I Still Don’t Talk to Keywords
January 8, 2010 by Lillie
A few months ago, I instituted a new comment policy: No Name, No Comment. If you leave a comment without a name or nickname that I can recognize as a person, the comment will be marked spam.
I’m posting this reminder because recently I’ve had a spate of relevant comments that I would really like to approve—except they were left by keywords instead of people. I just can’t carry on a conversation with Cheap Toilet Seats, Acne Cure, or Wedding Favors.
KeywordLuv allows you to include keyword text with your name. Please use your name (at least your first name or a nickname recognizable as a person). If you wish to include a keyword, insert @Keyword after your name, for example Joe@Cheap Toilet Seats. KeywordLuv will separate your name and keyword; the comment in this example would show as Joe from Cheap Toilet Seats, and Cheap Toilet Seats would be a hyperlink.
Apologies to my regular readers for bringing this up again, but the number of comments I’m marking spam indicates there’s a need for a reminder. I appreciate relevant comments and hate to send good comments to spam.
On the other hand, I will continue to mark as spam comments that aren’t relevant, such as “I appreciate all your points” (on an Advent prayer) and ”I’ve looked all over the Internet to find the answer to my question and this is the only place I found it” (with the exact words left on half a dozen unrelated posts).
Lillie,
Very well said – conversations are about talking with human beings, not corporate entities or business names.
I don’t see how anyone could have any form of civil conversation with a commenter identified only by their business name. But you can have real dialogue with a person who happens to be a representative of that company.
On your last point, I share your frustrations about spammers who patronize bloggers by making some general comment which makes it blatantly obvious that they have not read any part of the discussion at all.
Andrew´s last blog ..Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Thanks, Andrew. I love comments and am blessed with a good number of comments from loyal readers. It’s just so frustrating to waste so much time moderating comments to get rid of all the spam—even on this post!
Hi
I am new here but also a blog owner. I got so annoyed with the amount of spam I got – despite taking the time to implement keywordluv people would still come back and just spam.
Good luck with everything!
Thanks, Olly. I’m sure all bloggers deal with this issue … and all of us are equally frustrated about it.
I definitely agree. Have a wonderful new year.
Jeremy Craven@Homes in Brooklyn, New York´s last blog ..Internist gets condo at Club at Schaefer Landing
Jeremy,
Ironically, I found your comment in spam. It is a generic-sounding comment, but I’ve approved a number of comments from you before so I don’t know why it didn’t get through.
This a problem all of the Bloggers face but thank god somebody made this beauty of a plugin called KeywordLuv. Good to know you are using this plugin. By the way I am new to your blog, nice blog
Thank you, Alex. It’s a shame so many “commenters” (alias for spammers) don’t take advantage of KeywordLuv but just blindly use keywords for names. It’s hard to imagine it would be effective.
Well, in my opinion, a lot of it just has to do with professionalism and common courtesy. Many people venture to the internet to make money online and want to advertise their website EVERYWHERE and they want to do it so fast that they don’t spend time leaving relevant comments or professional information, like a name. People need to learn to treat a business on the internet as you would a shop you owned in your own city. You wouldn’t run around to other stores and shout out the name of your business and leave. You stop by, get acquainted, form a connection with the consumers, and professionally introduce your product/service.
Thats just my opinion though. By the way, I’m a little new here myself and love the blog!
A very good analysis, Gary. People hear about getting rich quick on the Internet and don’t realize making money online is the same as making money online: you have to work at it.
I use Wordpress + Akismet. Akismet captures ~99% of the spam and I bury the survivors manually each time I login.
I figure that a good comment is my pay for hosting a link back to the poster’s web site … and that spam is like trying to pass me counterfeit money. The site my link is pointing to doesn’t yet offer ‘dofollow’, but I have two other sites that do.
Bill in Detroit´s last blog ..If I were Al Qaeda, I’d keep my biscuit trap shut …
Bill,
I use WordPress with Akismet also, but I still find good comments in Akismet and spam in comments. Not nearly as many as would be the case without Akismet, though.
I like your analogy of a comment being payment and spam being counterfeit money.
I do a bit of search engine optimization and internet marketing for my day job, and the sad thing is that keyword stuffing blog comments hasn’t gotten you anywhere, as far as search engine rankings go, since 2004 (maybe earlier). And I can’t imagine anyone reading a blog about writing would be enticed to click on wedding favor’s comment either. Lose, lose!
Lindsay B´s last blog ..The Goblin Brothers and the Pepper Slime Punch
Lindsay,
You’re so right. Why waste the time and effort (or money to pay someone to post spam comments)?
I’m finding it vaguely ironic that I actually do work in the wedding industry. Are we really that bad? Anyway I really liked this post and even better – the comments. I have only just discovered dofollow, commentluv and keywordlov and am as they say luvin them.
It’s lovely to see a post where the comments actually relate to the content of the page. So often even for slightly longer comments they vaguely have something to do with the site’s subject but nothing to do with the actual post.
I’m going to do some more reading now. Really enjoying this.
fiona@A Matter of Wedding Photography Edinburgh´s last blog ..Five Tips to a Successful Scottish Wedding Ceilidh
Thanks, fiona.
No, I don’t think there are any more spammers in the wedding industry than many others. I could have chosen dozens of different industries—I just included the first few things that came to mind. Hope to see you back here commenting often.
The problem with dofollow blog is that once it has a decent amount of PR, people will report your site to webmaster forums as a dofollow blog.
Then, you get bunch of newbie webmasters that think posting comments like “nice post!” would help them rank higher in the SERPs.
Kai@affordable seo services´s last blog ..SEO Tutorial
Kai,
I know DoFollow brings me lots of spam, but I’ll put up that to be able to reward commenters with a DoFollow link.
Hi Lillie,
Yes, I don’t want spam either. I’m fairly new to blogging and just learned about KeywordLuv the other day. Much success to you.
Thank you, Joann. Wishing you great fun and success with your blogging venture.
Commenters are taking advantage on posting comments on dofollow blogs so they can get backlinks and ranked top 1 on Google.
William,
Wonder if they’ll ever learn it doesn’t work?
You are right that none can talk to keywords. I am a new comer to your blog and definitely I like the spontaneous mood and the way you make this comment. Definitely when you are writing blogs you are doing this to share your your own thoughts with people. You would like the idea when somebody tries to make comment on your posting. I can understand your frustration when anyone just come to your site, make comment and leaves other than taking any type of interest in your blogs.But its good that you are having a lot of visitors.You have got loyal followers already.
Thank you, Peter. I am blessed with many loyal commenters, and I really appreciate them. Looking forward to seeing you back again.
Lillie, people fail to read comment policies before commenting. I don’t know why, especially when using keywords only must have gotten them on the spam lists before…
Alina Popescu´s last blog ..Dear songwriters, an accent is cute, bad grammar is not
Alina,
I know … I try to make it easy. The policies are not only stated on the policy page but there is a link at the top of the sidebar to information for first-time visitors (which includes the private policy). And to top it off, the instructions are right above the comment—they have to scroll past the instruction to comment. They just have no clue, and then they probably wonder why they’re not benefiting from all the comments they leave.
just dont worry.. i pray you success for your blog
Sasha Nadya´s last blog ..Evidence that Woman Smarter than Man
Thank you, Sasha. I don’t worry about it, but I do get a little frustrated.
Hi Lillie,
This is very nice post, almost all blogger face the problem of spam comment. Your blog give an idea how to tackle with this problem.
Thank you.
Thanks, Anna. I know comment spam is a universal problem—I just can’t understand why spammers think leaving spammy comments that are going to be deleted anyway does any good.
Yeah that’s true. spammers don’t use names…but we can’t stop spammers…
Benjamin@freelance writing habits´s last blog ..Getting Some Attention
Benjamin,
We can’t stop spammers from leaving spam comments, but I can sure stop those comments from appearing on my blog.
Lillie, I already read your comment policy. I think you right, If we got some letter what ever that like comment, we must know who was send that letter. If we are using our name’s it will prove that we have responsibility to our comment. So we will welcome them. That just my opinion.
lambrateerror@lpgen´s last blog ..Lpgen2 Review
Lambreteerror,
You make a good analogy about letters and comments. We like to know who we’re talking to.
What you did was just the right thing. I also did that on my blog, Even if they have a pretty good comment on my post but they uses keyword as their name I mark them instantly as spam. Who want to have a blog with lots of comment under a name of a keyword
Michael,
I gave them the benefit of the doubt for a long time, and I have a bunch of comments under the names of keywords. But I got more and more aggravated about it and finally said,”No more.”
As most of the other commenters here have said: I agree…talking to people is pretty hard when you don’t know who or what you are talking to.
Eric
Eric@Healthy Eating Diets´s last blog ..Healthy Eating Using Superfoods
Thanks, Eric. It’s nice to know others feel the same way.
I have a multi-pronged approach to cutting down on comment spam.
The first is Akismet. I’ve found that the number of false positives are very low. Typically, I don’t even look at the comments Akismet flags. I’ll check now and then, but I don’t make a habit out of it.
Next is to require that the initial comment anyone makes is moderated. If you leave that open, it just opens the flood doors. The key here is to be careful about who you approve for a comment. First, I make sure the comment is authentic. The “great tips” generic stuff, especially on a blog post that was completely useless, is a dead giveaway. There are other phrases that you recognize after a while too. I will also check out their blog, and if the blog is spammy, their comment won’t get approved even if the comment is otherwise okay.
The other thing is that DoFollow is only enabled for commenters who have met a minimum number of posts. That keeps the one-offs from getting any link love. Plus, my feeling is that it helps, at least in a small way, to reduce some of the comment spam. Comment spammers are usually looking for the DoFollow link, but for a minimal effort. Better to spam 100 blogs once than have to spam 20 blogs 5 times (or whatever the threshold is) to earn that DoFollow link.
I’m probably less lenient now than I was when I started blogging. I typically wouldn’t allow “Cheap Toilets” to comment, but then I probably also might not allow “Joe @ Cheap Toilets” to comment. I’ve made a few exceptions, but I’ve found that those types of commenters tend not to come back anyway.
dcr´s last blog ..Newsflash: TV is Dying
dcr,
Like you, I’m getting less and less tolerant. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but after awhile, it gets old.
Lillie, a lot of people fail to realize that they get a nice trackback to their blog on the URL line provided with each post.
That is why I insist people use their real names and refrain from posting active links within their comments.
Once in awhile I’ll change the name from Used Cars to their real name especially if the comment is relevant and useful. But that becomes work on my part, therefore I am much more apt to simply delete their message. What a shame.
Matt Keegan´s last blog ..Relief Work Begins In Haiti
Matt,
It is a shame to delete relevant comments, but I find I’m deleting more and more these days. A borderline comment that I may have approved in the past gets deleted now.
On the other hand, I have occasionally e-mailed someone who left relevant comments without a name and told them why I marked their comment spam. About half the time, the commenter apologizes and returns to leave relevant comments with their name and have come back repeatedly. The rest of the time the e-mails bounce. But the situations where I go to that trouble are few and only if the comment is relevant.
I think your policy is very fair and your website is full of valuable information.
Besides a link is really only valuable if it is related to your niche. There is no point in commenting on a site such as this and plastering comments with something idiotic like “you can grow taller”
Alan@my own site´s last blog ..Want to Make Money Online? Some Easy Ways to Do so
Alan,
Unfortunately, too many people don’t understand about niches and links. I certainly don’t claim to be an expert, but I understand that a link on my site isn’t of much value to sites that aren’t related in some way. It boggles my mind that porn sites would leave spam on a Christian blog.
Indeed, on my own blog, I often refrain entirely from talking to ‘online casino’ or good old ‘online pharma’. Its just terrible. And as soon as those sort of keywords come up, you know that 9 times out of 10, they’re written by an underpaid asian worker who is simply doing a job, and doesn’t want to help your community at all.
Si@ Leadership´s last blog ..Leadership Skills
Si,
Yes, it’s obvious they haven’t read the post when the comment is totally inappropriate to the content.
I agree to a certain extent that blogs can certainly look very unattractive when they are stuffed full of keywords. Than again that is what keywordluv is for. great post.
polly,
I don’t mind commenters using KeywordLuv as long as they use a name (or a nickname that sounds like something a real person might use) and leave a relevant comment.
I’ve been hit by the cheap toilet seat guy as well. Lately I’ve been getting spamboozled by a Grand Piano Guy.
I’m curious about the keywordluv, do you get more comments than normal?
mike @ Orlando Cars´s last blog ..2009 Toyota Sienna LE PREMIUM
mike,
I tend to get a good number of comments. I’d like to think it’s because of my scintillating posts and electric personality, but I suspect it’s really because of a combination of DoFollow, Keyword Luv, replying to every comment, and monthly thank yous to commenters with another DoFollow link. I have no idea how much can be attributed to each element in that combination; they are synergistic.
Lol well said. I love leaving relevant comments, but I hate when they are marked as spam. Especially when it is something I am really interested in.
Lisa,
It’s a challenge to keep up with comments to approve relevant comments by real people and mark spam correctly.
I think that’s an excellent policy. It’s always bothered me to see comments ( of varying quality ) left by keywords that ( kind of / sort of ) describe a business. It just seems crass, on so many levels.
Personally, there’s a lot more to me than what I do for a living, or what web sites I’ve been involved with… It makes for a bizarre representation of a conversation when comments claim to be from “West Palm Beach Plumber” or something along those lines. Trying to read through a list of comments written by search keywords is like trying to read an ungrammatical sentence; it just forces you to stop and scratch your head for a moment.
Of course, my hippie parents saw fit to give me an unusual name, so watch people start looking suspiciously at what I write…
Forrest´s last blog ..Granite Mountain Lookout
Forrest,
People probably just wonder if you’re Forrest Gump.
It’s hard to stop spam comments, now they get more creative by using good words but of course it doesn’t have any relation with the article. At first I thought they really read my post, but then I realize if they only give spam comments. Now I use WP-spamfree at my blog and it’s quite useful to block the spam comments.
turisana,
Akismet has worked well for me, but recently I seem to be getting more spam not marked spam and legitimate comments marked spam. In fact, your comment was in spam. I checked out your blog to confirm your name, and it was a relevant comment so I don’t know why Akismet caught it unless it was because you wrote about spam.
Individuals should not post the unrelevent comments even I did before yes it’s a bad habit and I would like to say that I am now totally changed, first read the post understand and then comments.
sharon,
I’m glad to hear you’ve changed. It may take a while to restore your reputation in the blogosphere—your comment was in spam. I realize that sometimes new bloggers leave irrelevant comments or use keywords rather than names out of ignorance. That’s why I have written several posts on the topic—otherwise I would just mark all those comments as spam and not try to educate commenters. But people like you can learn when your mistakes are pointed out. After all, no one starts out blogging knowing everything about it, including good manners. The important thing is that you learn and change when you discover bad habits.
I do agree that people make comment for the sake of their links and they do nothing but spamming. I rather suggest to read the post and put on their valuable suggestion so get best from the posts. I really like to read the good post where i get sometime worth learning anf gain in my knowledge. Good luck for the same.
bhawna@shortjokes´s last blog ..Funny Short Jokes.
bhawna,
I also enjoy reading other blogs and commenting. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone felt like you and I do?
Great blog post on spam in comments. I’m personally of the opinion that if you post a comment not related to the article, your comment will be deleted. Thanks
Angie,
Some comments are easily detectable as spam, but some are harder to catch. The ones that really frustrate me are the ones that copy part of a relevant, legitimate comment made earlier by someone else. I catch them easily on recent posts, but sometimes it’s not so obvious on an old post that has received a lot of comments over time.
Spam commenting is an unfortunate reality for blogs today. I feel those types of people are very inconsiderate. Thanks for blogging about this.
Dan,
Inconsiderate and not too bright. They can’t get many results from doing this, and they certainly antagonize a lot of people.
Totally understand, I am also experiencing the same problem on my blog since I made my comments dofollow. I’m basically experiencing spam on a daily basis and frankly I’m getting tired of filtering comments, how I wish they could develop a software that can validly determine a spam comment automatically.
Anyways, as long as that day comes, I’ll have to do it manually. All the best.
Virgel,
There are good spam programs, but as soon as they get it working great, the spammers come out with a new trick. It’s a constant battle of trying to stay one step ahead. I doubt the good guys will ever get ahead and stay ahead.
While I do agree with your points (of course – I have a blog too, so I really know what you are talking about), the one thing I want to comment about is you taking the time to reply to each comment personally. Talking to people instead of talking at them. What a way to build rapport with your readers!
Thank you, Rohit. If someone takes the time and effort to leave a relevant comment, the least I can do is acknowledge it. And often, commenters add information and insight on the topic that I never thought about myself.
Great info on spamming in blog post..every blogger should adapt this..
Glad you found the post helpful, John.
Hey Lillie,
I was drinking my tea, and when I read your line,
“I just can’t carry on a conversation with Cheap Toilet Seats, Acne Cure, or Wedding Favors.”
I about spit out the tea laughing! And it’s so true, without at least a first name, it’s hard to connect with someone. (Are they real? Are they a bot? Who’s on first?)
Thanks for explaining the KeywordLuv — didn’t know what it was all about, and now that I know….I think I’ll try it.
Thanks so much for giving me a chuckle at the end of a long day — appreciate it!
Gail,
Glad to give you a chuckle
as well as useful information about KeywordLuv.
Oh, so that is what KeywordLuv is for. Oops, I guess I’m guilty of putting keywords under the name field. Thanks for showing me the light! Never thought I would learn something new about posting comments, really appreciate it.
Alex,
I’m glad I was able to help you learn something new. That’s why I periodically post about this. Many spammers use keywords and spam intentionally. But there are some commenters, like you, that just need to be informed and will do the right thing. I’m always glad to see that someone has learned and changed.
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