In the early days of blogging, success was often measured by the number of comments you received on a blog post.
But, as the blogosphere has matured, the volume and value of blog comments has shifted a bit.
After all, there is more blog content available to us than ever before, which can hinder how much time people have to leave a comment. And, much of the conversation about blog content has moved to social networks instead of on the blog itself.
So, do blog comments even matter anymore? Is it something that businesses should be concerned about with their company blogs today?
That’s what Stan and I discussed in today’s episode of The Marketing Huddle.
Here is what we covered on the show:
- Why blog comments matter in the first place;
- Top reasons why some businesses and some of the top blogs in the world have turned off blog comments;
- Why Stan has removed comments from his blog and Laura has kept her comments on her blog;
- How to evaluate whether to turn blog comments on or off; and
- Whether you spend time commenting on other blogs.
Listen to the Show
Ready to hear what Stan and I think about blog comments? You can listen right here.
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For show notes and other resources, check out our post on The Marketing Huddle.
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Thanks for Listening!
As always, thanks for listening to The Marketing Huddle. We appreciate your support of the show!
What do you think about blog comments? How have you handled them on your blog – do you have them turned on or off? Let us know in the comment section below. We’d love to know what you think!
4 replies on “Do Blog Comments Still Matter for Businesses Today? {Podcast}”
Hi Laura and Stan!
Hope no one got injured during the podcast. Duking it out can be dangerous, ya know. 😉
I thought it only fitting to post a comment here. (Yes, I have THAT kind of sense of humor.) LOL!
My takeaway from this episode is “it depends”. I still have my comments turned on and I can’t think of a reason I’d ever turn them off. Yes, spammy comments are a pain in the patootie and, believe me, I get my fair share. Stan is right: Akismet does a pretty good job of filtering those for me … but it’s not perfect. It doesn’t catch them all. Luckily, I don’t have the issue Copyblogger was faced with. Did you say 96% of their comments were spam?!! That’s borderline insanity.
Like you, I’ve noticed a trend in directing people to places like Facebook groups for commenting on posts. Right now, I’d much prefer to keep people ON my blog. But who knows? I may change my mind down the line.
I don’t know if you follow Ilana Burk of “Makeness”. She turned her comments off pretty recently and, frankly, I was a bit disappointed. Maybe I’m lazy but I don’t want to travel over to an alternate location to share my thoughts. Fact is, by the time I get there, I will have forgotten what I wanted to say. LOL!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and weigh in, Melanie! I truly appreciate it! 🙂
I wholeheartedly agree with you – there is no right answer and it truly depends on your business and blog. That said, I’m with you – I want to make it easy for people to comment where it makes sense for them. That’s why the door here is wide open for comments! I think you make a good point about chasing down the conversation. If you first see the post on social, it makes sense to comment that way. But if you arrive through another means (email, search, etc.), folks won’t take the time to seek out the conversation.
Thanks for the great comment and for being part of my community. I appreciate you, Melanie!
Maybe I’m old fashioned, Laura, but I’ve always viewed a blog as a conversation – not a conversation that trails off to another platform. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying there aren’t instances where that approach would make sense. I just think, in general, the discussion between author/owner and reader should remain ON the blog. After all, that’s where it all begins, right? 🙂
That’s not old fashioned at all! I think that’s how blogs were intended. But, the platform has definitely evolved. And for some, the conversation doesn’t make sense or it isn’t as important.