This has to be the most common traffic tip professional bloggers give to newbies: Leave comments on other blogs.
You know what I did when I was newbie blogger? - I left comments on other blogs, like crazy.
I did a lot of other things too, all of which I go through in some detail in Blog Mastermind, but commenting was definitely an integral part of my early marketing activities for this blog.
You might wonder though, does commenting actually work to drive traffic today in the more crowded blogosphere?
I actually argue that most people go about a blog commenting strategy the wrong way and there is a higher leverage technique that most bloggers don’t do, but even if you follow the basic advice and just get out there and be a prolific commenter it will build traffic, and here’s proof.
Caroline Middlebrook has quit her job and dedicated herself to full time Internet money making. She hasn’t made a dime at it yet, but she hasn’t actually attempted monetization yet either. What she is doing is totally dedicating herself to growing her blog and so far she’s on the right track.
She’s posted a fantastic report covering her traffic building activities for October, including breakdowns on where her traffic is coming from, what she is spending her time on and a short podcast to explain what she plans to change this month based on what she learned analyzing last month’s data.
As you can see in her report she received 673 visits from other blogs in October and as Caroline notes, that’s likely some very targeted traffic based on the blogs she selected to leave comments on (she provides a full list for any blog that sent her more than 10 visitors during the month).
If you have been reading the comments to my blog recently you have probably seen this picture pop up a lot:
As a result of Caroline’s consistent presence here at Entrepreneurs-Journey she’s grabbed 101 of my readers last month - that’s without me blogging about her, until now of course. Hopefully this post will send her some more visitors.
What I love about Caroline efforts so far is that she’s actually doing what I teach in Blog Mastermind and the Blog Profits Blueprint - she’s a poster child for my methodology.
Her traffic report is awesome, a fantastic pillar article and she’s written quite a few other pillars that you can find by looking at her popular post list. She went beyond the average by doing a podcast, adding multi-media to her blog and creating a new way to communicate (podcasting was a BIG part of my success in the early days of this blog). She’s providing authentic content based on real experience and is showing us the real numbers - for example did you know that StumbleUpon provided her with a whopping 63% of her overall traffic, over 8,000 visitors in October? This is interesting stuff for any blogger, professional or just getting started.
Caroline is proof that commenting still works to generate traffic if you are persistent. She’s also proof that commenting gets the attention of the bloggers that you focus on, which as demonstrated by this post I’m making now, can drive even more traffic than just direct clicks from the comments (if you read into this you will know what the higher leverage commenting technique is that I mentioned earlier - or you can just join Blog Mastermind, where I go over it in detail 
).
Hopefully this month will be the first month that Caroline generates some financial return for her efforts and her future reports will include income too. I wish her best of luck.
Yaro Starak
Blog Commenter
PS. Now let’s see if Caroline is first to leave a comment on this post 
.
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You bet I am Yaro! Now let me go think of something useful to say :p
I’m really honored to have you blog about me Yaro. I know that sounds so ‘groupie’ but seriously, you are my blogging hero as I have mentioned before on my own blog.
I do have a distinct strategy when it comes to blog commenting and I plan to put up a post about it soon once I have refined it. But I see notifications on any new posts and I can instantly see ones on my ‘hit list’ like yours is. This lets me read the post straight away.
I think I do have a slight unfair advantage of being in the UK meaning that I can comment on Australian blogs such as this one and ProBlogger quite early which is often why I am the first commenter here.
Though of course I can’t do that on US blogs. By the time I see something on John Chow for instance there’s usually around 50+ comments.
Anyway thanks very much for speaking so kindly of my blog. I have indeed read your Blog profits Blueprint several times over - it’s better than most of the other stuff out there. I really want to join Blog mastermind but don’t quite have the funds yet!
Let’s see if I can copy her strategy
But seriously I have found commenting on other blogs to be one of my best sources of traffic, because then they feel like they need to comment my blog.
so I leave many comments like this one around and it would give traffic?
Since last week, I’ve committed to writing at least one post per day on my blog, and have seen a marked increase in subscriptions. I’ve gained almost 100 new subscribers.
I am now adding to my to-do list: Comment on at least 1 blog per day.
Contrats Caroline!
Hey Yaro
Did you say you wanted us to write comments on your blog? What a great idea for a post! Hope it is in your Blog Profits Blueprint - I don’t have it yet but think I will have to soon.
I have just got back into blogging after my first ever venture (you may remember) which was the live blog post from Internet Mastery Secrets event in Sydney earlier this year.
I actually think that it was a comment on your blog about the Brisbane Internet Mastery Secrets event that got noticed by Jon Giaan’s staff that actually got the blog mentioned on stage at the event to over 600 people.
Guys, that was my first blog and it took 2 posts as far as I can tell, one on this blog and one as a comment to a YouTube video and my blog was promoted to 600 people.
Honestly, all I can say about that, is its an example of NOT taking advantage of an opportunity.
However, blog commenting does work! Yaro is right on the money here.
Cheers mate, well done.
Brad
i can’t agree more, i believe commenting is what gets you noticed, i have just started my 1st Contest and used commenting as the theme…
http://www.yeepage.com/my-dreaded-1st-contest
I always think that in order to build relationship with bloggers the best way is to leave comments in their blogs. That shows your sincerity by reading posts they have written.
For me I will have to urge wanting to know people who left great comments (thus having alook at their website), to me it works.
Yes Yaro I got the message and have now started a campaign of commenting on blogs I like. Not for the sake of it but when I see something interesting I reply with something I hope equally interesting. I can then see the referrals on my Wordpress stats and yes I do get them like you said. It is also the way of me keeping in touch through my RSS links nd Google alerts.
I totally agree. Leaving comments on other blogs is 50% of the way I meet other bloggers. It is a way to respond in real time as well as get your own site name out there. You can also respond via a full post which also continues the dialogue.
Commenting on other blogs has been huge for my blog. I’d say about 50% of my traffic comes from just commenting around the blogosphere. The key is to leave a comment that actually adds value to the conversation. If you go around leaving comments such as “great post” on every blog you find, it probably will not pay off. Leave comments that show people that you know a little bit about what they are saying to attract people to your blog.
Excellent advice… Relevant comments work great, I still am miffed why people still try to spam your comments when it’s so easy to actually add something relevant.
-Jim
Congrat for Caroline MiddleBrook, you takes you chance to be an Full time Entrepreneur…
btw, I has been proved which commenting is build up your traffic. However, we still need an Pillar articles ( which I think, I’m too young and not enough knowledge to create an powerful Pillar articles )to getting more traffic beside an commenting affect.
Seeing Yaro take notice would mean Caroline facing a whole lot more competition from others when it comes to commenting…
btw yaro, its a nice comment bait post after the earlier one on the video cast earlier..
Hi yaro, I’ve just discovered you. Ihave a start-up blog and write about entrepreneurship sometimes. My latest post discusses entrepreneurial ways to catch a tiger! you/your readers might find it cool:
http://mkaihani.wordpress.com
That is a very nice post. I read her article and it is very informative. Thanks for letting us know about her.
that’s an inspiring story. thanks for sharing, i will keeping up with her progress and adapting some of those strategies. starting here, i suppose.
Great post - we are telling most of our clients to get involved with doing their own blog and to keep it simple we tell them to spend twice as much time posting to other blogs as they do blogging themselves. Does it work - you bet.
Commenting does seem to work for us as well.
We also post on forums that are specific to our topic. This seems to bring some of the best targeted traffic that stays around the longest. It only makes sense that it would work that way!
Maybe someday Yaro will feature us. Heck, we would be honored if showed up on our blog every now and again!
I agree, it is one of the best free methods. It works up very well when you have commented something useful and usable.
Althaf
Commenting has always seemed to help me gain a little extra traffic.
Yes, comments seem to work. About 50% of my incoming comments result from this. And, I’m in a niche market. I write about scam artists and their antics. (Which are pretty much the same the world over.) Covers all fields, but it’s strictly con man coverage.
A great post Yaro. It’s something I haven’t concentrated on in the last few months and this was a great reminder to get back into the habit.
Sure, commenting helps in building the authority in the blogosphere!
Hi Yaro,
I agree with you wholeheartedly about the importance of commenting on other blogs. For me, it has helped in many ways. The importance of building relationships with other bloggers is on the top of my list. As you mentioned, having your picture show up in multiple social networking sites helps others to know who you are. Very good tips here.
I have heard that leaving comments is a great traffic booster. One question I’ve always had is - if the blog you are commenting on is in a different niche, will the traffic you gain be targeted enough to convert? I’ve tried to stick to my niche but sadly there are mostly spam and scraper blogs out there. It’s hard to raise the bar when you’re standing alone
Congratulations to Caroline.
I seem to run into her on many blogs I also frequent and comment on and it is funny how small the Internet really is.
I spend around 2 hours per day visiting and commenting on other blogs. While some say this is crazy, I would disagree as it also sends me a lot of traffic every day. Maybe one day when time is more an issue I will have to resort to other methods of traffic generation.
Yaro, you certainly covered something that is on many bloggers minds “should I, or shouldn’t I comment”. In the end it comes down to time and the belief of whether it will work for the individual.
Monika
[…] could also build traffic by commenting on blogs. Here’s the Proof That Blog Commenting Still Works To Build Traffic by Yaro Starak a Home Business […]
Yeah, I need traffic as well.
No for real,..there is a reason why one can outgrow blog-commenting. There are other, better ways to get traffic. Nevertheless,..it`s nice to follow your readers comments…just to see what`s getting traffic next. 
Regards, Jab
nice advice.
I am going to trying doing this as i don’t seem to be getting much traffic.
lets see how things go
No doubt leaving relevant comments still works to get traffic to your site. I have just started a blog and trying to get some traffic using this very basic but excellent tip.
Thanks for your article. I am new to the world of blogging. I have a great time doing it but sometimes it feels a bit more like journal than a blog because I don’t have many visitors. I never thought about leaving comments before. Thanks again for the tip
Before getting traffic from comments I believe that a blog need to have before many good and interesting articles. So like this you can get “loyal” readers.
Your post about Caroline was very inspiring to me. I’ve been blogging for almost 6 months and love learning new things about it - especially the traffic thing. This Blogrush is great because related topics are right there - and then right there.
Thanks to you, Yaro, and Caroline, for making the blogging experience more fun.
Sandra
This technique worked well for me as an artist too. Until now I’ve been a bit of a passive reader… rarely commenting (if at all). Recently one of the many blogs I read asked readers to submit pics of their workspace. I didn’t have a one but I did have an illustration. So I submitted that instead.
A couple of days later I received an email from another blogger who had spotted my illustration. He told me he loved the art and wanted to hire me to do some illustration work for his blog.
It was a bit of a surprised because it had never occurred to me that someone from halfway around the world would see my art and hire me as a result of a blog comment I had made …but that’s exactly what happened.
The whole thing has worked out great. The illustration helped boost his traffic and he has lined me up to do several more. I definitely plan on posting more comments from now on.
(In case you’re curious, here’s the art that landed me the the job)
http://bobostromstudio.com/bob%20ostrom%20studio%20website%20redo-07/Art/art1-hardline/bob.html
Thanks Yaro, for your great blog and even though I haven’t commented until now I’ve always enjoyed reading it.
Bob O
Bob O Studio
I agree. I also think linking to others also helps with traffic. I do, however, think that the location of your comment in the comment thread has a direct correlation to how many people visit your site.
If you are the first to comment, it seems to me more people might click through to your site. The same might be true if you are last. I’m sure you have much more insight into this phenomenon than I do since I’m still a fairly new blogger.
In comment threads wehre there are many, many comments I know that sometimes I don’t have time (or I gloss over) to read through the comments right in the middle. Maybe that’s just me.
The US time change happens tonight so I’m on the computer later than I usually would be on a Sat night.
[…] might have qualified as someone you weren’t already reading. But, after Darren Rowse and Yaro Stara both wrote posts about her within a day of each other, I’m sure she’s getting plenty of […]
[…] Yaro Starak wrote Proof that Blog Commenting Still Works to Build Traffic […]
Hi Yaro,
I’ll take Aruni’s suggestion and try and make this the last comment. Ok, it’ll be that anyway at least for a minute or two until another blogger nicks it!
You’re spot on with this, commenting in other blogs is a great way to get yourself known in blog city. It counts more if you actually comment on the blog post itself or you’ll end up looking like a spammer.
You should see all the spammers who try to get their comments in on my blogs! They must believe bloggers are thick and will approve their ridiculous efforts. But then spammers are a breed of stupid people, but they keep at it like demented hamsters on wheels - never getting anywhere, but they keep posting!
Hey, good luck with your appeal to the Big G, by the way.
Terry
Hi Yaro
Totally agree! I’ve been following your advice and have been getting some pretty amazing results. Not only am I getting traffic from the blogs that I’m posting on, but I am also getting traffic from the search engines that pick up on my comments on other blogs.
Thanks!
Gideon Shalwick
[…] you at least a visit from the blog owner itself. Don’t think that commenting will work? Check out Proof That Commenting Still Works To Build Traffic by Yaro […]
Very interesting statistics indeed. Since the SEO benefit from blog posts was pretty much nullified, there’s been far less in the way of blog commenting as a marketing tool, but this puts a whole new spin on things. Top stuff
Yaro,
That’s a good point, but Caroline does discuss the time/results ratio of leaving comments on 10-15 different blogs per month. It’s true she got over 700 new visitors, but in the end she made $0 for the month in terms of income.
For new bloggers who have to deal with so many different components of a business, how to you include a function like comments on blogs and forum in a way that actually brings in tangible results…and not just people landing on your homepage?
Gisele
http://www.mybeautymatch.com
[…] commenting on some high profile blogs has attracted the attention of the bloggers and have resulted in extra publicity for me, which I never would have got if I had […]
I see the results each time i use awstats. Comments drive traffic!. Especially when the blog is do follow
Is anybody else concerned about what you’re talking about here? I’m not disputing whether or not it works - I’d just hope that commenting is about more than just racking up numbers of the scoreboard.