Here at SeanSEO.com we get our fair share of spam!  Thankfully, we have Askimet. Askimet is a plug-in for WordPress that’s free to use and simply requires you activate it using your API.  If you don’t know how to find your WordPress API, go to your global dashboard and you’ll find it easily.

Askimet doesn’t stop everything and it can occasionally catch non-spam but it works very well at minimizing the amount of blog spam you get.

What’s Wrong With Blog Spam?

A lot of site owners are trying to buy quality backlinks to their sites.  Unfortunately, some of the services they use in order to try to buy those links will resort to very spammy measures.  A lot of spam includes links to pornography sites with non-sensical comments that are filled with obscene links.

Not All Links Are Good Links….

In terms of SEO, you want to be associated with sites that will help you instead of hurt you.  Sites that have good page rank and that are about relevant topics can boost your own site’s rankings.  Some sites allow pingbacks automatically so when you link to them in your site, a link will turn up on that other site.  Some website owners prefer to moderate these links to be sure that the site will add value to their on page and off page SEO.  While moderating takes a bit of effort, it is a good idea to do it otherwise you might not be getting all the attention from search engines that you want.

In your blog, you can decide if you want to moderate comments and pingbacks, allow them openly or block them entirely.  The choice is yours.  While different internet marketers and pro bloggers have varying opinions on the matter it’s important that you do take the time to make a decision because ignoring spam could cause it to spiral out of control and penalize your site’s reptuation.