Is allowing comments a good idea?
-
One (in fact a couple) of my sites is built using Wordpress so I could take advantage of things like Related Posts widgets, etc. However, the layout and navigation of the site is set up more like a traditional website rather than a blog and from the beginning I removed the comment box from the template.
I am wondering now whether allowing comments would actually be a good idea for SEO, or if I should leave it as it is. The content of the site doesn't really offer opinions (aside from a few product reviews) so to my mind comments dont really fit.
Thoughts or opinions readily welcomed...
-
My content is pretty uncontroversial, so hopefully allowing comments will just allow a bit of useful discussion to happen on each page (fingers crossed...)
Being spammed to death was/is one of my main concerns. I will of course use spam filters but, as EGOL suggests, this will still require moderation and therefore my time (which is already in short supply...)
I think I will give it a try and see how things go. Thanks for your input guys
-
Phooey... I knew that this would happen as soon as I tried to pick a mellow topic.
-
LOL...I do blog about kittens sometimes. And this is still a problem!
-
I think comments are great as long as you have a thick enough skin.
This made me laugh... Thanks! It's very true!
-
From an SEO perspective and from a webmaster's perspective I would love to have comments on my website and blog. I would enjoy seeing the search engines get all of that content and I would enjoy the community of friends that would develop around the topics that I publish.
However, I don't have comments turned on for the following reasons:
-
Comment spammers would stink up my site with linkdrops, product mentions, beggings and trollings. I know that there is software to guard aginst these but some will still get through and it will make your site a target for the underworld of the web. The more successful your blog becomes the bigger this problem gets and it can easily get to a point where you can't scale it with enjoyment or profit.
-
A blog or a website on almost any topic will require a certain amount of moderation as there will be a small number of errors, petty disagreement, and other problems that require attention. Again the busier your blog the greater these minor problems become. Volunteer moderators could help a lot with these problems.
-
Saved for last is the one that in my opinion can be the greatest problem - people who have a personal jihad against the topic or the industry that you cover. If you blog is about kittens this will probably not be too big of a problem, however, if it is about one of the more controversial political, social, environmental or religious issues your blog, email, telephone and more could be placed under heavy attack. If you like this type of challenge it could be a great way to get links and traffic - it might scale profitably. But if you don't care for this type of engagement you better turn the comments - you will still get some of this but it will be at a much lower level.
-
-
I think comments are great as long as you have a thick enough skin.
If you use comments be sure to have Askimet installed. It works well to combat a good amount of spam.
Also make sure that you have it set so that you have to approve each comment. This is where the thick skin comes in. I have some pages where I have 10 comments singing the praises of my article and then I get a comment that says, "What on earth are you talking about? You don't have a clue about this subject". Those don't get published.
Each of the comments you get adds keywords to your content, so this is good.
If you find that you are spending too much time moderating comments and you're not enjoying it then you can always turn comments off afterwards.
-
most of the time comments are good if you are willing to moderate them as it draws users into your site more by providing a means for interaction.
It really depends on the purpose of your website: if it was an informational site or review site then comments would be great. If it was a business's website then comments may not be a good idea as they may take off the professional edge unless they are constrained to a blog section.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What are good tests to propose different SEO agencies when you're trying to vet them?
We are trying to narrow down our SEO agency list and I was told to propose 5 different tests. I'm not sure where to start. I also want these tests to help me understand what these companies can do for mine.
On-Page Optimization | | NBJ_SM0 -
True or False? Having your phone number in the header of your nav bar is good for SEO?
I have been told by a a few different SEO and Marketing Agency friends that by putting your address and phone number in the top section of your navbar is great for SEO. Does this myth have any merit or is it just misguided? Tksac28
On-Page Optimization | | UndergrndMarketing0 -
Good CTAs for Meta-Descriptions: Direct, Indirect, Narrow, Broad?
It is no secret that good meta descriptions should be written to incite the searcher to click on the result without misleading them. Time and again I read that there are measurable effects by including "strong" CTAs (calls to action). What constitutes a call to action seems by some to be taken really narrow (i.e. "Click here to learn more!" - a very specific action that is spelled out) and by others rather broadly ("... Offer available till December 31" - only implicit, the action [buying/securing] not even mentioned). I now wondered: Many "guides" still recommend rather blunt calls like "Click here", "Read more", "Discover how". Personally I find those really unattractive and often a waste of space. However, I am not the benchmark and favour the informational side perhaps a little too strongly. Do those direct but general CTAs really work well in every case* or should one be more elaborate/indirect? I am looking forward of hearing your experience/opinion! Nico Yes, of course it is "test, test, test" and to some degree each case is different; looking for general patterns, though 🙂
On-Page Optimization | | netzkern_AG0 -
Do Blog Comments On Your Site Help SEO?
There is a lot of debate as whether or not having comments on your blog is helpful from an SEO perspective. Proponents believe that more comments (1) creates more content, which search engines love, (2) creates more relevant keywords that can be searched, and (3) helps with "freshness" of the site/content leading to greater site authority. Others like Joost de Valk believe that comments can actually hurt SEO because keyword density cannot be controlled. He argues that his top SEO content are pages not posts for this very reason. What is your opinion?
On-Page Optimization | | marcperry0 -
There are companies who evaluate what effect the penguin update had on a website. Is this possible and is it a good investment ?
I have been hit by the penguin update. I have found companies who for $300 will evaluate my site for potential problems. Is this possible and is it worth the investment
On-Page Optimization | | MobileVet0 -
I think my site's HTML is good but I get 22 Invalid markup erros?
Most are all related to things like facebook like buttons and such. I'm using DOCTYPE 4.01 Traditional but no good. Any ideas? www.jaaron-wood-countertops.com
On-Page Optimization | | JAARON0 -
Does the homepage of GetSatisfaction have very good on-page SEO? please give some critique
Hi Mozzerz, If you have done successful on-page SEO optimization in the past, this may be easy for you to analyze quickly. (especially if you have some tools to help you compare things like keywords vs code weight etc) Does the homepage of www.GetSatisfaction.com constitute a well done on-page SEO? Could you please critique the homepage's SEO value and say why it is very good or why it is OK, or why it is bad.
On-Page Optimization | | limens0 -
Anyone have any good strategies for keyword scalability?
As more pages are added to a site, what are some good strategies and tactics for ensuring that those pages are optimized based on keywords.
On-Page Optimization | | RiseInteractive780