The Problem With Comment Spam

It was always going to occur - the spamming of the blogosphere. As long as we have had comment sections, we've had comment spam, and that's to be expected, deleted and blocked.

But manual comment spam is becoming a problem, as earnest new business bloggers read a magazine article or a blogpost suggesting that leaving comments on other blogs will help you get your name out because your url is listed.

Talk about creating a monster. The number of tone-deak marketing specialists out there "seeding" the blogosphere with their client's url is getting embarrassing. Are online marketers really this poorly trained?

To make sure we are all on the same page, let me back up.

1) A great way to market your website or blog is to leave comments on the websites and blogs of other people and companies. These comments should be relevant, interesting, and not just a blatant pitch to come look at your website.

2) "Relevant" is not defined as a post that covers the same general topic as your blog. Just because someone makes a post about how much they love coffee is not an excuse to leave a comment telling people to come to your coffee break site.

3) "Relevant" is defined as relevant to the post you're commenting on. If your comment doesn't have anything to do with the post, then you have no business leaving the comment.

4) "Relevant" matters because comments that are clearly comment spam actually work against you. They don't help your SEO - they don't help your branding, and you're likely to get a nasty e-mail, a nasty post, or at best, your hard work deleted for your efforts. Why are clients paying marketers to spam my comments? Would you pay a marketer to spray graffiti on overpasses with your company logo? Would you pay marketers to give polos out with your company logo on them to local gangs?

Please make sure your marketers aren't cheapening your brand and making you pay for it. I'll be happy to create a one-page list of Blogosphere Don't's and send it to you.

Mmmm, Tasty Don'ts.