Blog Commenting For SEO: The Why & The How In 2024

How do you start increasing your search traffic and building links if you have no cash and no connections?

The answer is simple:

 Blog commenting.

But what is blog commenting? Well…

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What Is Blog Commenting?

Blog commenting for SEO is defined as a simple strategy to start building links back to your site while building strong relationships with people in your industry.

It is about exchanging ideas or opinions about what people think or feel about a topic. It can also help blogs to attract traffic, leads, and add a ‘social touch.’

And, if you’re a new SEO who isn’t taking advantage of this strategy, you’re missing out on a world of potential that your competitors are going to use to beat you.

(You snooze you lose, right?).

blog commenting for seo

Bellow, I’ll show you what blog commenting for backlinks is, how to use it and why it’s an important part of the link building process.

PRO TIP: Before starting any link building campaign, it’s best to determine how many backlinks you need to rank.

Are you still using blacklisted backlinks?

Why You Should Use Blog Commenting For SEO

Blog commenting is simply leaving a value-adding message in the “comments” section of a blog and the earlier the better.

They’re one of the simplest and easiest ways to start building links to your website.

At the end of many posts you’ll see a form where you can add your personal information:

WordPress comment form

It’s important that it has the option to add your website as part of the information.

This means you can include a link back to your site, that anyone who reads your comment can click. Link building in its simplest form, right?

Now, these links don’t carry lots of direct “link juice” that will send you up the rankings.

But these links do contribute to your website’s link profile.

If you’re getting links back from your comments on large well-established blogs, Google & editors are going to take notice.

Blog comments also come with two other great benefits:

  1. They help you grow your network and build relationships with people
  2. They offer targeted traffic back to your website

Because if someone comes across a three-hundred word comment at the bottom of a blog post that adds tonnes of value (see below) they’re going to take notice of that as well:

blog commenting for SEO example

Website owners use blog comments to help them grow successful online businesses.

Ryan Biddulph of Blogging From Paradise credits his success to blog commenting. His comments on my blog were so valuable it led to him getting featured to my full email list.

The relationship he built through his comments, lead to a really valuable link building and traffic opportunity through being a guest poster on the blog.

Powerful stuff.

Ryan Biddulph blog comment

There is a ton of SEO value in blog comments.

Okay, that’s the “why”; let’s take a look at the “how”…

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How To Use Blog Comments For SEO

There is an art to blog commenting for SEO.

  • Use Your Real Name: Always use your full name instead of brand name or keyword to look genuine.
  • Add Value: Write comments that are relevant and add value to the blog post. Avoid short, generic comments like “Great work!”
  • Be Relevant: Make sure your comment is relevant to the blog post to engage in meaningful discussions and not look spammy.

That means comments like this aren’t going to cut it:

bad blog comment

Think in terms of a mini blog post.  It should add value or continue the discussion.

This is important to remember because blog owners have to approve your comments. If it’s not value adding or worthwhile for them to have it on their blog, it’ll get rejected.

Here’s an example comment that would get approved:

“Hey Dan,

You did an excellent job on this post! I’d like to add an extra productivity tip to your list if you don’t mind?

I find that when I fast in a morning – that is, I get up, drink a coffee and get straight to work – my productivity is 10 TIMES better than when I’ve eaten. I thought it would be the other way around, or that I’d struggle without food, but I really do thrive.

The people in my coaching community have found this to be helpful, too! Something worth trying.

Have a great day,

Matthew

I’d say that around 1 in every 250 comments I process on the blog go beyond one-line.

Comments like the above really stand out because it’s rare to see such engagement in this busy world – this means it is VERY EASY for you to stand out from the crowd.

Here are some blog commenting tips and best practices you should follow:

  1. Comment First: Get that first comment spot for the most traffic (more on that in the next section.)
  2. Use Your Full Name: Don’t aim for a keyword or your brand name.
  3. Use Your Correct Email Address: This allows the site owner, or interested people, to contact you.
  4. Connect Your Email To Gravatar: This will display a profile picture next to your comment.
  5. Be Selective: Choose blogs and posts that are relevant to your niche or industry.
  6. Ask Questions When You’re Not An “Expert”: If you’re unsure about something they wrote about, ask a question about it.
  7. Add Extra Value When You Are: If this topic is something you have experience in, add your own opinion and contribute value.
  8. Don’t Write Spam: Like, ever.

Pretty simple right?

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3 Steps To Successful Blog Commenting (And Secure The First Comment)

As Neil Patel found, getting the first blog comment generates the most traffic and gets the most attention.

How do you find blog commenting opportunities and ensure you get the first comment?

It’s pretty simple… Identify the blogs you want to comment on, get notified of their new posts and then leave your comment.

Let’s take a closer look…

Step #1: Identify The Blogs You Want To Comment On

Finding the blogs you want to comment on can be pretty simple.

For this I use Feedly.

Sign up for a free account and you can search for blogs based around certain topics:

Feedly productivity search

You can then find lots of sites to add to your “feed”.

Just click “follow” and away you go:

Blog feeds

Take a couple of minutes to add blogs to your feed before moving onto the next step.

It’ll help you out massively.

Step #2: Get Notified Of Their New Posts

With your feed in place, you will start to get email notifications about the latest posts on your favourite blogs.

They’ll also show up on your home screen here:

today Feedly screen

A second step you can take is…

If you head to the search bar at the top of the page and enter in your keyword (eg: productivity) you can choose to set up a Google News alert around this topic.

Feedly google news

This will now send you immediate updates about all of the new content around this topic.

Step #3: Leave Your Comment

When you receive a notification it’s important that you act fast.

You ideally want to get the first comment.

But the higher up the page (closer to the content) the better. So as soon as you get a notification, get in there and leave your comment!

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Wrapping It Up

Blog comments have powerful SEO, networking and traffic benefits.

You should regularly be leaving value-adding, long-form comments on regular blogs in your niche to help with your link building & wider digital marketing strategy.

 The better the comment, the better the results you’ll get from it.

Be sure to use your:

  • Name
  • Correct email address
  • A link to your site

…and never leave spam.

If you want to get notified about blog commenting opportunities you can sign up for Feedly and use them to create in-app and Google News alerts you can quickly act upon.

Note: You can not use blog commenting to get edu backlinks or gov backlinks.

Next up, I’m going to show you another powerful white hat link building strategy for those who are just starting their link building campaign… Testimonial Link Building.

Or, if you want to outsource it, check out my review of the top link building services.

download the link building checklist now

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. When blog commenting is done correctly, it can offer many benefits. First, leaving genuine comments on blogs can help you build great relationships with people working in the same niche as you. On top of that, it can help you get free backlinks and traffic to your site. In other words, blog comments have powerful networking, SEO and traffic benefits.
Leaving a comment on a blog is very easy, just follow the instructions below:
  1. Find the blog you want to comment on (ideally a blog that is relevant to your niche).
  2. Scroll down till you find the comment section (usually at the bottom of the page).
  3. Find the button that says "Leave Comment" or "Post Comment" or "Submit comment".
  4. Fill out all the request information (name, email, website etc).
  5. Write a genuine comment that will be helpful to the other readers.
  6. Proofread quickly and submit your comment.
Yes. Despite what (most) people think, blog commenting still work today. However, when it comes to blog commenting (or link building in general), quality wins over quantity. In other, you want to write comments on blogs that are relevant to your niche and bring value to the readers. Spamming other blogs with hundreds of comments won't help you.
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What Are Your Thoughts?

726 Responses

  1. Hello sir,

    It’s very useful and I learnt new about blog commenting. Now i follow your step and hope I will get the link juice for my website and good backlinks through the your blogs.

    Thank you so much

  2. Kind of ironic the post about blog comments kills the hyperlink of the name/doesn’t have a link to our website. 🙂

    Seriously though…keep up the great work Matthew and team.

    Cheers

  3. Blog commenting is still an effective strategy for SEO in 2023. Engaging with relevant blogs not only builds backlinks but also establishes your expertise. Be authentic, add value, and create meaningful connections to boost your website’s visibility and organic rankings. Stay up-to-date with current trends to maximize the benefits of blog commenting.

  4. This is a great article! I’ve been blogging for a while, but I didn’t realize how important blog commenting is for growing my audience. I’m looking forward to trying out some of the strategies you outlined. Thanks for the helpful advice!

  5. Thank you for creating such high-quality content around link building. You gave me a new prospect of thinking and new ways to create backlinks. Now I will use your technique to create backlinks. Thanks,

  6. Great blog post! Blog commenting is a valuable SEO strategy even in 2023. It helps build backlinks, increases engagement, and drives traffic to your site. By leaving thoughtful and relevant comments, you not only contribute to the conversation but also establish yourself as an authority in your niche. Keep up the good work!

  7. This was a question I have been asking myself for years. As a food site, I never post on other blogs but I guess I will start. Thanks for the helpful tips.

  8. Blog commenting is one of the best methods of building quality links. I’m building links through this technique from a long time and getting great results in form of higher ranking in search engines. I was wondering a new list of Blog commenting sites and found your blog. You have done a great job by sharing this list with us. I really appreciate your work.

  9. I appreciate your blog post very much. Your perspective on this subject is intriguing, and I enjoyed reading about your thoughts!

  10. Blog commenting can be done on any type of blog, including personal blogs, business blogs, news sites, and other online publications. Some people comment on blogs to build relationships with other bloggers or to gain visibility for their own blogs or websites.

  11. MatthewI would like to add one more tips in this. Use username instead of keywords for giving link in the comment. It will reduce the spamming ratio in the comments, Only genuine users will comment on your post.

  12. That’s a great idea – I have never thought about the SEO aspect of blog comments. Thanks for this, I will be mindful of this now when answering questions.

  13. The information that you have shared is very informative if you could share more about off-page techniques it will be top-notch.SEO is one of the best methods to increase organic traffic. if we focus properly on SEO we can rank our page in the first page of the google

  14. Thank you for creating such a high quality content around link building. You gave me a new prospect of thinking and new ways to create back links. Now I will use your technique to create back links. Thanks Shantanu

  15. Really great job on content! do you think that creating backlinks from commenting is still relevant to add SEO value to my site ?

    1. Blog commenting is not as effective as it used to be. But I do believe that it is still a good way to build relationships in your niche and give some sort of visibility to your website.

  16. This is really a brilliant post with some impressive tips on blog commenting! I have checked the link and got some wise words through this posting. I am going to bookmark the site for further assistance. Thank you so much and keep up the good work!

  17. Very good tips for blog commenting. I will certainly try them out. I liked the way you shared all this information in detail.

  18. Thanks for sharing this article with us. It is really very helpful to us as a beginner in this field. Such a great post!!

  19. very informative blog .I finally understood that blog commenting still works and I think its a great technique of link building. I will try this technique. could you please share some more tips about off page seo. Thank you for sharing quality information.

  20. We appreciate you sharing or spreading this information. I was able to learn a great deal. It really is wonderful.

  21. “Blog comments have powerful SEO, networking, and traffic benefits. You should regularly be leaving value-adding, long-form comments on regular blogs in your niche to help with your link building & wider digital marketing strategy. The better the comment, the better the results you’ll get from it.”This snippet help me know that commenting on blogs is useful, but I used to think that is not.Thanks, Matthew Woods.

  22. Matthew thanks for sharing. After practicing with blog commenting it really helped. Only if the comment adds value to the discussion. Otherwise people won’t approve the comment. So don’t just add a comment in order to get backlink. Just read the whole content and then share your knowledge or your opinion.

  23. Blog commenting is a great way to engage with your audience and add value to their experience. It can also be an effective marketing tool, as you can connect with potential customers or clients who are interested in what you have to say.

  24. A comment is indeed a way of not only building a personal link, but also appreciating the blog post. I appreciate you for the tips. Thanks

  25. Thank you so much for the blog post. I found it to be very interesting and enjoyed reading about what your thoughts are on this subject!

  26. st prt of this blog is Blog commenting for SEO is defined as a simple strategy to start building links back to your site while building strong relationships with people in your industry.It is about exchanging ideas or opinions about what people think or feel about a topic. It can also help blogs to attract traffic, leads, and add a ‘social touch.’

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