Get More Comments
There is a lot of talk these days about getting more traffic to your website. Why aren’t people coming to your site? Are you blogging? If not you should, as this is a great way to bring attention to your site.
Now that your getting traffic and people are commenting on your posts, how do you get more comments? Well, this is what I am going to talk about in this article, how to get more comments on your blog posts.
1-Use Comment Moderation Instead of CAPTCHA
Don’t get me wrong, adding CAPTCHA fields to your blog posts is an excellent way to block spam, but it can also block people from commenting on your post. Why, a lot of people would opt not to fill out the CAPTCHA field.
You know what I’m talking about, how many times have you went to a web site, not necessarily to comment on a blog post, but just to get some information. They want you to set up an account, and to verify that your not a robot, they want you to look at the scriggly looking numbers and letters, that are hard to understand, and type them in a box.
How many times did it take before you got this to work for you, or did you just say the heck with it, give up. I am with you, I’ve done the same thing.
Instead of using CAPTCHA, just enable comment moderation on your site. And just manually approve each comment if you can.
Comment moderation will not only block spam, it will allow you to interact more often with with your audience.
You can do this in WordPress by going to Settings » Discussion and scroll down to before a comment appears section. Just check the box that says Comment must be manually approved.
2-Allow Visitors to Subscribe to Comments
This is a great thing to do, as if someone comments on your blog, they need a way to be notified if someone replies to their comment. Otherwise, they would have to remember to come back to your site to check. What is the chance of this happening? I tell you, very low, as people forget. Or they could bookmark your site to check later. Too much work!
You can give your visitor the opportunity to subscribe to comments on your WordPress posts. This way, they will get notiflied by email as comments are made on the post and any replys to their comments. Guess what? When they see the email, they will most likely come back to the post to read the reply.
You can do this with the plugin, Subscribe to Comments Reloaded. This plugin enables commentors to sign up for e-mail notifications when there are comments on a specific blog post, or any replies that they may get on theirs.
This will greatly increase your page views and number of comments on your site. Your visitors will view this as the discussion on your site being more engaging, and they will want to join in the conversation.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Comments on your blog are vindication that you have reached someone on some level in some way” quote=”Comments on your blog are vindication that you have reached someone on some level in some way”]
3-Show Newest Comments First
By default, WordPress shows the oldest comment first, with the most recent at the bottom of the comment list.
You can change this in WordPress by going to Settings » Discussion and scroll down to other comments settings section. You need to select newer from the drop down menu.
4-Turn on Comments for Old Posts
Most bloggers turn off comments on older blog posts to reduce comment spam. I believe this is a mistake. You never know, with the search engines, what might cause you post to turn up in front of new visitors to your blog. This could mean an old post.
These new visitors may want to engage with that old post. They most likely will if you have the commenting turned on.
You should already have comment moderation turned on, so you can safely turn on commenting on old posts.
To do this, go to Settings » Discussion and scroll down to other comments settings section. Uncheck the box next to ‘Automatically close comments on articles older than X days’.
5-Showcase Your Top Commentors
You could reward your top commenters by installing a plugin like, Top Commentors Widget.
This is a sidebar widget that shows the top commentors on your site. It also rewards them with a link to their site.
This shows your commentors that you appreciate their time and effort of commenting on your blog post, and it makes them feel as if they are part of your blogging community.
6-Display Recent Comments
This is something I don’t see very often on websites. When vistors are looking at your home page, they have no idea whats happening in your blog comments section. There could be a heated debate going on with a new post and the visitor might want to put their two-cents worth in.
You can provide visitors a chance to look at current discussions by showing recent comments on your site with the recent comments widget.
In WordPress, go to Appearance » Widgets and add Recent Comments widget to a sidebar.
7-Notify Vistors When Their Comment is Approved
If you have comment moderation turned on, when a visitor comments on your blog post, WordPress will tell them that their comment is awaiting moderation. Users will have no idea when you approve or delete their comment.
You can improve your page views, as well as increase visitor engagement, by just notiflying them when the comment has been approved.
You can do this by installing the Comment Approved plugin.
8-Use The CommentLuv Plugin
The CommentLuv plugin is a do-it-all plugin that pretty much adds all of the plugin features I mentioned above, only in one plugin.
Additionally, it places a link to their most recent blog post at the end of their comment.
This is the plugin that I use, along with most of methods in this article, on my site to get more comments on my blog posts.
I really like that it rewards commentors by letting them leave a link to their latest blog post, with the free version, but the premium version lets them choose between the last 10 of their posts.
No only does this plugin encourage more comments by letting them leave their link, but it also promotes being part of a community as well. When you see these links on your blog post, you can click on them and it will take you to their post, which in turn, you can comment on.
If they are using CommentLuv, you will get to use a link to your most recent blog post.
You seeing how this works?
9-Reply to User Comments
This should be a no-brainer, but if you want to get more comments on your blog posts, then you need to be actively engaging with your commentors on your site.
This means you will need to reply to as many comments as possible, and as soon as possible.
Find a method to use to check for all of your unanswered comments and reply to them. It let’s the person know that you appreciate their comment by taking the time to respond to it.
I personally, just login to my WordPress site backend, and check for any new comments. They are all listed in date order, so I just go in and reply to each one individually.
If you have a small blog and you are not getting a lot of comments, then I would recommend that you reply to all of your comments.
This is really a great way to build up relationships with your visitors, and get increased engagment on your blog.
Eventually you will be getting more comments, and then you may need to use a tool like the plugin, DX Unanswered Comments, to help you keep up with your replies.
Why Blog Commenting Is Important
Commenting on other blog posts is very important and here’s why.
You spend a lot of time and effort putting your articles together and you want someone to read and enjoy them. You also want to benefit the reader by giving them something they can use. Hopefully, it will solve a problem they are having.
Let’s face it, people are searching on the web every day for infomation that they can use to solve a problem they are having. When they stumble upon your blog post you want to solve that problem for them.
When they comment on your blog, that is your vindication that you have reached them on some level in some way. Reply to their comment as soon as possible and let them know that you appreciate them stopping by to read your article and answer any questions they may have.
Visit their blog and comment on their articles. Who knows, you may find something helpful to you that you would not have found otherwise, and this reciprocates the relationship building process.
My friend Adrienne Smith, just recently wrote an article on her blog about commenting that I want to share with you. What You Need To Know About Blog Commenting, is an article which goes in depth on why you should be commenting on other peoples blogs.
Her article is like a how-to manual on what blog commenting is, why it’s important, how it works, and how it can be beneficial to you. She even shows you how to write amazing comments.
Her article talks about how she started commenting and the reservations she had. She overcame those reservations, and has become a highly successful blogger by going out of her way to comment on other blogs, and establish a community of blogging friends.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Blog commenting put me on the map but it opened my eyes to so much more-Adrienne Smith” quote=”Blog commenting put me on the map but it opened my eyes to so much more –Adrienne Smith”]
At the time of this writing, she has over 130 comments on her article, and still counting. She gets more comments on her blog posts, then any I have ever seen. She does this by reaching out to people, commenting on their blogs, and building relationships with them.
So you see, this is a powerful method to get more comments on your blog posts.
What Do I Use?
Currently, I use the free version of CommentLuv, along with the G.A.S.P (Grownmap Anti Spambot Plugin). I don’t moderate the comments currently, as I feel the GASP plugin prevents the spam for me.
I also use, Subscribe To Comments Reloaded, so that if they want, they can get notifications for other comments or replies to comments on the post. Here’s how it looks on my blog:
The first check box, Confirm you are NOT a spammer is what the G.A.S.P plugin puts out there, instead of a CAPTCHA field. What’s easier then checing a box?
The next check box is the CommentLuv section.
The last check box, Notify me of followup comments via e-mail, is the Subscribe to Comments Reloaded plugin.
If some questionable comments do get through, or I can see that the comment is just geared to getting the link juice, I may delete the comment, or just decide not to give them the Luv (disallowing their link).
Getting More Comments
Getting more comments on your blog posts is important as it shows that people are reading and enjoying your articles and feeling compelled to add something to the conversation.
The 9 ways I described above will definitely help increase more comments on your post, as it will make it easier for your readers to comment, and then encourage them to do so again by giving them a little reward for doing so.
These are just some ways that I suggest for you to help get more comments on your blog posts, but do you have other ways that you are using to increase comments? Are you using any of the ways that I listed above? I would love to hear these responses in the comments below.
Robin McDonald
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Rob,
I love your list of things to do ways to get more comments.
I really like the first way you mentioned which was using a CAPTCHA. I hate CAPTCHA’s. Most of the time when I have to mess around with a CAPTCHA I just do not leave a comment.
Moderating comments is not hard and is a great way to know what is actually being said in your blog comments. It is a also a great way to get to know who is commenting.
I think I do most of the rest of your ideas. I do not notify my visitors when their comments are approved. In the past I have tried to reply immediately to all comments and then they get an email with my reply in it. This way they know that their comment has been approved and that I have replied.
I know recently I have been bad about replying and going out and commenting on other peoples blogs. This is something I hope to change with the new year.
I love CommentLuv. It is my favorite plugin.
Great ideas on how to get more comments on your blog.
Dee Ann Rice
Dee Ann Rice recently posted…Setting Goals Will Make Your Blog Successful
Hey Dee Ann and thanks for stopping by.
I agree with you about the Captcha, I don’t like it and I don’t have it on my blog.
Moderating your comments is a good way to see who or what is commenting, and keeps you envolved with your blog. Although if you are getting a lot of comments you can slowly get backlogged with moderation.
Letting people know when their comments are approved is an optional thing. I believe if you are replying to their comment as soon as possible, then that reply should suffice.
I understand about getting behind. Sometimes I don’t reply to comment right away, but then as soon as I can, I try to respond to every one. I just believe if someone takes the time to comment on your blog post, you have a responsibly to respond to them in some way.
Yes CommentLuv is definitely a great plugin. I have been using the free version for quite some time now and just recently decided to go ahead and purchase the premium one.
Thanks again for your comment Dee Ann and I hope you have a great rest of the week!
–Rob
Rob recently posted…9 Ways To Get More Comments On Your WordPress Blog Posts
Nice job with this post, Rob.
Blog commenting really is important, as is diligent moderation — including replies. I always think it’s weird when I take the time to comment on a blog and then get no reply from the owner of the blog.
(And yes, I’ll often to return to make sure I didn’t just miss a notification email or something…)
We all get busy. But you know what I find? It’s the bloggers who get very few comments in the first place that often seem to skip replying.
Jeez, I wonder why…? Could it be that no one comments because the blogger doesn’t care to start a conversation?
Total waste of a blog.
I’ve always enjoyed interacting with you in blog comment sections because you always have something interesting to add, and you always take replying to other people seriously.
Hope your New Year is off to a great start, Rob.
Best,
Brent
Hey Brent,
Glad you see you hear again. I hope you had a good holiday and Happy New Year!
I have to say I had a good one and was a little busy but it was great to see friends and family and just generally take a little time off.
Yes Brent I agree blog commenting is so important, and it just amazes me that so little people don’t do it. I feel the same way about getting replies. I don’t always expect replies to my comments, but it a great feeling when I do get one and well, it just helps to build up the relationship. I have to admit, that I don’t always return to the blog to check and see if I got a reply. I do though, try to subscribe to replies by email. That way if someone does reply, I should get a notification that way.
I agree again that if you are not replying to comments then it is a total waste of the blog. Because, why do you do a blog anyway? You want to get engagement. It amazes me again that some bloggers don’t even have their comments turned on. That’s telling the readers, that we don’t want your feedback. So why should I even read your articles?
Thanks Brent for the kind words. I have also enjoyed interacting with you. If I leave a comment on a blog, I try to add something to the conversation, whether it be my own opinions, or something I learned from someone along the way that might benefit the reader. I also feel its important to respond to a comment as soon as I can. At the least, I think it makes the reader feel appreciated that I took the time to respond to their comment.
My year is off to a slow start, but I am slowly gaining momentum. I guess you noticed I did a site re-design over the holidays and I am still tweaking it a little, but I’ll get there. I hope your year is starting out great, and still looking forward to your change in business.
Thanks again for commenting Brent and I hope you have a great week!
Rob recently posted…9 Ways To Get More Comments On Your WordPress Blog Posts
Hey Rob,
what a Great Guide to get more comments on blog post.
actually sometimes in starting of my blogging career , i wrote my first blog post then shared that on a blogging community so got many comments . it was one of the best moment for me because of i did something from my talent and from my words.
Blogging is all about game of Words and best thinking , we need to do something special then people love to read your post and definitely they will drop comment also.
Thanks 🙂
Hey Rob,
There are many blogs, but few are there with multiple comments at their blog posts. You have mentioned some great points here. It is always good to use comment moderation.
Commenting at others blog is the best way to get more comments at your blog. you know the reciprocity rule. Most of the bloggers follow it.
Using CommentLuv is also great. People search for CommentLuc enabled websites to comment. I am sure it will boost the number of comments.
Thanks for the post.
have a great week.
~Ravi
Ravi Chahar recently posted…How To Stop Featured Image Appearing Twice In The Post?
Hey Ravi,
Sorry it took a little bit to reply, I spent some time with friend and family over the holidays and just got back into the flow of things.
Yes, I believe that commenting on others blogs is a good way to get comments on yours. I don’t expect to get a reply every time I comment, but it is nice to get one anyway. But, you won’t get any if you don’t try.
I try to comment on as many blogs as I can, as I just love to read articles and learn new stuff, but I also like to engage with other people, and what better way then commenting on your posts??
CommentLuv is a great tool to use. I love that you can allow others to leave a link to your post on their site. This gets you noticed as well. But, I don’t comment on just commentluv sites, but its a nice reward if they have one.
Thanks again for the comment and I hope you have a great week!
Rob recently posted…9 Ways To Get More Comments On Your WordPress Blog Posts
Excellent post Rob!
And all nine of your excellent tips,
will definitely move us forward in a big way!
I love the use of your step by step screen shots too!
It almost makes your post like a “how to” case study!
And those always help establish credibility as well!And by far, my
biggest takeaways are #’s 1,4 , 8 & 9.
Thanks for sharing another excellent post!
Mark recently posted…Why It’s Critically Important Savvy Entrepreneurs Know The Real Cost To Acquire A Customer!Part Two
Thanks Mark for stopping by.
Sorry it took so long to respond, I was on a busy vacation with friends and family.
I am glad you enjoyed my post on commenting. It is just so important to comment on blog posts these days if you want to get noticed. And its all about the relationships, you need to get to know people, and what better way is there than commenting and replying on their blogs.
Thanks again for commenting and I hope you have a great week!
Rob recently posted…9 Ways To Get More Comments On Your WordPress Blog Posts
Hey Rob
Lovely tips. I like the fourth one more particularly as turning off commenting option means readers are no more allowed to discuss it and that is against the liberty of speech as well.
Picking the best commenting plugin is an important decision if one really wants to enhance readers engagement on his blog.
I am sure this post would help a lot to those bloggers especially who still struggling to make their readers say after reading their posts.
Many thanks for sharing this wonderful piece of advice.
Have a great rest of the week
Mi Muba recently posted…7 rebellious ways to know if your contents are really good
Hey Mi and thanks for stopping by.
Yes the fourth one is a big one. Why even have a blog if you are not going to allow people to comment on your posts. I think the ones that do this just don’t understand what a blog is. They need to start reading some of our articles so it will help them with their blogging.
Commenting is important, but you don’t want to get a lot of spam. I really like CommentLuv, and I have the premium version and it really has a lot of cool features to help you with your commenting as well as prevent getting spam.
Thanks again for commenting and I hope you have a great week!
Rob recently posted…9 Ways To Get More Comments On Your WordPress Blog Posts
Hey Rob,
What a great post, awesome suggestions and thanks for explaining each area more and showing us how to set things up too.
I also appreciate you including my post on commenting. I think once people understand how important this can be for them but how to do this properly then they’ll have not only more fun commenting but meeting so many amazing people as well.
I really hate the captcha codes. I emailed one guy who I think highly of, but he uses it on his blog and they even deny your comment when you’ve put in the right code. That’s what I find the most annoying about them. Had he not been someone I look up to I wouldn’t bother. It’s a BIG turnoff and I know he doesn’t get a lot of comments because of that.
As you know, I do have the subscribe to all comments plugin but only because I have guest bloggers and I want them to be able to reply to all comments on their posts. But anyone else who checks that box is usually overwhelmed on my blog. They do need to have something in place though so that they’re notified that you have responded to their comment so your suggestions are great here. CommentLuv’s Premium version has this option built in so that’s another added plus.
Your suggestions were great and I’m sure very helpful to many. Thanks for doing this post and happy holidays.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted…Special Announcement, Happy Birthday Wish, Your Holiday Gift
Hey Adrienne,
Glad to see you over here as well, and thanks for the kind words about the article.
Adrienne, thanks again for letting me use the link to your article. I think between the two of us, maybe we made the case for blog commenting, don’t you think?
I’m with you on the CAPTCHA codes. I don’t think I know anyone that likes them. I think we have all had bad experiences with them, but yet they won’t go away. I want them to go away….
You right about your subscribe to comments plugin. I can see what you mean by someone getting overwhelmed with it, as you get so many comments on your blog. But I like it, and usually check that box because I like getting the emails with the follower up comments. I usually read them all this way.
Thanks again Adrienne for commenting and I hope you have a great week and enjoy the Holidays!
Hey, Rob!
These are all great suggestions! I have been moderating first comments only. Thanks to you for the plugin, now my commenters will know it was approved, and there is a response to their comment. I was using CommentLuv but shied away from it. I felt some were just commenting to get a link back. That bothers me. Leave a comment because you have something to add or say but not just drop a link, right?
Anyway, since you have some very great suggestions, you know I’ll be sharing this article with my networks. Hope you’re having a great start to your week!
Brenda
Brenda P recently posted…Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
Hey Brenda,
Thanks for the kind words. I believe it is very important to get comments on your blog posts, as it really is an indication of the success or failure of your post.
I agree with you about the link juice. I like using CommentLuv, but I too can recognize if you are just commenting on my blog just to get the link.
Your right, you should leave a comment if you really like the article and want to be part of the conversation.
Thanks Brenda for commenting and sharing my post. You have a great week as well, and also a very Merry Christmas!