11 Awesome Ways To Optimize Your Comments For Serious Blog Traffic.

As a blogger, you already know how important comments are to the success of your blog. Comments give you a great opportunity to interact with your readers by getting them involved in the conversation. They are the part of the conversation you start in your blog post which helps you build that engaging community every bloggers crave.

Comments show that people do care about your work and your effort, which of course makes you feel better and also motivates you to work harder. Remember how you feel when somebody says something nice on your comments? It totally makes your day doesn’t it?

Comments play a substantial part in your blogging success as they are the very quantum of the conversation you start in your blog posts. Furthermore, people link to you because of the comments you leave.

But how do you actually get your readers to comment in your posts? Here are 11 awesome ways to optimize your comments for more reader engagement and serious blog traffic:

1. Invite people to comment:

Did you know that majority of your blog readers do not leave comments even if they spend time reading your post? That is why inviting them to comment can make a huge difference.

Asking question(s) especially in the headline or at the end of the post is a great way to get your readers engaged. I tend to get more comments in my blog when I ask my readers to share their insights and opinion. Another way of inviting your readers to comment is by constructing a valuable post in an engaging style.

2. Reply to your comments:

One thing that is hard to miss in successful blogs is that the bloggers really take time to interact with their audience. Well, I do understand that it is sometimes impossible to keep track of what everyone is saying. But, bloggers that ignore the comments are missing out on taking advantage of the wonderful networking opportunity.

You know conversation is like a bonfire – to keep the fire going you need to keep adding those timbers. Likewise to get the conversation going, you have to answer other people’s comments as well. Whether it is a personal humor or insights relevant to the conversation or commix of both, you gotta get that conversation going.

3. Leave comments on other blogs:

Leaving comments in your reader’s blog is a good habit of showing love and appreciation to your readers. Also leave insightful comments on other blogs, especially the ones in your own niche to amplify your blog traffic.

4. Thank your readers:

When was the last time you thanked your readers for being a part of your community? It is only right to reward your readers after they spend their time reading your contents. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain. It is a win-win situation so why not thank them today.

You can also use comment relish plugin to send your audience a personal thank you email automatically if you want to. Or you might prefer more efficient comment redirect plugin to take them straight to a thank you page in your site.

5. Optimize your comment link:

Your comment link makes a huge psychological difference in your readers mind to leave comments in your post. Just think how much better it sounds when the comment link is ‘Leave comments to share your thoughts’ or ‘No comments yet! Be the first to post one’ instead of just ‘No comments’.

6. Create a safe environment:

Many of your readers don’t leave comment in your blog because they feel insecure about sharing their views. Being humble and showing your own unique personality in the blog post and your comments are 2 definitive ways to let your readers know that it is okay to add their views and insights.

Another way of creating a comment friendly environment is by admitting that you are wrong if you make mistakes and thanking your readers for pointing out those mistakes.

7. Using the right comment system:

Whether you use Disqus, Echo, WordPress or any other commenting system, find the one that tailors your needs. The commenting system that is right for you really depends on the blogging platforms you use and where your audience is coming from. For instance, if you are getting a lot of traffic from the social media sites, it might be beneficial for you to use the Disqus commenting system. If you want your audience to be able to insert media in the comments, Echo works out perfect. So, find the one that really works for you.

8. Remove comment barriers:

It is best not to use comment barriers as they hinder your reader to leave comments efficiently. The 2 major barriers that could hinder your readers from leaving comments are:

- CAPTCHAS:

CAPTCHAS is just a barrier that prevents you from building your community quickly. It is understandable that you use them if you get a lot of spam because you post everyday or have a lot of people guest posting in your blog. However, removing CAPTCHAS is going to make it easy on your commenter which obviously helps you get more comments.

- REGISTRATION:

This one even irritates me at times as it is time consuming to have to register in order to leave comments. I hate to say this but there has been plenty of incidence where I don’t leave comments because I have to register even if I initially wanted to add to the conversation

9. Use the right plugins:

Installing the right plugins can also motivate your readers to leave comments and help you get that traffic flow. I already did mention some very useful plugins above. Some other ones that could benefit you are:

-  Comment luv: This is a cool tool that you can use to reward your readers by helping them display their last blog post or one of the last 10 blog posts when they leave comments in your blog.

-  Top commentator: This plugin lets you display your top commentators in the sidebar or the footer widget in your blog.

-  Do follow: You probably are already familiar with the You comment, I follow movement in the blogosphere. This is where you remove the no follow tag from your comments to show your commentators appreciation and link love. You can remove the tag manually or simply by installing the do follow plugin. This can benefit you if your blog is fairly new. However, keep in mind that using this tactic also increases the number of spams in your comments.

10. Write a lists post:

Lists post is awesome in many ways. Lists are effective because they help grab your audience’s attention instantly. A lists post starting with a number, preferably an odd number, psychologically persuades your audience to leave comments and add to the list. This tactic works great if you do not cover everything in your post as these kinds of post give your readers a hint that the post is not complete, in a way compelling them to complete the post.

11. Create some controversy:

Controversy rocks !!! This is especially true while blogging as creating some controversy makes you unique in the community. Being controversial is a sure-fire way to stand out in the blogging crowd. However, there are some consequences of being overly controversial. Losing your regular readers is one of the consequences you could face so do be very careful while using this tactic.

What are the tactics you use to get your readers to comment?

Don’t forget to leave your comments down below to share your thoughts and insights. If you like this article please Tweet it, share it in Facebook, Digg or any of your favorite social media sites.

Here’s to your successful online endeavor!

-Adam Paudyal

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