You've found a list of blogs in your niche and you're ready to start commenting to build a relationship with their readers. How do you know if this is a good blog to comment on? There are a number of factors that determine if this is the right blog for you to comment on.
1. How many other people are commenting on this blog? If nobody else is commenting on the blog then it's not a popular blog so don't waste your time. If there are a few comments, try adding your two cents and see what happens.
2. How much traffic does this blog get? Go to Alexa.com and enter the URL of the blog to see how popular this blog is. Look for blogs with low Alexa rankings. The lower the better and you want to comment on blogs that are in the top 100,000 if possible. You can download a toolbar for your browser that makes this easy. I use the Firefox Addon Search Status which gives me instant traffic results at the bottom of my browser window. There's also a toolbar for Internet Explorer that works well. Check out Alexa.com for the right toolbar for your browser.
3. What is the Google PageRank of the blog you want to comment on? You want to comment on blogs that have a high Google PageRank which means the site is considered to have high quality content in Google's eyes. Making comments on high PageRank sites will also improve your website or blog's Google ranking. You can download the Google Toolbar to determine the PageRank of the website or blog you're visiting. The Search Status Addon for Firefox provides both Google Page Rank and the Alexa rating in one tool.
4. When you find a popular blog to comment on, read the blog posts and the quality of the comments. Do you want to be associated with this crowd? Don't comment on a popular blog that you can't relate to. If you're a management consultant looking to connect with C level executives, commenting on a blog that's popular with 20-something programmers won't help you. Your comments will go over their head and their comments will be in lingo that you don't understand. Look for blogs with comments coming from your target audience.
5. Remember to read past posts and comments so you get into the flow of the conversation. You want to continue that existing conversation and add value to the conversation. You don't have to agree with what's being said and it's okay to state an oposing opinion. If fact, being controversial is a good way to attract attention.
6. Be professional and be honest. Don't try to be someone you're not when commenting on blogs because people will read right through you. Remember that you're trying to build long-term relationships with these readers so they'll visit your blog or website so they'll hire you or buy your products.
7. Remember to always use your real name when commenting and add your URL to the comment form. If you don't feel comfortable using your real name and URL then you shouldn't be posting on that blog.
8. Don't try to sell your product or services in your comments. Just continue the existing conversation and answer questions or add value that demonstrates your expertise.
9. Don't add your website URL in the comment. It's okay to add a URL to another website that adds value to the conversation but promoting your own website will turn people off. It is okay to direct them to your website if you're directing them directly to an article you wrote that solves their problem.
10. Find a few quality blogs and websites and participate on a regular basis so you build a relationship with the readers. It's better to focus your effort on 2 or 3 high quality blogs then to spread yourself over 20 blogs where you're only making a few comments.
Follow these steps and you'll have traffic to your blog or website in no time. Remember it's all about continuing the existing conversation and adding high quality comments that demonstrate your knowledge and expertise.
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