Turning Blog Comments Off: Should I or Shouldn’t I? That is the Question
Buzz it
I’ve often said that a blog without comments isn’t really a blog at all. Some of my readers refer to me as their blogging guru, but to me blogging is about the conversation and interacting with my readers - not just a sermon from the mount.
Lately I’ve been reconsidering that notion.
Comments are down again and frankly I’m tired of beating myself up over it. I’ve been through this cycle before, and whenever there’s a lull like this I find myself feeling despondent and not wanting to blog at all.
Of course my blogging has been sporadic this year and I can’t say that I blame you. A lot of my ariticles are not endearing to commenting either because of the very nature of the post.
Ironically my readership and traffic stats are still good. It’s just the comments that are at an all-time low.
If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I’ve had my share of personal tragedies, including recurring health and marriage problems.
So at this point it might come down to either turning comments off or not blogging at all because it is just one more negative distraction in my life.
I need to get the negativity out of my life, and if a lack of comments is bringing me down then I feel I have to do something about it.
There are other options such as forcing readers to register and log in to leave a comment. But that seems counter-productive to me and not an incentive for encouraging more comments.
Honestly, I’m not sure what to do because turning comments off goes against my personal belief system. So I’m writing today hoping that you will consider leaving me a comment and tell me if you think it’s Ok that I turn comments off.
Would turning off comments turn you off?
Or is there a better solution?
I really want to hear from YOU. If I don’t get many comments then I guess that will be my answer. Thanks for listening.
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I first thought you were talking about all blogs in general. Well, Bloke, if you are really after interaction with your readers, you should leave the comment box as it is !
I don’t see a point in turning off comments unless you are trying to turn this website into an Online-Magazine format.
I can realize your frustration - I haven’t been around here much. Heck I haven’t been around visiting my own blog lately - but that is my fault/excuse/problem.
Anyway, I’d like to hear from the others. Toodle-Pip !
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@Jaffer, Thanks for dropping by Jaffer ole buddy.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 1:32 am:
One of the biggest problems that most of us bloggers have, is that we tend to feed off the blog comments. The more the comments we get, the better we feel about ourselves, and that makes us feel like we have accomplished something worth while.
The problem is that, we use it as a ruler to measure up to, and that usually ends up in a crash or blogger burnout.
There are too many people who are just out to get what they can for free and don’t give back. If you pass the Google juice, you end up with tons of comments on your blog. However, most of those people who leave those comments are after the juice and not the content. If they leave comments, very few actually add quality content to your blog post. If you chase comments, then sometimes you start slipping and start allowing comments, which are spam. This hurts your blog for the true followers that are into your niche. Comments in general, actually dilutes your keyword density, and you end up not ranking that well in the search engines. Furthermore, search engines are getting smarter and will probably be able to figure out which comment are spam and that could also cost you.
I had tried almost everything I could think of doing on the Madmouse Blog to get comments. I tried many different plugins, like top commentators, and it was abused. At the first of the month when it reset, I had many comments and nothing else for the rest of the month. The same people came back every month and commented just enough to stay in the top ten. I finally removed that after three months, because I saw through what the majority out for.
I tried the do-follow and got lots of one time comments and hardly any of them returned. They went after blog posts, which had PageRank and didn’t comment on pages, which had no PR.
Again, I saw that most of them weren’t there for the content.
I came very close to burnout and finally decided to start up a new blog. I started it up, and people have to register to comment. People actually registered and a couple actually commented on a couple of posts. However, one of them had a generic comment and with a couple of links back to his site. So, I deleted his comment.
I finally figured out if Seth Godin, doesn’t allow comments, there is a good reason why. So, I looked at his blog and saw that he allows ping backs. Therefore, if someone writes a good article that is related to one of my posts, it actually adds to the content. So, I would approve such a link and maybe with a do-follow.
Overall, I look at my web traffic, and what I make of Adsense. I get myself worth from what I accomplish and do not feed off blog comments for my fuel.
I see that my blog posts are starting to rank well in the search engines and my blog has some PageRank and that is reward enough for me.
My next step is to add a forum, where people can discuss my blog content and ask questions of other topics that I don’t currently cover.
The forum will strengthen the Domain even more, just like the SEO directory is currently doing.
Hope there is some info here for you, and that you understand my position why I have people register on Spunk Jones SEO Blog.
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You make a lot of good points there Spunky. I’m guilty as charged feeding off comments. I think that some of my posts scare people off - especially the satirical ones. Right now I have a post that I wrote just after this one that still has no comments. I guess some people don’t appreciate my tongue-in-cheek humor. Oh well. If Seth can get away with turning off comments then why can’t I?
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@Blog Bloke, feeding off comments is something that we all tend to do from time to time. It was a problem that I had running the Madmouse Blog, and it took some time to retrain myself.
I think we are going to see some changes in the blogging world, where more people will turn the comments off. I believe that is because of the search engines and that the majority of comments are just their for the link or Google juice.
You may want to have people register, so that you see who are your dedicated followers, instead of shutting off the comments 100%.
There is a very good reason that Seth has his comments off. People still read his articles and they are helpful to many.
Good luck with what road you decide to take with the comments. However, I wouldn’t quit blogging, because you do have a lot of good and helpful stuff to say.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 8:33 am:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 1:41 am:
You should blog for the love of blogging. Comments are just a bonus. As for people trying to spam the comments, I moderate my comments and edit them. If they have something relevant to say, I take out their website link and sometimes change the name if they’ve put it in their actual comment (so something like “lasvegasweddings” becomes “Susie”). But I never worry about the number of comments I’m getting. I just enjoy blogging.
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@Kirsten, I agree with you that blogging for the love of it, is something which should be consider. However, some people are in to blogging for the money. I am not saying that the owner of this blog is blogging for money, but that is another reason people blog.
I believe that blog comment are a bonus, as you said. However, if the blogger uses comments are fuel, it can be very dangerous and they usually end up on a dead end street.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 9:55 pm:
Hi Kirsten. Spoken like a true blogger. I wish I could be as indifferent to comments but that’s just the way I am. Thanks for dropping by sweety.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 1:43 am:
I say do whatever you want…if it feels right, turn off comments for awhile! As you may (or may not) have noticed, I haven’t been blogging for awhile (semi-despondent like you), and so I’ve not been visiting others blogs either…I apologize to ya for not leaving a comment before this! Anyways, if I COULD turn off comments on my blog, I would! Being that I’m with Blogger, I don’t seem able to do so. So why not experiment with turning off comments for awhile and see how ya feel. You can always turn them back on later should you change your mind.
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Hi Kuanyin. I’m always happy to see your smiling avatar gracing my comments section. You are truly a queen of bloggers and I thank you for your kind words.
By the way … although you can’t turn off comments altogether in your Blogger settings, you can limit commenters to only registered users, etc. However, in the edit posts section you can turn off all comments on a post-by-post basis if you like.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 1:51 am:
I can definitely see your point but I think it will be like wetting your pants in the winter. It’ll only help you for a short time.
When you turn comments off then slowly your readership will go down. Then the traffic will go down and you’ll end up in a negative spiral.
Instead I think that you should see if you could find some personal development material that could help you learn how to not be affected by this.
I know it is not going to be easy but once you learn it you can use it on all other aspects of your life and I am sure that the lack of comments is not the only thing that is getting you down right?
To Your Success,
Mikael
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@Mikael @ Retire Early, I have a new blog, where you have to register to comment. I have people registering and just a couple that have left comments. My web traffic is climbing, without any comments. So, I tend to disagree with you that about the readership going down.
One of the problems is that many people who visit our blogs, don’t blog in the same niche. So, some of our visitors come there just you the links, looking for the Google juice and traffic. It would be normal for that type of traffic to slow down.
I do agree about the personal development material to help a blogger to get over the hump of relying too much on blog comments.
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@Spunky Jones SEO, you are definitely right about the fact that you can still attract massive traffic from the search engines. It all depends on what it is that you want. If you want regular readers I think that being able to comment is a vital part of creating a community but if you’re just looking for “hit and run” traffic then I agree that comments are not necessary.
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Mikael @ Retire Early (@blogbloketips) reply on July 1st, 2009 12:51 am:
@Mikael and @Spunky Jones, I have a HUGE problem with spammers commenting just to get my Google Juice. Lately they have been the majority of comments I’ve been getting and are wasting my time deleting them. It’s just another reason why I’m considering shutting it down. If I’m not getting many real comments from my readers then what’s the point keeping it open?
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@Blog Bloke, Even making people register, you are going to get comments which lack content and are spam. It does stink and waste time, when time is so valuable and when there are so many other things that it keeps you away from that are productive.
Reading spam filled comments, is depressing and if the majority are spam, it tends to make us second guess ourselves if blogging is worth it. You write an article and very few actually get what you are saying and trying to get across, is very frustrating.
One point to consider, if you help one person out of 1,000, you have accomplished something worthwhile. If that person decides to make a comment, it is a bonus. However, it may add to your content.
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@Spunky Jones, making readers register might be an option as opposed to shutting off comments completely to get rid of the spammers. But making it more difficult for readers to leave comments sounds counter-productive to encouraging more comments from legitimate readers. I want to make it easier for my readers to leave comments - not make it any harder. Personally I can’t stand it myself and I tend to not leave comments when that is the case. I would be interested in what my readers think about that as an option.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 10:42 am:
Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 8:45 am:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:01 am:
Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 10:06 pm:
Hi Mikael. I didn’t realize that wetting my pants had any benefits at all.
I’m reading Tony Robbins as I speak.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 1:56 am:
If I depended on comments to keep my blog going, I would have quit long ago. If I depended on comments to inspire me, I’d quit too. You blog for the love of it. Don’t love it anymore…. well, you know the answer to that. My biggest challenge blogging is to separate the personal from the public. I want to be personable on my blog but I don’t want every Tom, Dick, and Harry knowing the details of my everyday life. It’s a delicate balance. Just keep blogging and don’t worry about the feedback. God knows, I thought about quitting blogging a gillion times because of the time it takes and new readers just look at the front page and don’t go back for the history. I’m ready to re-blog stuff already. Love ya, Teri
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@Teri, It is hard for bloggers to get over their dependencies of blog comments, once they are hooked, lined and sinker. It was hard for me to separate myself from the personal downs of lack of comments. However, I was able to get over that hump and I am happy about what I do and blog about.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 10:12 pm:
Ahh Teri, you are indeed one of my favorite readers and I can always count on you to back the Bloke up. You should re-publish some of your best posts. I did. You should also deep link between relevant posts so that that your readers will discover some of your older material. Google likes it too.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:05 am:
i see nothing abnormal in desiring a consistent feedback from readers, whether you are in a negative time in life or not. and asking for comments in a plaintive way is good mental health sense. i enjoy your newsletter. it’s very particular and gives me some insight on what people on the internet are experiencing. i hope you pull out of your bad time soon.
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Hi James. Thanks for your comment and the kind words. I hope you will drop by again and leave a comment here again soon.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:06 am:
Similar to your first commenter, Jaffer, I too figured you were referring to blogs in general when I started reading your post (while walking through the parking lot, I might add - I am so addicted to my blackberry) but when I realized that you were so distressed I had to comment. I love your blog and have often recommended it to others. I have been blogging for almost three years and although, like you my traffic is fairly steady, I rarely get comments. I don’t let it bother me though for a couple of reasons. First, many of my posts are informational rather than conversational. I guess if it helps it might be nice to get a thank you, but I am not holding my breath. Second, I went through an initial panic when I started my blog because it was for a class assignment and we could only get a passing grade if we got a random comment (no visits from mom or dad would count). I didn’t get a comment until the very last week of that class and what I learned was that by the time I got the comment I wasn’t worried about it anymore. I had figured out that what I was doing was a part of who I am, I had to do it for me, much like a writer or a painter just has to “do” their thing. I want to help others and if my blog does that, great, but that can’t be the sole purpose for doing it. As a regular reader I know you have been down, and although I don’t comment a lot I would like to extend the hand of blogger friendship and let you know how much I appreciate your blog and glad I am that I found it. As for companies and organizations that choose not to allow comments, I work for one and find it silly. Why have a blog at all if you don’t want to talk? That may sound contradictory since I just said I blog for me and not comments, but if you think about it, I am not opposed to comments, I love getting them, but they are the icing on the cake. Organizations that choose to have an outlet like a blog but then don’t allow feedback might as well stick with the standard boring boilerplate website that declares to all of eternity how great they are. No blog needed. I hope this comment wasn’t too long or too sappy, just wanted you to stick around since I like reading and commenting on your blog!
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@Kristina Summers, It isn’t about the quantity of comments, it is the quality of them. I would rather have one quality comment from someone who leaves a comment which adds to my post that 10 comments which are nothing but fluff.
It takes time to build up a true readership and we need to focus on our goals and not loose track of why we started to blog.
I agree with you that blogbloke, should stay around.
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@Spunky Jones, I agree about wanting quality comments and every comment from a legitimate reader of mine is quality as far as I’m concerned.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:11 am:
Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 10:19 pm:
Hi Kristina. Your message isn’t too long and I really appreciate your heartfelt comments. I left a comment on your blog too. I hope you got it. Please drop by again soon (and watch your step walking in your Blackberry).
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:10 am:
Well, am in the same boat as well. I blog and I get a few comments on-off, however, this isn’t something I can predict. I’ve just let comments be in spite of that.
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@Ajay, One also has to be planning and working on things to stay on top in the blogging world. Having a game plan is very important to have and helps to get out of ruts.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 10:39 pm:
Hi Ajay, long time no hear. Spunky is right about having a plan and sticking to it through the hard times. A good work ethic is important, even with blogging. Right now I’m going through it again. Google just killed me in the SERPS and I can’t explain why.
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@Blog Bloke, Google is also killing some of my search engine results. One day, they are on the first page and the next day they are gone. This has been going on for a couple of weeks, now.
I had a bunch of pages with pagerank, now I have about 50% less. So, Google is still tweaking things a bit and will take time to settle down.
However, I will stick to my plan and work through it. One nice thing is that I have more registered users on the Spunky Jones Blog, than the total commentators on the Madmouse Blog.
So, that tells me that there is some interest in what I am doing. My stats show me that for every unique visitor I have, the average pageviews are 30 pages.
This is very good and confirms that I have some worthwhile to say.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 8:54 am:
@Blog Bloke, I’m lost in my day job. Been working real hard that the blogging seen shall soon forget me
Well, this week I’ve been blogging.
I’ve got some things in place right now, but I just continue blogging. Stopping to blog means killing the blog
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@Ajay, I would hate to see a long-time blogger like you disappear. Keep on blogging brother.
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@Blog Bloke, Yes sir! Blogging is an itch that refuses to go away
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Ajay (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 11:08 am:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 11:00 am:
Ajay (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 10:30 am:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:14 am:
I think you should blog about what you enjoy and try to ignore the number of comments. I know that can be tough, but really there are lots of reasons people may not comment. If you have readers and return visitors that’s what matters. But most of all, if YOU get something out of blogging then forget about comments.
I try to respond to all my comments to keep up a dialogue and form relationships with readers, but it is tough to find time to always do so.
If you have even one reader who contributes to your blog positively through comments, wouldn’t you want to hear them?
Don’t be so hard on yourself!
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@Sweet Serendipity, I agree with you about the returning visitors, that they are one of that factors that matters. I respond to all of my commentators on my blogs, it is a good habit and builds readership.
Many people, don’t comment for various reasons. Some people look to see if the blog owner, takes the time to answer comments that are left on the blog. If a blog owner doesn’t follow up, you could actually loose commentators.
Some people, feel that they don’t have anything to say, because we sometimes cover too much in the post and don’t leave room for comments.
I read an article that it sometimes takes a visitor, their tenth trip to comment. That is a lot of trips and that is something which we have to consider as bloggers.
I agree with you, for blogbloke not to be so hard on himself.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 10:29 pm:
@Sweet Serendipity, that’s a very good point. Should I throw away the good ones because of a bunch of rotten apples? Hmm..
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@Blog Bloke, when we sort the rotten apples from the good ones, it will appear that we have less. However, that pertains to quantity and not quality!
Quality, will make up for it, in the long haul and eventually you will gain back the quantity. However, this time you will have a higher percentage of quality of regular visitors.
It is the so called rotten apples which have an effect to drive people away from the site, if you allow their comments. A blog which has spam filled comments, just isn’t going to cut it!
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 5th, 2009 7:09 pm:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:16 am:
I think comments stiil should be on, because in blog we build community not just show the information in our blog.
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@blogbisnis, We must take our part in the blogging community, and we need to do more than just comment to the blog owner. Most bloggers forget, that we need to comment with each other and that builds a true community.
If we only comment to the blog owner, we build walls and visitors sometimes feel like outsiders. Outsiders, usually don’t comment.
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@Spunky Jones .. thanks for keeping the discussion going.
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@Blog Bloke, You are welcome.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 5th, 2009 7:01 pm:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:46 am:
Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on June 30th, 2009 10:36 pm:
@blogbisnis, that is the argument I have been making for a very long time. Blogging should be about conversing with the community and not just giving a prepared speech. That’s why this is such a hard decision for me to make. Thanks for reminding me.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:20 am:
BlogBloke, have you noticed that most people don’t inter-react with other commentators? They are missing the whole concept of true blogging and its networking capabilities.
If people don’t react with others, how do they expect to get more visitors and comments? This is one of the downfalls of blogging, people are missing one of the biggest points. People need to put something into blogging in order to get something out of it, and it pertains to commenting as well.
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@Spunky Jones SEO, yes I have noticed that and I think it has something to do with some folks insecurity to engage with someone who they don’t know. That’s probably why a lot of readers need to visit a blog several times before they feel comfortable enough to leave a comment. The internet is well known for its flamers and trolls and I have zero tolerance for those types on this blog and my readers need not be concerned.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 6th, 2009 12:37 am:
A long time reader, first time leaving a comment, i think..
Anyway, a blog with comments turned on is not a blog. As far as I can see you are doing very well with 43 + comments at this point. I only have one post on my blog with that mane. I average about 8 comments per post and I am fine with that.
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@Tycoon Blogger, for some reason posts about comments usually bring more comments.
Thanks for being a first-time commentor and I hope to hear from you again soon.
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@Blog Bloke. About “feeding on posts”, I think that as long as your readers don’t leave, you shouldn’t worry about few comments. As you noted, sometimes the reason lays in the very nature of the post; but this is irrelevant to the quality of your post or the readerbase’s degree of appreciation, which what really matters, no?
I understand that you want interaction, but then you could consider making a forum, or, in addition to those posts who don’t get that many comments, make brief posts meant more to provoke discussion than to bring something to the table.
My website has a miniscule readerbase; it’s mainly there for me, being focused more on essays than blog posts.
Cheers,
Dussault.
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@Dussault, “make brief posts meant more to provoke discussion than to bring something to the table”.
You make a good point and I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’m very focused on giving my readers lots of good, original content as opposed to just being conversational. Maybe I should spread the content out a little thinner and concentrate on encouraging discussion.
I’d like to hear what others think about that and thanks for your input.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 6th, 2009 1:40 am:
Dussault (@blogbloketips) reply on July 6th, 2009 1:08 am:
Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 4th, 2009 2:31 pm:
@Tycoon Blogger, I believe that if you get one comment and it one that adds to the blog post topic and discussion, it was well worth the time and effort.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 5th, 2009 7:00 pm:
@Tycoon Blogger, If I may ask? What took you so long to comment on this blog? I would like to know what your reason are and this will help us to better understand why people don’t comment on our blogs.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 5th, 2009 7:13 pm:
Alot of the time life gets in the way of blogging, reading blogs and comments.
Heck most days I don’t get a chance to sit down and watch tv, barely get a chance to twitter or check email.
Thats the reason I quit blogging for a while.I only recently started on my time.
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@Curtis, I used to watch a lot of tv about 4 yrs back. I started my 1st directory and about one year later, started my 1st blog.
Now, I watch about one hour of tv per month if I am lucky. And, I can actually say that I don’t miss it at all.
Got almost to the burn out stage and then decided to retrain my way of thinking and doing things.
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Spunky Jones SEO (@blogbloketips) reply on July 6th, 2009 7:16 pm:
@Curtis, @Spunky Jones .. I got both of you beat. I have a TV beside my computer screen so I have the best of both worlds
I have been in and out of blog burnout ever since I started blogging many years ago (it’s been so long I’m losing count). The best way to treat burnout is to pace yourself and not burnout at all.
But when you do it all like I do (I do my own techy work) it can be hard to call it night. Especially if you get into trouble coding and need to burn the midnight oil.
It’s great to hear from you again Curtis. We missed you.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 6th, 2009 7:34 pm:
Hello my friend, I think you know some services that filter the comments of the blogs for spam?
Why don’t you try it?
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@Prince, it’s not just the spam but rather the lack of legitimate commenting. But thanks for your comment here. I’m feeling much better now.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on August 7th, 2009 12:49 pm:
I’ve added a Chatter Box page to one of my sites to encourage conversation. Unfortunately, with the spammers out there, it requires registration which puts many off and so far its not taken, but I remain hopeful. Building another site has also taken up my time and left this one without enough attention, but that too shall pass. Over time I hope it will offer something that folks will enjoy.
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@Sherryd, I’ve always hated having to register just to leave a comment. I think most readers would agree so I’m hesitant to try that. I hope your Chatter Box helps but it’s been my experience it’s the content that will encourage comments the most. Writing style and the topics you choose are a huge factor. Thanks for your input Sherry.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on August 7th, 2009 12:55 pm:
Keep at it BB.
Having just discovered your site today it is a refreshing alternative for novice bloggers like myself to the just plain erroneous blogging advice out there (or the advice that is good but somewhat colorless).
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@Mike, thanks for reinforcing what I’ve been saying all along. Since I started the “blog tips” niche many moons ago much of my material has been plagiarized and recycled throughout the web and it really gets infuriating at times. I totally agree and I’m sick to death of reading the same old drivel over and over and over…
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on August 7th, 2009 1:03 pm:
Hello BB,
I’m so new to this blogging gig that I’m positively shiny. I am loving it so far and find high quality websites like yours an inspiration. Leave your comments on, let people indulge themselves a little … Will
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@Will, thanks so much Will and your cheque is in the mail
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on August 7th, 2009 1:10 pm:
Hi,
To me, a blog without comment form isn’t really a blog. By allowing comments on your blog, you provide website readers a platform to communicate with you.
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@Joanne, I agree which is why I’ve struggled so much with this.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on August 7th, 2009 1:11 pm:
I am confused, how would turning off comments make you feel better? I recently turned off comments on blog posts that are older then 90 days, but this was to reduce the spam my blog received and it has worked so far. I love comments, real ones, because they show me that I am not blogging into empty space. I love the inspiration I get from my readers, they often result in ideas for blog posts, benefiting me and the readers at the same time. Just my 2 cents, SY
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@hospitalera, like I said above it has been a negative distraction to me.
But another example might be off-topic comments can be damaging to our rank. So if I’m not getting quality comments and being spammed (which is time consuming to deal with) then what’s the point?
I could think of more examples but there are times when leaving comments on just doesn’t make sense anymore. I hope I don’t get to that point but who knows…
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on September 10th, 2009 4:32 pm:
I was new to blogging and had no idea that this was a big deal. No idea. I turned off or put in Hidden mode my comments because I posted blogs during a time of day when folks weren’t commenting . Because I could see other blogs have their comment section turned into a war zone? I thought that I’d try to avoid that fight. My comments were only open when I was there to moderate. It worked. Folks could come read quietly and be left to their thoughts. If I was there, it was great to chat with a reader. I could concentrate on writing without worry that someone had posted and missed it and didn’t respond. I wasn’t hosting a chat area: I was writing a blog for folks to read.
They did read.
And my view numbers climbed.
All with comments off or in hidden form.
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I dont think so.The do-follow blog comments really works.
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[…] campus is new — they opened in 2001 — and compact, with shiny new buildings and real ambition Should I or Shouldn’t I Turn Blog Comments Off? - blogbloke.com 06/28/2009 I’ve often said that a blog without comments isn’t really a blog at […]
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