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A while back I wrote A Fable Do Follow and Comments when I installed the Do Follow Plug-in. I’ve noticed more and more comments which have nothing to do with the post. They found the blog lab on a do follow blog list and all they want is a link.
Just this past week I had three different link backs come into three of my blogs because they were on “The List” One called this list “A Marketer’s dream!” Well it might be a marketer’s dream but it can be a nightmare for you.
- SEO/SEM “Do Follow†Blogs
- Real Estate dofollow blogs – a marketer’s dream!
- Search Engine Optimizer India linked here saying, “406 Not Acceptable – http://www.406notacceptable.c …”
The last one is a splogger picking up the first on the list. Yeah!
Since I saw these links coming back into the blogs I’ve seen a marked increase in the number of comments. Most are coming from real estate agents. Many from new blogs which have no authority and only a few posts. Most are using the Keywords in the author name.
Personally, I don’t care to have RE agents even leaving comments on my local blogs unless they are contributing to the discussion. “This is happening in Podunk Junction too” is not a valid comment.
Do I turn off Do Follow?
This is the very real question I asked myself this morning after getting the “straw that broke the camels back” comment on a post I wrote October 8, 2006 about Tucson being a buyers market and I get spammed from Ana in San Antonio, who obviously never read the post, leaves the innocuous comment:
“So its 2008 and its still a buyers market!! Is this good or bad news??”
DUH!
(Pause Mid Rant)
I’ve written about this whole comment span issue before. I don’t mean to keep harping on this, but honest hard writing bloggers are being inundated with this spam tripe from supposed SEO sources saying this is how to build your blog. Garbage, good quality content is how you build your blog. But that must sound too much like WORK!
(That wasn’t a pause, try again, Pause Mid Rant)
I consider myself to be a nice guy. I still open car doors for others, I open doors everywhere for ladies, (some even not so lady like). I consider myself to be a gentleman, (maybe a stretch there) and really like the idea of giving back links to those that engage in commenting and adding to the discussion.
(Remaining Calm : ) New Plugin Activated)
Enter Lucia’s Link Love
This plug-in provides me more control over the do follow options. I really wanted to be able to check off next to each comment. Do Follow Yes/No check box would be nice. But, I didn’t find one of those and Lucias was about the best for my situation I could find. Therefore, as of yesterday I’ve installed this plug-in.
It has a number of options including one for Max length of Name. This means if a name in the name field is over a certain number of chacters that comment will have a no follow placed on the comment. It also has the option of putting in your own name as an exclusion so when you comment it places a no follow on the comment so it doesn’t appear you are spamming your own site in Google (I never thought of that one).
I would recommend any RE blogger take a look at Lucia’s Lunky Love plugin for your own blog.
We protect ourselves again all kinds of spam with various services and spam filters installed. It is common sense to do the same with the number of sites out there publishing our blog addresses as a good place for others to leave comments.
I guess the positive side is we get a link back (Probably a no follow)
I think you have to approve the comments on your blog, other wise you will get nice post, cool site ect. If the blog owner does not play editor then they will get a lot of spammer comments on the blog and weaken the content of the blog.
David,
No matter how you have it setup you better be moderating comments. There are plenty of spam comments left on blogs all the time, do follow or not.
I personally have all my sites set to moderate the first three comments coming from anyone. After that their comments post automatically. That cuts down on a lot of issues. Throwing spam comments into the akismet spam folder keeps them from appearing in my dashboard in the future.
Dave
I agree the spam comments are a pain in the neck, but not for the reasons I see here. I was so puzzled by some of the (spammy) responses to my posts that it took longer to figure out what they were saying that it would simply to write a new post!
Not everyone who come into my Open Houses are planning to buy, not everyone who asks me to prepare a property marketing analysis intends to have me sell their home, and not everyone who leaves an “atta boy” in my comments box really thinks I have written a good post.
Still, it would be nice…
Bob Lilley East Bay Area Homes For Sale recently posted..Property Search