 4:16 pm
I had NO IDEA about the Google standards on blog comments, and what they now consider SPAMy comments….Yikes! Shared this on FB 🙂 Thanks for the information.
July 17, 2013 @ 4:52 pm
I don’t mind linky party links-I enjoy most of the parties anyhow! I think there is good and bad in this. Us bloggers are bogged down with many other blogs and many blogs I feel are just up trying to make money so they really don’t give a shit how I comment. They just care they have ‘numbers’ to show their potential sponsors.
But with the thousands upon thousands of blogs the ‘only’ way I have found interesting blogs are from those that give me those ‘spam’ comments or from linky parties. They visit me, I visit them. If I find them interesting THEN I become a fan and follow.
So it’s good they are trying to cut down on spam but hate it’s at my expense. I’m not only going to lose potential followers, because maybe they also will have found me through a party or via my ‘spam’ comments but I’m going to have a more difficult time finding good blogs.
And hate how I’m petrified of Google ‘dropping’ me and feel like I’m walking on egg shells.
July 17, 2013 @ 11:35 pm
Wow, I’m definitely guilty of leaving my URL whenever I comment. Thanks so much for another informational post! I’m learning a lot from you!
July 18, 2013 @ 1:15 pm
I get several of those linky party comments a week and usually delete them but sometimes I just delete their link. I’m glad to hear that I’m doing the right thing in in the eyes of Google and not just being a jerk.
July 18, 2013 @ 2:10 pm
Are you referencing links left in the comments field as spam, or are you talking about the link left for the commenters name? I would imagine that they are tracking both and noticing trends of how often people are commenting on blogs, the content of the comments and so forth. Getting a ton of links from blogs just doesn’t seem like a logical use of time in the first place, but that’s just me.
July 19, 2013 @ 7:32 am
Wow I am a new blogger and this is so informative! I am featuring you and this post on my blog today for sure and pinning! Thanks so much! PS I am a new follower of your very very informative blog!
Have an awesome weekend!
Hugs,
Sandra
The Adored Home
July 19, 2013 @ 7:21 pm
Thank you for sharing this post with your readers. I just popped over and left you a non-spammy comment!
July 20, 2013 @ 8:55 am
Maybe this has already been asked, but what about content that is relevant with a link? LIke often if I find a post that’s similar in content to something I’ve written, I’ll share the link to my post as well, after I’ve commented on how I appreciated the content of the post. Is that spam too?
July 21, 2013 @ 6:49 am
Well its hard to be definitive, but my interpretation of the Google policy would be that relevant comments with relevant links are entirely fine. They just want to cut out the spammy comments such as ‘Great tip” that are purely left so that the commenter can leave their URL on your site.
July 20, 2013 @ 12:00 pm
Hi Deby ,
Nice post , its clear now that google is updating its algorithm to make searches more valuable and relavant to the search term . To improve it they are considering a lot of things such as you have mentioned blog commenting.
Internet is filled with blog spammers they send spam comments to many site at one time and they are waste.
I think inspite of wasting time in black hat technique , one should work on natural way. Blog commenting should be only when you find the article useful.
Thank you
July 23, 2013 @ 2:26 am
I just wanted to add a thank you from me, I’m new to the whole blogging thing, so your advice is really useful – I shall definitely be reading more and keeping up to date with your blog.
July 24, 2013 @ 3:53 am
Wow, I had no idea. Thanks so much for posting this. I have a linky party and link up to linky parties as well.
I have noticed that there are certain people who will sign the bottom of their comment with their blog name. There is no direct link and if you clicked on it you wouldn’t go anywhere. But it IS their blog name with the www before it and the (dot) come after it. Do you know if that is spam? I am hoping this comment isn’t spam. I’m trying my best to make sense without putting anything spammy in here!
July 29, 2013 @ 9:51 am
Deby I appreciate this post! Linky parties are terrific for meeting new people and getting ideas. But, the purpose of a party is to socialize too. I think of it as the morning networking club I used to be a part of. Sometimes a guest would fill in for a regular member and come with a handful of business cards and be all about themselves. The good networkers are all about YOU with a terrific 30 second deal about them. A lot of bloggy gals are after traffic…bottom line. However, I have appreciated finding out about lovely parties from the comments they have left. That might be good networking. But…I absolutely hate the remarks that show that the post wasn’t read. Yikes! What are these people thinking? What about the golden rule? Anyway….I do like your idea of editing the comment for the sincere commentor who also leaves their links.
I’m wondering how you manage to have the time to read and research, write your other blog, and link up at every party there is, as well as write this informative blog? Do you have a VA? Also, if you come across info on “Comment Luv” in your research…would you let me know? I use that and like it on both ends.
Best wishes for An Extraordinary Day!
July 29, 2013 @ 4:11 pm
How do I have the time ? I really don’t ! Sleep is a thing of the past and my husband says I never talk to him any more! No not really. I’m just lucky enough to be able to work at home and have a very supportive husband who doesn’t nag too much if the housework isn’t done till tomorrow/next week…
August 1, 2013 @ 3:44 pm
Seems the general reaction is “Good!”, and I mostly agree. I occasionally leave a link, but only when it is relevant. I can comment without doing so.
I also think this is kinda funny… people have been trying to “police” the net since the first post was made: Google should know better! LOL!
August 20, 2013 @ 3:14 am
It’s a pity because on some blogger sites I can’t link my blog anyway so I have to type it out. But if I leave out the http:// then it will normally be ok.
August 23, 2013 @ 10:30 pm
Is putting a link in a comment always considered comment spam? Sometimes I want to post a link to something relevant to what the blogger posted. I have also received comments like this on my blog, they were relevant to the post, but also contained a link back to their blog.
August 24, 2013 @ 7:04 am
No thats no problem of course. Although there is not normally any need to put a link to your site in the comment itself because you will normally have already entered it in the boxes which create a clickable link back to your site anyway. But its the very short, generic comments like, ‘Thanks for the tip’ which could apply to any post and may just be there to get a link back that Google may consider spammy. Leaving a genuine comment with a link to a relevant article is exactly what commenting is all about – you keep doing that and you are adding value to the post.
September 13, 2013 @ 11:12 pm
Thank you so much for this info….so useful to a new blogger like myself. Loving your site, I found you on pinterest. Good job!
September 15, 2013 @ 4:37 pm
This is yet another of the ‘new’ things to the blogging world since I’ve begun my latest blogging venture. I’m relieved to read about it on the one hand, but sad on the other. I’m relieved, because I have the information before such a comment ends up on my blog… but I’m sad because networking is a rough thing for me to begin with and this knocks a lot of networking down the drain. I guess. I have been trying to up my networking on twitter, google+, facebook, and pinterest this time around… so hopefully that makes up for people not commenting with offers to ‘link up.’
September 15, 2013 @ 4:47 pm
Just keep your comments real and genuine on other people’s sites and be careful about what comments you publish on your own site and everything will be just fine. I don’t think the length of the comment is of the utmost important so don’t feel you have to write an essay when leaving a comment, and vice versa. But Google are right when they say some bloggers just leave a few quick words on your site in order to get a link back to their own. This isn’t real networking after all.
October 5, 2013 @ 8:23 am
i appreciate this post, greatly. but, i worry that people are taking this out of context and not reading all of the details of your post or doing their own research to really try to understand what google is up to. unfortunately after reading your post and going over google’s rules and guidelines myself, it is clear that google has it’s own agenda. i had my DH read everything as well, and google has left some very vague recommendations, using words such as “excessive”.
anyhow, thanks for this post. have a wonderful weekend!
October 5, 2013 @ 3:14 pm
I totally agree – some people have way over-reacted and I’ve read all sorts of uncomplimentary comments about it saying I am telling bloggers not to leave comments on other blogs and other such nonsense. I’ve had some quite nasty emails! That is absolutely the opposite of what the post was intended to be about. It was however intended to be a little controversial and to encourage both discussion and personal research and opinion, so I guess it has done that. My ‘take-away’ from the subject is: 1 – don’t publish spam comments on your site. 2 – Google never gives us a straight answer. 3 – use commenting as it is intended to be used; to discuss and converse, network and engage and build relationships, not purely as a method of self-promotion. 4 – beware of writing controversial posts on your site unless you want to deal with it being taken the wrong way!
Thanks for taking the time to read and leave a comment, its much appreciated.
October 16, 2013 @ 8:02 am
Thanks for sharing this information. This does explain a lot to me on how Google determines what is spam and what isn’t. I really figured it was determined on the amount of comments a typical account made and not the content. I have been blogging since 2009 and I would have to say that I have learned more in the last 6 months than I learned in all the time prior. I guess that I am going to have to change the way that I do leave some of my comments, I do find myself guilty sometimes of leaving short and quick to the point ones.
January 11, 2014 @ 9:08 am
Wow, I’m so glad you taught about spam comments. Someone taught me how to write Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage as my signature on my real comments and link Harvest Lane Cottage to my site. I never dreamed that it would be considered spam. I was just trying to make it easier for the blogger to get back to me without having to go through an additional step. Now I know. That’s why I subscribe to your blog, for information like this.
God bless,
Laura of
Harvest Lane Cottage
Not linked ~smile~
January 11, 2014 @ 1:01 pm
Thanks for leaving a comment. Just adding in your URL wouldn’t necessarily mean your comment was spam, it all depends on your intention and what you write. But if you just said “Great post. Visit me at XYZ.com where I write all about recipes and kids clothing.” Well, the blogger could quite rightly decide your comment was not there to really comment on the post itself, but merely to advertise yourself – comment spam. Your URL is included in the info boxes when you sign in to comment, so any reader can always click your name to go to the site anyway. I wouldn’t include a link in any comment I think, unless you were linking to a specific post that added to the topic itself.
August 2, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Oh, goodness, I was putting a link to my site in my comments, I will stop doing that, thank you for this information
August 2, 2015 @ 10:53 pm
I have never left a link in a comment – ever. I always felt it was rude and against etiquette but I’m old school, we read articles and communicated through comments. Once we got to know each other we automatically went o check out the blog. This is valuable information and a great article! Nice to meet you.
August 3, 2015 @ 9:35 am
This is interesting and something I hadn’t heard about. Thanks for sharing as I don’t want anyone (especially myself) to violate the “rules”.
August 6, 2015 @ 1:51 pm
This is helpful Deby, thanks for sharing! I had no clue that google can categorize my site for having comments with links on it. I can’t believe this isn’t more clear cut on their site!
August 9, 2015 @ 8:11 am
I honestly had no idea about this! Thank you for the info! I will definitely be more diligent about which comments I allow on my blog.
November 14, 2015 @ 10:18 am
Wow, this is a new world to me! I feel guilty about having invited other bloggers to the party I co-host and leaving my link there… not a lot, but I feel really bad now. At least, I read your article and won’t do it again, and I’ll be careful about other bloggers inviting me to their parties.