Positive Thoughts for a Positive World
All good things must come to an end, they say. So it is for this blog. But it’s not really an ending. It’s actually a new beginning.
From now on, you’ll be able to read my articles about SEO and social media marketing right from my website at gloriarand.com/blog. I’ve changed hosting companies, and launched a new website on the WordPress platform.
You can read my latest article there: 9 Reasons to Attend Social Media Summit 2013.
I hope you enjoy the new format!
Gloria Rand
Was your website down Monday? If so, you were not alone! Millions of websites that were hosted by GoDaddy went down after the service was reportedly hacked. I was trying to update my client’s websites and couldn’t access them, but I thought it was just a problem with my computer! Glad to know my laptop wasn’t to blame, but it’s disheartening to learn that so many small businesses were hurt. Continue reading
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One of the participants of a free webinar I held recently on blogging strategies for business asked, “How do I tell if blog comments are really spam, and they’re trying to get backlinks to their own website?”
Unfortunately, spam is a fact of life when it comes to blogs. If you’re just starting a blog, the majority of comments you get at first will likely be spam. Spammers hope you let the comments go through with the links intact so their websites can move up in the search engine rankings.
Here is an example of someone who’s trying to make their comment look authentic, by praising the article. But I think you can see the “real” strategy here:
Your post is very useful. Thank you so much for providing plenty of useful content.Thanks a lot for sharing these information. The post has also helped a lot. Look forward to your next post Your blog is very useful. Thank you so much for providing plenty of useful content. I have bookmark your blog site and will be without doubt coming back. Once again, I appreciate all your work and also providing a lot vital tricks for your readers.
Thanks for the great idea you have post. I’ll wait for another info which will you share. zenithink mobile 2 sim wrist phone gpad spy cameras i found it very interesting and at the same time very informative i will definitely bookmark this site for future reference…
I leave a lot of comments on a lot of blogs each week – but there is one situation where I rarely leave a comment – even if the post deserves it.Good work
The words in bold, zenithink mobile 2 sim wrist phone gpad spy cameras, contained links to his website. Why he thought I’d let that slide and post this comment on my blog is beyond me! (Not to mention, I wasn’t going to include them in this article either!)
Let’s say I get a comment like this: “Great SEO tips. I enjoyed your article.” I’ll tend to give the person the benefit of the doubt and approve it, even though the commenter may have only read the title and is trying to get that all-important backlink.
On the other hand, if that SEO comment was intended for an article about Facebook that didn’t mention SEO at all, that’s a different story. That comment gets deleted. End of story.
Here are some sample comments to one of my articles about email marketing, and how I responded, to give you an idea:
As you can see – the second commenter had some kind words to say about the article, and specifically referred to the topic. But I think he also wanted to promote his own site. I decided to click on the link and see for myself. After checking it out, I found there was some useful information to share, so I didn’t mind giving him the backlink.
Unfortunately, every once in a while, you’re going to get a negative comment on your blog. If someone disagrees with a point you made in one of your articles, you can safely assume the comments are NOT spam (even if they are unpleasant to read). But just because the comment is negative doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post it or respond to it.
If you think the commenter is wrong – tactfully say so. And if he’s right, acknowledge it. It shows your readers that you’re only human! Plus – it’s a great way to get into a dialogue with the reader – and who knows, you may wind up turning him into a client or customer!
Most blogging platforms do have some type of spam blocker service to weed out the junk comments. For instance, WordPress uses Akismet as their anti-spam filter. But Akismet is not infallible. Every once in a while I’ll see a comment that hit their spam filter that should not have been flagged. In that case, I just take it out of spam and post it. Akismet uses that info to adjust its alogorithms.
Have you found any interesting comments that got flagged as spam by mistake? Share them in the comments below – just don’t spam me! 🙂
Talk about breaking out of your comfort zone. That’s what I did yesterday – giving my first presentation to a room full of businessmen and women at a local networking group.
The topic: “Blogging for Leads.” In my talk, I shared with the group how they can use blogs to attract prospects by sharing what they know, and building trust.
Now, I”m basically a shy person, who feels most comfortable behind the keyboard – not in front of an audience. But getting involved in networking groups, where you can meet one-on-one with people, has helped me gain confidence.
In addition, talking in front of groups is a good way to promote yourself and your business, since you have an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise. I hope I was able to do that. But you be the judge by watching the video below. Constructive criticism will be appreciated, just please… be gentle. 🙂
Gloria Grace Rand 