Leaving comments on blog posts to build inbound links to your website is a bit more difficult than you might at first expect. Consider this: there are millions of blogs and millions of blog comments being added to those blogs on a daily basis. 
No one has the time to go through all blog comments individually; that is why programs such as Akismet are so popular because they can automatically weed out the spam based on specific variables.
Certainly spam is a huge problem for anyone who owns a blog. We’ve all seen those comments that merely list links to questionable websites or simply say “great post”. Such obvious spam is what makes building links such a tricky process.
Here are some tips on how to get blog comments approved to build inbound links to your site…
Intelligent Blog Comments
The number one rule of blog commenting is read the post. If the text is particularly long and complicated, at least skim over the contents and hit the high points. When you want your blog comment to be approved, you have to have something of value to say. Sure, there are some blog owners who will let a “good job” comment get through, but there are many more who see through this and recognise it as pure spam.
Inserting Keywords
Often the trickiest part is getting your keywords into a post. You might have identified a keyword phrase like “Pizza Delivery Melbourne ” as being one of the most effective for your e-commerce site. But try using that in a sentence; it doesn’t flow naturally.
This means you have to get creative. Consider forming a sentence along the lines of “For pizza delivery, Melbourne offers a variety of delicious options”. Do ensure that what you write makes sense and that your comment is relevant to the post you are commenting on; otherwise it is likely to be flagged as spam.
Your Name
Most of us have been trained to use a company name or keywords in the space for the commenter’s name. The truth is, this is a huge red flag for many blog owners and likely to get your blog comments deleted. In fact, many blogs state outright that unless you use a ‘real’ name, your comment will not be approved.
Here’s a way you may be able to get around this: use your real first name followed by the company name or keyword. For instance, you could insert “Dave loves Melbourne Pizza” in the commenter name box. Again, use some creativity. The idea is to get your comment approved; the chances of someone actually clicking on your name and reaching your page are slim. The real value in blog commenting is the inbound link.
Establish A Relationship
When you do a lot of blog commenting, it pays to establish a relationship with several high ranking blog sites, especially those that cover a variety of topics. Start with one intelligent comment and click the box to indicate you’d like to subscribe to comments. If the blog owner responds to you, go ahead and comment again. Return next month and leave another comment. This is a great way to get past moderation and have all future comments automatically approved.
Inbound links are of great value to your website and leaving comments on blog posts is one of the most effective ways to create them. With a bit of practice, you will quickly learn how to get blog comments approved and make this technique work for you.
About Sean Rasmussen
One word – Gravatar
Since I’ve started using Gravatar or any other service that displays a avatar, my comments seems to be approved more often.
I don’t doubt that at all Cemil, there are many people, especially in social media circles that take no notice of people unless they are prepared to use an avatar.
I can see why. Especially if you’re a stirrer or a trouble maker. I think it’s rude to come into someone’s blog and criticise the blogger, when you can’t even show who you are. That’s so gutless.
Hm – I never thought about having MY keyword in the comment. As I focus on Self Improvement and Wellness but this blog for example is about Internet Marketing and SEO – that’s not an easy task – or is it ?
What advantage do I have from having my keywords on a totally different blog???
As the article says Renee, including your keywords would only be used when commenting on a relevant blog.
‘…use your real first name followed by the company name or keyword. For instance, you could insert “Dave loves Melbourne Pizza” in the commenter name box.’
That’s a really good tip. Thanks Sean. And thanks also for using me in your example. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
I was thinking of you when I wrote it David
Hello Sean,
I have not ever consider not using my name. As a blog owner and website owner there is nothing worse than receiving spam comments. I am not sure why the people even bother to write such rubbish and then hit the “submit” button. I usually look at the spam commit, shake my head and hit delete
Great tips on how to get your comments approved. I do remember way back when I first started commenting on here that my comments were not being approved but that was because I was a “newie” here and was lost in the crowd.
I like how creative you get with using keywords in the “Name” section. Can’t say I ever thought of doing that one!
Cheers
Lisa
Hi Sean,
Thank you for those tips, I have always put my name in when commenting never thought of doing anything else, so now I will think a bit more before I comment maybe find some way to use a keyword.
Rita
There are lots of ways to go Lisa, just remember that if you are going to consider adding some keywords, make sure the post you are commenting on is very relevant to the keywords you are thinking of including.
I agree with the first commenter. Since using my gravatar and using a fixed email address, my blog comments are always approved! I also make it a point to read through the blog post thoroughly or atleast read the main points and leave a comment appropriate to the topic of the blog post. I agree that many blog owners now have started seeing through comments like ‘Great Post’ ‘Good work’ etc. that seem to add no value to the discussion at all.
Hi Sean
I tend to use my first name, well actually it is a persona that I have created but sounds like a name
I use Firefox Speeddial and I have a speeddial page dedicated to sites that give me high value backlinks and have approved my previous comments. I also keep them ordered in site page rank in order to focus on higher value sites and get better value backlinks
Sounds like a great way to keep a track of the sites that matter to you Wal.
Hi Sean,
I think the best way to get your blog comments approved is by being genuinely interested in what the blogger has written. I tend to only comment on blogs that I love to read. This makes it so much easier to write intelligent and interesting comments. I also find that it helps me to build relationships with the bloggers.
Of course, I prefer them to be relevant to my niche with a good PR but I will comment on anything that gets my attention.
Hi Sean
This information you have written is very important. There are so many things we need to be aware of with how we communicate and present ourselves on the internet.
Mostly now the conversation is not just between you and the customer or you and the shopkeeper, it’s between you and tons of invisible people behind the screen on your computer.
There is no privacy with social media so I can see the points you make here are so valid, you don’t know who is reading what you are writing so you must be very careful to be clear and sincere!.
Thankyou for pointing this out.
Blessings
Elly
Well…. i just started commenting on blogs.. definitely i do not have any experience in this regard. But, when i started,my comments were not approved mostly, lets say, 7 out of 10 comments were rejected. i felt very dejected. then i tried to diagnose the reason behind this and found some really useful tips to get your comments approved. some of them you also listed in the post above. But one thing that i must say, your advice of using Name followed by company name is just superb.
)
thanks for your tips..
( and yes, see my name in comment, i followed your advice
Nice post. I came here via Google ’cause a commenter had left a comment on my blog that looked somewhat generic so I googled it and found out that he had the same comment here, though it appears that you’ve deleted it.
Also some Todd guy from Watch NHL Live left the same comment Cemil left above on my blog and I had to mark it as spam and delete it too.
Anyway just thought I should let you know. Have a great day.
P.S: Your blog is missing the subscribe to comments plug-in. You should endeavor to install it as it goes a long way in improving blog interaction/conversations
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One of the best ways is honesty! Find sites you admire or genuinely are interested in then commenting is not a chore it becomes like communicating with old friends after a while. A lot of people mainly target the big sites to get their comments and links up. They put up forced comments and sound overall uninterested. It is easy to spot. You will always find big sites in your area of expertise or interest, target a lot of them and have fulfilling, regular and natural exchange.
These are good tips and nothing annoys me more than when people try to abuse KeywordLuv by using three or four keywords after their name or instead of their name.
I own a blog and I typically don’t like any links in comments at all unless the poster is specifically comparing an article or showcasing something of benefit to me. I use CommentLuv plugin on my blogs which automatically provides commenters with a backlink to their latest blog post on their site.
Hey these points are really required as, surely, there are some blog owners who will let a “good job” comment get through, but there are many more who see through this and recognize it as pure spam.
I agree with you that spam content is really rising these days. I have a tons of comments which are starting with “Check this out” or “Visit this for cheapest ….”. I just hate this kind of comments and I never approve them.
I approve all comments which can show that commentator really read the post and he really have some opinion about that particular issue.
Hi Sean,
You mentioned that, “the chances of someone actually clicking on your name and reaching your page are slim. ” But you still give an example of using keywords in the name. So do you mean these keywords act as anchor text? I am sorry if I sound dumb but I am a newbie as far as SEO is concerned…I’m learning on the job.
And how would I get a gravatar?
Yes Elisa, whatever you include in the name field will be your anchor text. So, it’s obviously better SEO if you can get some in there, but doing so may also lead to less approvals
One thing more is one should not use keywords in name, if you use them then you would be thought that you are spamming here.
Sean, don’t mind, this is my second comment on your blog, but I must say the articles you wrote are simply awesome.
Thanks alot.
Navin
Thanks for your tips on blog commenting etiquette. It is definitely important to avoid coming across as ridiculously spammy.
Well, it is not easy to get blog comments approved except for leaving comments on auto-approved blogs. And it is not easy to find those blogs.
It’s also okay to use just your name sometimes because it gives your link profile a more diverse and “natural” look. In fact, if I’m leaving a comment on a super high quality blog where I really, really want it to get approved I won’t even bother using a keyword anchor…just to be safe.
Admittedly, just like right now
This is a good guide to honestly tell you te truth. But out ofcuriosity how long does it take for a comment to get approved? Say I submit it to a website would that website actually post it on the site in a day, week, month?
With so much literature floating around how can you really pin down a list and have everyone agree with it? We all like so many different things.