Just recently we created a survey for our readers to let us know what were their biggest issues with making money online. It wasn’t surprising really to hear that traffic generation was at the top of the list.
Traffic is really the one thing that is the deciding factor for whether someone will make it online or not….at least in my opinion. If you can’t get the traffic then you can’t get the sales.
So with this in mind, we are going to start adding more blog posts related to traffic. To begin with, we are going to provide a nice little tip for generating some instant targeted traffic. Some of you may already be aware of this one but I am sure there are a lot that aren’t. This technique will provide you with some fairly decent traffic if you do it right. For me, it’s not a long term solution however – I prefer long lasting good quality backlinks via guest blogging but even so, traffic is traffic and this technique will keep you motivated and give you the mindset to keep working on getting more traffic.
The technique I am talking about is blog commenting. Ho hum, yes I know it’s just blog commenting but stay with me here because what I’m about to tell you may be a little different to what you are currently doing.
Most people when leaving blog comments find related blogs and plonk down a comment and move on to the next one. Then there are others who go for quantity and leave comments on any blog whether it’s related to their topic or not. And others at the extreme end of the scale that use blog commenting software and spam thousands of sites a day.
What these people are focusing on is quantity rather than quality and as any regular reader to this blog knows that is not how we do things. We focus instead on doing less but getting more out of it. In other words, quality is more important to us than quantity.
So this is the process we use for blog commenting. Doing it this way results in instant traffic because it involves being the first person to leave a comment on a high traffic blog. It’s almost like being in the number 1 spot in Google – being at the top in Google means you get more traffic and the same applies with blog commenting.
The key however is to find high traffic blogs. The reason you want to focus on high traffic blogs is so that you can benefit from their traffic. By adding your comment to their site you are effectively advertising your site on their blog. When people see your well written comment at the top of the list, they will hopefully click through to your website.
This is how it works…
The first step is finding those high traffic blogs. To do this you can use a few different sites:
1. Alexa.com – Alexa displays information about sites and their traffic rank. Now Alexa isn’t entirely accurate, however for the purpose of this exercise, it’s great way of finding high traffic blogs. Simply type in a keyword related to your website and the word ‘blog’. For example, if your site is about dogs then type in ‘dog blog’. When the results are displayed you will see the word ‘Rank’ with a number next to each website listed. This number shows the traffic rank of a site, according to Alexa. The lower that number the more traffic that site gets.
2. Technorati – This site focuses on blogs so when searching you can simply type in your keyword without the word ‘blog’ next to it.
3. Google – It may take a little longer by using Google but you can still find high traffic blogs this way.
Your goal here is to find a list of 20 to 30 blogs that relate to your site that are getting lots of traffic and/or comments. If they are averaging around a minimum of 10 to 20 comments per post then it is one that I would add
to my list.
The second step is to download a free piece of software called Comment Sniper. What Comment Sniper does is provide you with an alert to let you know that a post has just been published to one of those high traffic blogs. You’ll get a pop-up on you computer screen or you can get an SMS message to your phone to let you know when it happens. This allows you to quickly go to that blog and leave a comment. And since you were alerted as soon as the post was published you will generally be the first to leave a comment. (Update: Unfortuantely Comment Sniper is no longer available. You might want to try Google Alerts or Yahoo Alerts which will do a similar thing.)
Use common sense and don’t go crazy with this. By this I mean don’t always be the first to leave a comment on every single post on the same blog. This starts to look a bit odd, almost like stalking, and the owner may decide to ban you especially if your comments are a little spammy. Just be a little relaxed about it.
The main thing you need to keep in mind when doing this is that you leave a good quality comment. This won’t be as effective if you leave a one sentence response. Quickly read the post and leave a comment based on the content of that post – you can make a suggestion, ask a question or simply add your thoughts. However, if you can’t think of anything worthwhile to say then don’t leave anything at all.
If you can leave 10 comments a day on various high traffic blogs using this method you will start to see some nice traffic flow in.
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Hi, Ladies I am still new to this-and I was thinking about going this route. I have not tried the blog commenting method yet, but does this also produce a good back link-I guess as long as they are do-follow blogs.
That would be like getting instant traffic and moving up in the SERPS.
It can provide a a back link if it is a dofollow blog. Although some people think that even if it isn’t a dofollow blog that the back link is still a good one. I personally just see it as a way of getting quick traffic and if I get a back link out of it then that’s a bonus.
Hey, Kelly!
Funny meeting you here! If you use a search operator to find “KeywordLuv Enabled” + “CommentLuv Enabled” + Keywords
then you’ll get the link juice that you’re after, but you’ll have a smaller list to work with.
There are also “DoFollow” directories to look at for that.
Might as well do both, but even just commenting this way…it’s responsible for 2k backlinks to The Average Genius.
Paula and Wanda:
Totally great idea! You’re so spot on. Like usual.
Happy to report: before even backlinking using your methods, I’ve made some sales! $20 so far, not “exciting” but actually – it is.
I figure if I’ve made that without implementing your full approach (this is from 2 reviews that haven’t been really targeted with traffic methods you discuss), it’s nothing but up from here.
AND –
Bonus –
The methods you guys use to get traffic and backlinks aren’t going to get you into trouble.
:)
Great to hear you already have sales James. That’s what we like to hear!
This is great timing for me as I have just started my blog in the last couple of months. Nothing is too basic for me to learn about traffic at this stage — thank you!
This is a great method to start with if you are new at getting traffic because at least you can see the efforts of your work pretty quickly.
When I click on to Comment Sniper, I get alot of weird code on a blue screen. Is it doing this for you or is it just me?
Just scroll down the page and you should see the content. Their site has been like that for a while not. Sometimes it works okay and sometimes it doesn’t.
I’ve been using Comment Sniper for about a year now and it’s a great tool. Put in your fav blog sites and away you go.
Only thing is…I’m in the UK, so sometimes many blog posts are published overnight (my time) (i.e. USA).
Andrew
We have the same problem Andrew. Living in Australia means that we are asleep when most of the comments go up.
I do a lot of blog commenting and have good results with it but this is really a nice twist! Just wanted to thank you, I am not after a backlink :-)
This method means you get good value from each comment you leave. So you can leave less comments and still get the same results as leaving masses of comments. So you don’t need to work as hard.
It seems the comment sniper site is not working. I had downloaded the software a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t get it to run on Windows7. Maybe it isn’t compatible?
NEvermind, now the website is working it seems.
I haven’t tested Comment Sniper on my Windows 7 computer. It’s sitting on my Windows XP computer. I hope they have updated it for Windows 7.
Just to let anyone know who is using Window 7 – Right click on the desktop icon – go to Compatibility Tab and check the box for Windows XP Mode. That should do the trick. If not, make sure run as administrator is checked.
Thanks for that info Liz, I’ve been trying to get Comment Sniper to work with Windows 7 for an age, with that info I’ve got it working in seconds! Thanks again.
Wanda & Paula,
Thank you for the tip. I always get hung up on the blog commenting thing. I’m hoping you can answer this question for me. What types of blogs do you comment on? I understand you are looking to comment on related blogs… perhaps I would should give an example. What if I am promoting beverage coolers. Do I look for other beverage cooler sites? Small appliance sites? Or do I post on say cooking or entertaining blogs?
To me it seems rather brazen to comment on a direct competitors site. Am I wrong to think this way?
Thanks,
Kim
We would comment on all of those sites you mentioned. You can comment on competitors sites as long as you don’t start talking about your own site. Just leave a comment related to their blog post and most bloggers will accept it even if you are a competitor.
Great advise as usual. I’m in the same boat as you – live in New Zealand and most blogs go out out when I’m asleep. Comment Sniper sounds useful – will try it out.
I guess I will have to become a nocturnal kiwi to catch the early worm – whoops, I mean blog!
If you are an early riser you can still catch a few as morning our time (ie.Oz/NZ) is the afternoon/evening in the US.
I prefer the smaller sites with the loyal following and the commentluv plugin installed…a well crafted title is golden.
While i may not get 100 visits per comment, I’ll get 5 that will come back again and subscribe. ;)
Example: before switching over, my last marketing blog had about 300 subscribers – 8000 comments – on nearly 200 posts.
My ONLY promotional tactic was blog commenting.
Loyalty. ;)
I think with your type of blog you will want to go for loyalty and repeat visitors. That’s what I am looking for as well with this blog.
I think that can be said of most “tips” type blogs.
Speaking of commenting, thank Wanda for me. I know you two rarely blog hop, so it is always a pleasure when I see one of you. :)
Just an FYI: My blog has been bare a while I know. Regular posts will begin streaming out again soon.
I have a bit of a backlog in draft and pending mode as I was “interviewing” SEO’s (I’m now outsourcing it).
I’ve found one who will begin a test run today. Woot! LOL
I think it’s like any job…sometimes you just need a break from it all to get your mind refreshed and motivated again.
I didn’t think to check alexa first duh. But I have seen this work well in two niches that I’m in. Thanks for the tips – you can never have enough traffic!
I think the niche does make a difference with this type of technique. In the comment above from Dennis he talks about gaining loyal visitors that keep coming back so he uses a slightly different technique. With product review type sites they generally don’t lend well to repeat visitors – usually a visitor is looking for a review or information for a product they are about ready to buy and once bought they don’t have a need to come back. So that method needs a different approach again.
That’s 95% true Paula, and I’m glad I have you to learn from.
I’ll be starting my own review blog as well, eventually, and I will have to switch up a few techniques I’m currently used too.
The other 5% = wouldn’t you want loyal readers to subscribe and what not to see what ELSE you review?
I mean besides the one they landed on on purpose…
Yes definitely Dennis, that’s something we’ve been a little slow to take on in the past ( ie. get subscribers) but we are learning.
hi,
great tips, thanks a lot for that. unfortunatelly i cannot get this to work – when i installed comment sniper and even after adding the registration key it shows just some tabs and doesn´t allow me to add blogs or customize the settings :( any idea why this could be happen? maybe anyone else had the problem before?
thanks in advance!!!
I just wonder whether it’s a Windows 7 issue. Is that the Windows version you are using?
hi paula,
yes, i´m using windows 7 but i tried the windows 7 compatibility mode
I will try uploading it to my Windows 7 computer. At the moment I only have it on my old computer.
You might want to also contact the owner of the Comment Sniper website to see if they have any ideas.
Monja –
If you are installing it on Windows 7, set your compatibility mode for Comment Sniper to XP service pack 3.
Also, it won’t let you add any blogs if it is running. Did you press stop and then try it?
Paula and Liz –
thanks a lot for your help – actually stop and start was the right hint LOL – i had it in windows xp compatibility mode but i didn´t think to start it again inside the application :-)
thanks a lot for your help, greatly appreciated!
Hello ladies,
thanks for this article. it is very useful for me as I have just started blogging for business. I have had a personal blog or 4, for quite a while now, but blogging for business is quite different and trying to attract a good readership is for me a mystery… however as I read I learn, and this has been helpful.
thanks
Cindy
@3days_in_london
Hope it helps Cindy. You might want to also start looking at a Facebook Fan page if you want to promote a business.
Blog commenting is one of my first way to get traffic. I usually comment on 10 blogs everyday.
Do you use this method to do it? It would be interesting to see if it makes much difference to your traffic numbers.
When I was a newbie, blog commenting is the only way to get the traffic. Almost of my visitors come from the blog owners and his visitors. It also help so much to get good ranking in google
I tried the download but it didn’t work – so THANKS to all your savvy readers and commenters here – I didn’t want to miss out! It seems to work now with the XP thang.
Yes. I said, “thang.”
Way too much hip hop. Sorry. :)
Great post, ladies.
I do a fair amount of blog commenting, but I usually get my info from Google Alerts (which can be slow). Gonna go check out comment sniper now.
I forgot about Google Alerts. That’s actually another good way of getting info as it is updated but as you say it is slow. Comment Sniper is definitely faster.
Apparently Comment Sniper doesn’t work on a Mac. So, I set up Yahoo Alerts to send RSS updates directly to my cell phone by text. Same results, I hope. This is great fun!
It’s a shame that they don’t make more programs for the Mac. I actually think the Mac is better than a PC but I have never had one because of that reason.
And that’s a brilliant idea Julie to use Yahoo Alerts. It might help others here who have having trouble with Comment Sniper.
I’ve been using Yahoo Alerts all day today as I gather blogs to comment on. The texts come quickly, and I have been able to get lots of number 1 comments. The only downside to Yahoo is the texts don’t tell you which blog they’re alerting you about! So you have to go back to your RSS feed and find it. Still, it will be interesting to see my traffic stats after this.
Hey Nice post! Just curious, how effective is search engine marketing in terms of selling an offline product or service. I see pages all the time that promote an online based product (e book, amazon.com etc), but when I want to promote say a health club – is the online an efficient means to do this? Are you aware of any examples of this? Anyway, thanks prematurely for any help. :)
We’ve never promoted an offline business but I can only imagine that it would still work. Most people these days don’t bother with the Yellow Pages – they simply search for everything on the net even if it is offline.
Hi Paula
As someone starting out, these tips have proven invaluable in concept. Now I just need to find the time to employ them all!
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Paula & Wanda
I am going to start blog commenting very soon for a site I built using your Amazonian Profit ebook but am a bit confused. If we pick 10-20 blogs to comment on regularly won’t Google be upset by the lack of “randomness” with that?
And should the blog comments I leave only be directed to the home page of my site using the main keyword or to my review pages with each individual product keyword as well (ex. Kelly @ Canon EOS Digital Camera)?
Thanks – I appreciate your help.
Kelly
Most people have their favorite blogs and go back to them again and again to leave comments – I doubt very much that Google would get upset with that.
The blog comments can be directed to either your home page or the review page. It’s good to have a bit of a mix. And yes you can use the format ‘Kelly @ Canon EOS Digital Camera’. Some bloggers don’t like this so if that’s the case you can just use your name. With this technique (described in the blog post above) you are going more for the traffic than the backlink since most forums are nofollow anyway.
Thanks Paula – I appreciate your feedback!
Thank you for the outstanding, interactive, marketing tips. I will certainly try your blog commenting technique and am certainly hoping for some outstanding traffic results. Take care, and once again, appreciate the info.
@Paula and Wanda,
Aside from getting high traffic blogs to place comments on, what matters more is if they really offer golden content. That is the main purpose of commenting, that is to share a little piece of yourself with others to ignite great discussion.
@Lasonya Delamar,
I agree with Paula re: Yellow Pages. In fact, we hit the streets of Melbourne to ask people what they think and do when searching for information. And you know what, here are some snippets of the results that we got.
Q2. How do you search for products and services you’re looking for?
* 92.86% use Google.com
* 7.14% use Yellow Pages
Respondent Quote: “I reckon the yellow pages is obsolete, why would you spend money on the yellow pages when they’ll just as easily find you on Google.”
That is another realization how Google really becomes dominant in providing immediate information as opposed to Yellow Pages. Sounds interesting would you agree?
Have a great day!
Dave
It’s nice to see some actual statistical data on this. I think my Yellow Pages is still in it’s original shrink wrap sitting under my phone table. I can’t remember the last time I opened one to search for something.
I think the only businesses that should still advertise in the yellow pages are those that cater to the elderly. My 83 year old mom still uses the yellow pages because she’s afraid of using a computer (even though she does have one, she only uses it to play bingo).
Oh what a wonderful post! I am slowly working my way through your blog from the beginning (over the week, not all at once!) and I have to say you ladies have been such a wonderful source of good, USEFUL and non-repetitive information. Bless you both… I’m saving my pennies till I can buy your ebook :)
I do something similar actually, I’ll mention it – on my personal blog, I have one post that gets a pretty good amount of google traffic and it is on a unique product. I have a Google alert set up to find new results and so Google emails me if they index any new results with that keyword. This particular product is such a unique brand name product that I only get an alert every couple days or even once a week but that way I can go in and post a comment leaving an applicable backlink.
So it’s basically looking for a particular keyword on ANY google result. This wouldn’t work with common ones! but if you have something uncommon it might work. I’ve made sales to Amazon though an affiliate link I placed in that post, too… so it works pretty good, considering that there’s pretty low search volume.
We used to use Google Alerts years ago for some reason I can’t quite remember now. That’s a great idea to use it for leaving comments. I might let the email list know about that one…thanks!!
It might not work as well as Comment Sniper did since they have to be indexed in Google first but if Comment Sniper isn’t being supported (did I read your giveaway ebook right?) it is a decent other alternative.
The other thing that I intend to do is to put in specific model numbers on an alert for products I have reviews on – not so I can comment on blogs, but so I can see what people are saying about them and update my reviews accordingly. I have a section on the reviews that basically lists the good and bad things that people have said about the product, and most of the info comes from Google.
My goal would be to essentially be a compilation of all the information you could find on Google about those products. but again, this wouldn’t work with hugely popular in-demand products or vague descriptions, but definitely would work for specific products that have a pretty narrow niche.
Hey i am so happy with your advise, i seriously did this for my blog and i didnt get results in startin but after some time it worked ! Its just so fantastic – keep The good work going :)
This is well known method of getting traffic but has some major drawbacks.
Your comment should be really of high value to get accepted by blog and to be clicked by visitors.
Your comment need to be one of first comments in order to be noticeable.
In my opinion, blog comments are good for getting backlinks and less for getting traffic.
It’s a bit hard to tell whether search engines are recognizing blog comments as backlinks. Most blogs use nofollow so they may not be seen. Either way, I think commenting is a good way to get traffic.
Good post. I understand the whole thing with blog commenting, etc but i hate it when people just write “hey, nice layout, can i ask where you got this and that” Those comments I always delete. Spam bots are too rampant nowadays so getting real, quality feedbacks are sometimes hard to come by especially if you do not yet have an audience. Even when you pay for backlinks, the posters may just spew stuff that may eventually get tossed. It’s good to work on your own links but it’ll take a loooong time.
Alas, the Comment Sniper software appears to be gone! That’s a pity, because it sounds very useful. The URL now redirects to an online marketing website and I can’t find the software on there anywhere, so I guess either the makers have deleted it or someone else got the domain.
Yes unfortunately it’s no longer available. You can try using Google Alerts to do the same thing. I will edit this post so that it no longer links to the site.
I’m having a heck of a time getting traffic to my website. When you’re blog commenting, aren’t you suppose to look for high page rank blogs? The problem is there are very few high page rank blogs on my topic. Most are either NA or 0? If you don’t go by page rank, how do you know which blogs have high traffic?
Thank you
You’re probably looking for the wrong types of sites. You need to be looking for mommy type sites, sites on depression and sites on natural health for your topic. You will find thousands of them.
If you still have trouble finding these types of sites then come back here and leave another comment and we’ll see if we can provide more help for you.
Thank you, Paula. I’ll do as you suggest.
Relevant high quality link building is the best strategy here. It doesn’t require too much effort but the results are definitely going to surprise us. Also automated softwares are going to be extinct pretty soon(well not really but kept to a minimum at least), as Google is trying really hard to eliminate those ugly tactics. And our SEO helps with this too, ranking better in pages is a surefire way to get new relevant traffic.
Nice post, and I certainly agree that blog commenting can help with traffic by getting direct visitors and also a link to your site – whether it is a no follow or not. Another tip I might add is not to use your keyword as your name – most will consider it spam and delete it – unless they are using keywordluv enabled comments.
That is very true Rachel. The way we see it is if you are leaving a valid comment then you should use your name. We don’t approve comments where the keyword is used as the persons name. Sometimes it is frustrating because someone will leave a lovely, informative comment.
I agree with the above comment, I always try to include my ‘niche’ in the name in order to make the anchor text more relevant, but as mentioned most frown upon this and look at it as spam, therefore declining the comment for publishing.
Thanks for the wonderful article. It really helped me to add something new to my knowledge basket. Keep the good work going.
Regards,
Mohit
I blog comment for SEO purposes but tend to think the traffic side of blog commenting is over rated…. Just my opinion.