This is just a conclusion of my previous post on blog commenting and traffic, as i said on that post, i will have to tell you my own believe on the topic based on the response i got from you guys. That post really raised a very interesting discussion both here on my blog and on Facebook, and I’m happy the way it all went. At least, we were able to find an answer to that one million dollar question :).
However, i will make this post as short as possible so, lets get to the gist :). In my humble opinion and in a very concise manner, the number of comments a blog gets per post cannot be used to judge the number of visitors it gets. There are so many factors to look at and my friends Adrienne, Harleena, Tim and Enstine explained it really well on their comments, take a look :)..
Now, if you ask me, i will tell you that the number of comments a blog gets does not equate to traffic. Just like Adrienne said, we all have our various desires and goals and that’s exactly what we should be aiming for right? Now, people like John Chow, Darren Rowse and Brian Clack are not really aiming for their readers comments yet, they are still getting enough traffic, i guess its because they’ve build up their brands, they’ve made the name and its now clearing the roads for them.
The truth is that they all started the same way we started, they once did exactly what we’re doing now before getting to where they are right now. The thing is that, if you’re good in engaging with your readers, they will now like to be commenting on your posts but, believe it or not, the number of traffic those big bucks are getting now would have been higher if they’re engaging with their readers, true or false?
That is to say that those engagements and relationship with your readers really matters a lot and if you can be doing it just the way Adrienne and many other bloggers out there are doing it then, it will also boost your traffic because those comments will serve as a social proof that people are really interacting and enjoying what you’re doing. And, another important thing is to ensure that you always write top notch contents so as to keep your readers coming.
Personally, i don’t visit those big blogs always, i only checks them out when I’m looking for a particular thing which i think will be there.
But, i always like visiting blogs where i can easily interact with the owner and then, build relationship with him instead of going where i will not even be noticed, and I’m sure a lot of other people does that too. You know, blog commenting has many benefits for both the commenter and the blog owner. Check out this short video by Darren Rowse…
Finally, no matter how big your blog is, if you’re not building relationship and engaging with your readers, you’re still missing something and i really advice you start doing so now. And, remember that the number of comments a blog gets cannot be used to judge the number of visitors it receives. But, comments do serve as a social proof
Thanks for reading and please, your comments are really appreciated. Also remember to tweet and share this post with your friends.
Enjoy your weekend :).
BTW: I was interviewed by Anis Chity at Emitez.com. That was my first interview since i started blogging and, if you’ve not read it, i will like you to check it out by clicking here, I’m sure you will learn one or two things and you will also hear somethings about me which I’ve not told you before.
Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net
Harleena Singh says
Hi Theodore,
Thanks once again for putting up my comment here! Had I known you were doing that I’d have worded it better 😉
Jokes apart, I liked the fact that you summed it up so well and I do agree, the number of comments don’t equate to traffic, but yes, they are also a major part for people like us who love interaction and building relationships. And it does work for me besides the other things too.
Adrienne mentioned it all so well in her comment too, and yes, people like Darren and Brian have all achieved what they were wanting to, they’ve already done all that we are doing now. And now is their time to reap the fruits of their hard work. Nevertheless, what works or worked for them, or what they did or wanted to do, might be very different from what you or I want, so it all depends from one blogger to another.
Just as you mentioned, I don’t think most of us would like to leave comments on a post where we know we aren’t going to be replied to, or would people still go there to leave their links? I wonder because I wouldn’t. Yes, for research work or gathering information we might, but we would prefer going to blogs where there is life – through the comments. Not to mention, just yesterday I came across a post that said that when you comment on CommentLuv enabled blogs, your chances of coming on Google’s first page increases! So, all the more reasons to keep commenting and building those relationships – and you lose nothing, instead gain a lot 🙂
Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a nice day ahead 🙂
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Harleena,
There is nothing much to say again, you did said it all on that comment of yours so, there is no other better way you would have worked it :).
Yea, everyone of us has his own goal and that’s what he will be going after while ignoring other things. That is the same thing with people like Darren and Brian. I normally visit those blogs when i started but, when i discovered that they don’t encourage their readers by replying to their comments, i had no other choice than to simply withdraw.
Thanks a lot for this awesome comment of yours as always. Extend my warm regards to your family and do have a wonderful weekend.
Evan says
THANKS FOR THE WISE ADVCIE. The first month I blogged, I answered sporatically to my commenters. Then I saw the absolute frenzy that happened when I kept the conversation going in the comment section
Theodore Nwangene says
Well done Evan,
I’m indeed happy that you agreed to all i said here, thanks a lot for sharing your honest opinion with us and have a fabulous weekend.
Kimsea says
I think comments show about attractive of a post and it trends. It mean that you have a lot of comments mean you have a lot of visitors interested and share your post. So this the reason comments is traffic.
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Kimsea,
I also agree with your opinion, thanks a lot for the visit and do have a great weekend.
Siegfried says
replying to your comments is always a good idea 😉
Theodore Nwangene says
I agree with you Siegfried.
Thanks for visiting
Chitraparna says
Hi Nwangene,
Glad to see this post. As I said in our previous discussion on Ileane’s group, the number of comments does not show or is not a proof of traffic.
Like Adrienne said, every blogger has his/her goals with a blog. Some go for comments, some want more subscriptions and so on. True, if you see a blog with a lot of comments, it means there is reader engagement. However, again, there is a twist in the story.
I have seen some blogs having comments from the same old readers. While this is not wrong, it also shows that the blog is stagnating somewhat. If I have 100 loyal readers and 90 of them comment on each blog post of mine, its does show engagement and stagnation at the same time. True, I will GET traffic but I WON”T get that many conversions because some, they are all the same readers. They are already in my mailing list. What do I expect? That they will buy something every time…No, it doesn’t happen.
SO, the number of comments on a blog is not a foolproof indicator of traffic. It is just one analytical option.
~ Chitraparna
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Chitraparna,
I’m so happy that you finally visited as you said on Facebook :), welcome to my blog. Yea, you’re very right on all you said. If you keep on getting comments from same people, it only indicates that you’re not getting new visitors which also means that you’re not doing well.
Just as you said, those subscribers of yours cannot be buying from you all the time so, we should always ensure that we’re getting repeat as well as new visitors. I like the way you also summed it up.
So, the number of comments on a blog is not a foolproof indicator of traffic. It is just one analytical option. Thanks a lot for the visit, hope to see you again :).
VISHAL VERMA says
one of the best option to increase comments on a blog is to buy Commentluv plugin….and make dofollow all the links….
Theodore Nwangene says
You’re right Vishal,
Commentluv plugin will certainly bring more people to your blog and they will also comment on your posts. Thanks for your wonderful opinion.
Raj kumar says
The video is great. Thanks for sharing this interesting post.
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Raj,
Thanks for the visit, I’m happy you like the post, please do visit us again 🙂
Oluwaseun Babajide says
I loved the video. These comments summed up everything.
Thanks for the share bro.
Theodore Nwangene says
You’re right my man,
Thanks a lot for your own contribution 🙂
Tim Bonner says
Hey Theodore
Thank you for sharing my comment here :-). I really enjoyed the video. Fascinating stuff.
Have a great weekend and I hope you get the Twitter issue sorted!
Tim
Dana says
Hello,
This is my first visit!
I enjoyed the post. As someone new(ish) to the blogging community, I appreciate the many perspectives on what works for different people and their overall preferences.
Personally, I have no idea what will or will not drive traffic to my site. I do know, however, that I LOVE comments because I find it energizing to meet people and build relationships based on this platform. There is such a co-operative nature to blogging (at least that I have found) that regardless of the desired result (traffic) – just the act of communicating opens up doors in life to allow for numerous possibilities.
Commenting has allowed me to exchange guest posts with other blog owners, interact with cool people and learn new tips and tricks that have helped me when I had questions about building my site.
But this is how I see life in general – so I guess the commenting thing would only harmonize with that philosophy 🙂
Theodore Nwangene says
You’re right Dana,
And i agree to all you said. The main reason why i comment on other blogs is not just because of the traffic but, i like the interaction and relationship I’m building along the way. That’s what blogging should be all about right?
Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and i really appreciate that 🙂
Babanature says
Hello Bro,
You have finally summaries the post, good job. I have not watched the video but i might do so. The conclussion still base on comment shows how engage your stories are but do not tell you how traffic flows. thanks
Theodore Nwangene says
Thanks my man,
I appreciates your own points.
Darrell from Virtual Receptionist Australia says
Bloggers understand how important it would be to get exposure to your own works. Gaining new loyal readers may be the main goal for every blogger and the most typical methods of promotion tend to be blog commenting, guest running a blog, participating in forums and so on.
Theodore Nwangene says
Thank you Darrell for those points of yours, really awesome 🙂
Rehman Amajd says
Hi Theodore,
I definitely agree with you on this post. I try to encourage comment but I don’t really mind when people don’t comment on my blog. Also great post you made with the pictures you included.
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Rehman,
Thanks a lot for taking part in the conversation. The truth is that we cannot measure the number of visitors a blog gets due to the number of comments it receives.
Thanks for stopping by and do have a great day.
Lisa says
Great topic Theodore. I’ve always been fascinated how top name bloggers do not comment and yet still get traffic. But if you look at bloggers that get 100’s of comments they do have to be getting traffic to get those comments.
I think people can relate better to a blog that develops a relationship with them via commenting and taking it up a notch on social media as well. I would not have gotten to know other bloggers without the comment system of CommentLuv Premium.
Interesting video too! It shows the POWER of the LINKS in the COMMENTS.
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Lisa,
The commentluv plugin is really awesome indeed. I myself use to wonder why those big blogs gets all the traffic they gets while their readers never comments of their posts and even if few comment, they will never reply.
But just as you said, i will also prefer going to a blog that develops a relationship with me via commenting. Thanks a lot for sharing your own view with us Lisa
Akhil kumar says
Hi Theodore,
Comments are an integral part of a blog. It improves the relationship between the bloggers and the readers. The number of comments largely depends on the number of views. thanks for sharing us to very useful post 🙂
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Akhil,
I really agree to all you said. Thanks for visiting
wilson says
Hey there Theodore. I really love this post…. it’s just natural that some people think the higher your comment=the higher your traffic. But I’ve come to learn that(From this post and the post before) that your traffic does not determine how many comments you get on any blog post.
Thank you for sharing this sir. Do have a nice day :D.
Theodore Nwangene says
Thanks for the compliments Wilson,
I also do think before that the higher the comments you get, the higher your traffic. That’s why i did this research and find out that comments does not equate to traffic.
Thanks a lot for visiting Wilson.
Katrina Gaya says
Insightful post! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Indeed, i have difficulty analyzing whether the number of comments in my blog denots that my traffic is increasing, anyway I think it’s still a yes. I usually use Colibri tool, it helps me a lot in checking the effectiveness of my online strategies. check them here http://colibritool.com/. Thanks!
Theodore Nwangene says
Hi Katrina,
Thanks a lot for coming to my blog, i really appreciate that 🙂
Indian Quotes says
Many website owners and bloggers comment to bring visibility for their sites. That does not mean they are actually interested in the website but again it is up to the website to decide whether he/she wants quality or quantity of comments.
Theodore Nwangene says
I agree with you dear, thanks
Pst Bless says
Yea brother, i quite agree with you, the number of comments does not equal the number of traffic. thanks for sharing this.
Theodore Nwangene says
Thanks lot Pst,
I’m happy you visited again
Dan Black says
I totally agree on this topic! I personally have a thriving community of people who read and comment on my blog but my traffic numbers aren’t impressive (Or at least in my mind). I want to maintain my engaged community but am working on increasing my traffic so I can start selling ads and get paid a good return.
Naphie says
And we actually have the same question in mind. Thanks you have shared it out and for the comments here which have really made me think about really rearranging my blog.
Theodore Nwangene says
Thanks Naphie,
I’m glad i could help via my post :).
Darrell from Virtual Receptionist Australia says
Nice video! It gives useful information. I do appreciate you discuss this topic here in your blog. It’s good to be aware about this. It just shows that the numbers of comments does not always guarantee to increase yur blog traffic.