All across the Internet, comments sections are disappearing.
From your high-profile news sites to those that share the online marketing space, more and more sites are banishing that unassuming little text box at the bottom of a post. And frankly, it’s not hard to understand why.
First, you have your good ol’-fashioned spam comments. These are the commenters that hold dear the idea that those nofollowed comment links are valuable:
The usual.
Spicing it up a bit with some solid industry advice.
Really going for the gold!
Then you have your thin comments. Often left with (we assume) good intentions, they don’t add much value to the discussion:
These poor souls usually end up with a lot of downvotes, and if they receive upvotes, it’s often a clear sign that there’s a nefarious MozPoint scheme afoot.
Sometimes even the best of us are lured by the glamour of spamming:
Finally, lest we forget, you have your inflammatory comments. Those comments that, although perhaps on-topic, are derailing or just downright unkind. We don’t get too much of that here on the Moz blog, thank goodness (or thank TAGFEE), but I’m sure we’ve all read enough of those to last us several lifetimes.
And comment moderation is a thankless, wearying task. Though we fight the good fight, comment spammers are constantly finding ways around our barriers, poking their links into the chinks in our armor. It takes valuable time out of a Mozzer’s busy workday to moderate those comments.
So why are we battling to keep them?
In the beginning, there was the blog.
Before the Moz Pro toolset was even a twinkle in Roger’s optical sensors, Moz was a blog. A community of brave folks banding together to tackle the mysteries and challenges of SEO. If you look back across the years and rifle through the many, many comments, you’ll begin to notice a few things:
- People learned from one another.
- People leaned on one another.
- People networked and cultivated relationships that otherwise may not have blossomed.
Google says they're good for SEO, and I'm not gonna fight with Google.
Now, I don’t want to cheapen the sentiment here, but it has to be said: the smart folks over at Google have made it clear that a healthy, vibrant online community is one signal of a site’s quality. Comments can be considered part and parcel of what constitutes good (nay, even great) content, and have even been spotted in a featured snippet or two.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not one to argue with the Big G.
But there's always been comment spam. Why do you care now?
Comment spam isn’t a new or novel phenomenon. It’s been plaguing blogs almost since the very first public bloggers put fingers to keyboard. Most blog posts on Moz show traces of its corrupt spamalicious influence in the comments section. So what was the catalyst that steeled our resolve?
It just got annoying.
Authors pour heart and soul into crafting their posts. They take valuable time out of their regular work day to engage in the comments section, answering questions and driving thoughtful discussion. They deserve better than a slew of spammers aiming to place a link.
Readers devote hours of their ever-so-precious lives to reading the blog. Some folks even read for the comment conversations alone. They deserve to benefit from those invested hours, to be inspired to join the conversation.
We knew we had to do something. What that was seemed unclear, though.
We began to notice something. When we promoted a YouMoz post to the main blog, it tended to garner more of what we’d call quality comments. Comments with depth, that ask pertinent questions, that respectfully challenge the article in question. These posts came prepackaged with their own discussions already in full swing from their time on YouMoz; often, the first few comments were engaging ones, and they were just as often upvoted to remain on top (the blog auto-sorts comments by popularity).
Conversely, when the first several comments on a brand-new post were thin, spammy, or otherwise low-quality, it seemed to grind any potential discussion to a screeching halt. Internally, our Mozzer authors like Dr. Pete and Rand began to take notice. I received some concerned questions from other frequent contributors. At first, I wasn’t sure how to tackle the problem. After all, we already seemed to be doing so much.
Comment moderation? Check. Certain triggers catch comments in a queue, which we clear out daily.
Subject every comment to approval by an editor? No, that would stymy the natural discussions that make our blog comments section special in the first place. No one should have to wait for my morning meetings to finish before they can engage in intellectual banter with their peers.
Close the comments section? No way. This was never on the table. It simply didn’t make sense; we’re fortunate in that a good majority of comments on the blog are high quality.
It boiled down to the fact that there was the potential for our comments section to nurture not only good content, not only great content, but fantastic content. 10X, if you prefer that term. The most royal darn content outside of Buckingham Palace.
Okay, that might be going a little far. But something incredibly special happens here on the blog. You can ask questions about a Whiteboard Friday and Rand will do his best to answer, thoughtfully refute, or discuss your point. You can get to know your peers in an industry largely cooped up behind a screen half a world away. You can joke with them, disagree with them, metaphorically high-five them. And it’s not limited to a relatively low character count, nor is there pressure to approve the friend request of anyone you’ve just hotly debated.
We had to preserve that.
And that’s when we devised our grand experiment.
We began to seed discussion questions as the first comment.
Inspired by sites like the New York Times with their “NYT Pick” featured comment option, we decided there was a better way.
Marvel at that nifty gold badge!
For one week in August (8/1 through 8/5), I asked authors to contribute a discussion question, something to spark a decent conversation in the comments early on, before you could even say “thanks for the nice post.”
This question would appear at the top of our comments section, the first thing a reader would see after consuming the post and potentially feeling inspired enough to share their thoughts.
Rand kicked it off a little early, in fact, with this zinger on July 29th:
Those upvotes looked mighty promising to a despairing blog editor.
Keep in mind that, for the most part, posting these discussion questions is a very manual process. We don’t currently have the framework built to display a “featured question.” We tend to publish around 12am Seattle time; to get these little puppies in place early enough to make a difference, I would...
- Stay up until midnight
- Assume the identity of the author (with permission, of course) using magical Moz admin abilities
- Publish the comment
- Sneak back to my main account and — yes, here’s the shady bit — thumbs it up to ensure it stayed “on top” for a few hours
I do struggle with the guilt of these small betrayals (that is, gaming the thumb system), but ‘twas for the greater good, I swear it! As you can see from the screenshot above, that high visibility — combined with a ready-to-go thought-provoking question — earned more upvotes as the day wore on. Almost without fail, each seeded discussion question remained the top-voted comment on every post that week. And it seemed to be working — more and more comments seemed to be good quality. Great quality. Sometimes even fantastic quality. (I just shivered.)
What's spam to me might be a sandwich to you.
Now, quality is a very subjective thing. I can’t vouch for the absolute science of this experiment, because it was very squarely rooted in a subjective analysis of the comments. But when we compared the results from our experiment week (8/1 through 8/5) to two separate weeks in which we didn’t make any special effort in the comments (7/18 through 7/22 and 6/27 through 7/1), the results were quite telling.
Cut to the chase — what happened?!
Manually going through the comments section of each post, I tallied how many comments I considered high-quality or useful that were not given by the author, and how many comments I considered so thin or spammy as to be detrimental to the section as a whole.
For the control week of June 27th through July 1st, 26% of total comments were high-quality and 26% were spammy.
For the control week of July 18th through July 22nd, 23% were high-quality and 29% were spammy.
For the week of our discussion questions, August 1st through August 5th, 35% of total comments were high-quality and 11% were spammy.
My subjective, unscientific experiment had great results. Since then, I’ve asked our authors to contribute discussion questions to kick off a good conversation in the comments. Every time, I can anecdotally say that the commentary was more vibrant, more overtly helpful, and more alive than when we don’t meddle.
You like it, you really like it!
Seeded discussion questions far and away have more upvotes than your regularly scheduled top comments. Often they top the double digits, and this very apt discussion question by Gianluca (a long-time supporter and champion of the Moz community) earned a whopping 27 thumbs pointing toward the heavens:
In addition, people are answering those questions. They're answering each other answering those questions. The questions are helping to get the gears turning, adding another layer of thoughtfulness to a piece that you otherwise might be content to skim and then bounce off to another magical corner of the Internet.
The greatest and most humbling triumph, of course, would be to help transform the spammers into supporters, to inspire everyone to think critically and communicate boldly. If even one person hesitates before dropping in a promotional link and instead asks the community's advice, my spirit shall rest easy forevermore.
There's a light at the end of the tunnel.
Sure, there are still comment spammers. There have always been comment spammers. And, though it pains me to say it, there will always be comment spammers. It’s just a part of life we must accept, like the mud that comes along with a beautifully rainy Seattle afternoon or when your last sip of delicious coffee is muddled with grounds.
But I want to give you hope, O ye commenters and readers and editors of the world. You need not sacrifice the intrinsic goodness of a community-led comments section to the ravages of spam. There is another way. And though the night is dark and full of spammers, we’re strong enough and smart enough to never yield, to hold firm to our values, and to nourish what goodness and helpfulness we can in our humble territory of the Internet.
Practicing what I preach, allow me to ask you a couple of questions:
I never suspected a thing. You sneaky Mozzers and your clever ideas! :-)
I love the seeding questions concept, and I doubly love what it's done for the quality of conversations here on the blog. I don't think I've been more active or more interested in the discussions here (even as founder!) since I was the blog's sole/primary author back in the 2004-2009 days. Impressive work Felicia.
That's a hefty compliment! Thanks, Rand :) I love reading our comments sections, and it's been really heartening to see them improve. Thanks for all your support and late-night effort to help with this endeavor -- night owling ftw!
All that aside, part of me is disappointed to welcome in this new age of high quality Moz comments. As well as the example you pulled out from Barack in the main post, I've enjoyed many examples over the years. A price worth paying, nonetheless.
Chin up mate.
I know just how you feel. I would sorely miss the moments of pure irony, and nothing will ever top an invitation to join the Illuminati brotherhood.
I love the practice of seeding questions in the comment section. It makes the comment section more focused. I like when the seeding question asks readers what has worked best in their experience. I love reading what people in different industries and levels of experience give their nuggets of wisdom! I don't think I speak for just myself, but I love when people share their tips and experiences.
I agree -- it's so reassuring to hear advice based on others' real-life experiences. Makes ya feel a little less alone in the eternal struggle for rankings ;) This is fantastic feedback and something I'll champion we speak toward!
I think this is a goog practice and I use it all time. The result is lots of comments and useful contributions of readers. in fact, my blog is based in the feedback of readers.
Regards,
Czd
This new idea of yours is good way to kill the spam comments. And it's a good way to engage. After all, as you said - bloggers work hard not post a piece of information but mingle and learn more from others.
As for the second part - discussion questions should keep on coming, but not unnecessarily. And they should focus on the subject, no need for you act as a spammer by asking irrelevant questions.
Thank you Felicia for having used my "pinned comment" as an example.
Actually this system, which is not new (I remember Mark Traphagen already using it also in his posts on Moz), is useful not only for the owner/moderator of the blog, but also - if not especially - for the same readers.
In fact, I am sure that many of them instinctively want to comment, but they don't know what to say or how to express their comment. Sometimes the reason is psychological, because to comment to a post written by someone like Rand or other author may be intimidating, especially for the rookies :-).
This system, then, is able to help them in giving a way to express what they want to say: it's easier to answer to a series of questions then expressing a 100% original thought, somehow.
As a constant albeit less frequent commenter of the Moz blog, what I learnt with the years is that comments that work the best in terms of appreciation usually have these characteristics:
Doing so, it may even happen to have your comment becoming "more popular" than the "pinned one", which is not only a gratification:
Finally, I leave with a tip:
if you are reading a post about a topic dear to your heart, comment it also as a way to test your own ideas for something you would like to post on your own blog or as a speech.
This is something I do many times as, for instance, in this comment to a Rand WBF: https://moz.com/blog/cant-do-keyword-research-like-its-2010-whiteboard-friday#comment-337125. The success of the comment pushed me to substantially use it for my pitch as Community Speaker at MozCon 2015, and making me win one of the spots.
Ah, I was hoping to earn a comment from you with this post! :)
Spot on with all of your thoughts here, Gianluca. This could be an entire blog post in and of itself! You really hit the nail on the head here: "This system, then, is able to help them in giving a way to express what they want to say: it's easier to answer to a series of questions then expressing a 100% original thought, somehow."
Commenting can be scary, especially in a community where your thoughts and theories can carry a lot of weight. Your final bit of advice is pure gold, and your story with the Moz community is absolutely one of my favorites. :) Kept this in mind the whole time I was writing!
LOL
Mark Traphagen was the one who taught me this technique as well. :)
Since then I've recommended that several of my content marketing clients be the first to leave a comment when they publish something - ideally to post a discussion question, but if nothing else, to reassure readers that the author intends to stay engaged in the comments. It seems to generate more comments as a whole. Definitely a game changer in my mind.
Once I get to Inbox Zero today, I'm definitely going to scour the web for inspiration from Mark -- it's so reassuring to know that this has been practiced and shown positive results before now! It blew my mind just how much of a game-changer it can be. A simple invitation to engage and a few extra minutes of effort seems to have a really worthy impact.
There are still a bunch of measures you could implement:
Apart from the more technical measures, it is a good idea to start the discussion by Moz. It would be nice however that the original poster also does some follow up (and replies) to the comments below the article. This is probably another reason why on YouMoz you get nicer discussions - the author is quite happy to have the article published so he/she closely monitors the discussion. The more established authors don't always do that, and even if they do they sometimes stop answering after a few days
Those are great ideas, Dirk! We're actually working on strengthening our spam filters to catch more comments in moderation, and on a way to better automate the comment moderation process (currently it's a very manual, 11-step nightmare that could be whittled down to two steps). You've brought up some excellent points that I'm going to have to add in. :)
You know, the thing I appreciate about this even more than the reduced spam volume is the transparency.
Most brands would be tinkering with these types of experiments behind the scenes and we'd probably never even notice. I love the fact that you share the changes you've made, the motivation that brought them about and the end result.
It means we can all learn from the changes you've made and it keeps us all feeling like a close community who are part of the Moz journey rather than just some anonymous users who drop by a revenue-focussed site every now and then.
"...it keeps us all feeling like a close community who are part of the Moz journey rather than just some anonymous users who drop by a revenue-focussed site every now and then."
Yes!! You just made this blog editor's day! That sentiment is just the sort that we hope to cultivate more and more. It sounds sort of cheesy, but I've heard a few heartfelt messages from community members over the years whose lives have actually changed tangibly and for the better because of their experience. Maybe their YouMoz post was promoted to the main blog, they received a job offer from a fellow reader, and moved to their dream city. Maybe, like Gianluca mentions above, they had a particularly inspired reaction to a discussion and turned it into a winning pitch at a conference. That kind of stuff is my own end goal, those vignettes of real-world change.
And thank you for saying that about transparency -- one of the big reasons we can do these kinds of tests (and then share the results) is because we have such an honest and respectful community. It's like having that one really good friend you can always count on to both give it to you straight when you mess up, and high-five you when you've done well. :)
"...I've heard a few heartfelt messages from community members over the years whose lives have actually changed tangibly and for the better because of their experience. Maybe their YouMoz post was promoted to the main blog, they received a job offer from a fellow reader, and moved to their dream city."
I don't doubt that for a second. Like so many, the Moz Beginngers Guide to SEO was my first step into this industry 3 - 4 years ago. I then went on to fact-check against other sites (and continually prove Moz advice to be accurate). From there it was countless Whiteboard Fridays and blog consumption which took me from having 'heard of SEO before' to be reaching a point where I could begin to apply it and continue expanding my knowledge.
That was my entry into this industry and I'm now one of the original partners of our firm that we've grown from 2 guys in a living room to having recently passed 100 simultaneous, recurring campaigns last month with a team of 15 and growing.
The way this community is handled is the reason I keep coming back; what is has allowed me to achieve is why I spend as much time as I can giving back via Q&A (and everybody loves Moz swag, right? Roger has pride of place on my desk!)
The Internet is a cold, harsh place and nurturing something so special is no easy feat - it doesn't go unnoticed!
I love happy stories like these. Congratulations on all your hard work bearing fruit -- that is truly something to be proud of! Just think -- your interest and proactive attitude both grew your career and made it possible for 15 other folks to grow theirs. That's huge. Totally adding this to my internal list of warm, fuzzy success stories. Thanks for sharing :) (And thanks for your good work in Q&A -- way to pay it forward!)
Thanks Felicia, it's pretty exciting and certainly something we're proud of.
I look forward to finally meeting some Mozzers face to face at MozCon 2017!
Sparmers will in all communities that allow comments are social networks, blogs, websites, etc. For me the most annoying are those who want to sell their products leaving a link in the description of the comment itself. This is extremely annoying.
However, removing these items for my other comments are valuable. It indicates that people enter and interact with the website. It is true that some comments just add value. But this is a question of, the same for you as a reader will not bring anything, but some kudos to someone who is writing his first articles if you relieved that your contribution has been read, recommended and discussed.
My comments raise interest me most are those that a novice or student asks a group of professionals on the same subject being addressed. Thanks to them we learn more and more interaction there. I know sometimes they do something stupid questions (are those that are worth more to them), but all are necessary to develop best professionals. Perhaps I empathize with this group a lot because I consider myself a novice for example in the SEO. Read all MOZ post daily to teach me more in this area than I like.
A cordial greeting.
I absolutely agree -- some of the most interesting comments are when folks reach out hoping to learn or asking for some further enlightenment on the subject. Seeing people of all experience levels reach out to one another and grow is incredibly gratifying. There's really nothing better than watching someone in the community move from being the one asking the beginner-level questions to someday answering them with confidence :)
Felicia's Gift Of Writing
Only Felicia could write an article on [Content Spam (jedi mind tricks)] that is SO stinking fun to read!!!
"Before the Moz Pro toolset was even a twinkle in Roger’s optical sensors, Moz was a blog." & "You like it, you really like it!" --Among other Felicia-isms made me actual LOL. Thank you!
Seriously, how do write so brilliantly? ...I sometimes daydream about you doing crazy things to spark your creative writing...like drinking warm Vitamin D milk, teaching your dog tricks to Neil Diamond lyrics, and moonwalking to the bus every morning. :)
Moz Blog Comments
Feels like just yesterday (2012ish?) when Rich Staats and I were hanging out at Secret Stache discussing how enlightening Moz's comment section was. I remember asking Rich a question about a post and he said, "Well did you see the comments?" and when I said no he replied, "What?! You've got to read the comments! That's usually the best part!"
He was right. Just when I thought I had learned so much within a single blog post, the discussions that followed would further expand my thinking (sometimes 10 fold).
There were certain comment sections (this is...erm, embarrassing) that I remember printing out, highlighting, and putting in a binder! Yes, a binder!!! <--Remember when "binders full of women" was the worst thing we had ever heard a candidate say?!?...*sigh* I digress.
John Zabkowicz said it brilliantly above! After someone gives a speech, there are (hopefully) follow up questions. This is where the magic, clarification and relationships happen.
Whether or not you laugh out loud is a key success metric I track for posts. It's baked right into 1Metric, even ask Dr. Pete. :D
This comment definitely made my day -- it's so good to hear these kinds of stories. I love that historically the blog has been a space for people to expand and maybe even improve upon what you can learn from a single post, and that maybe, juuuuust maybe, we can bring it back around to that point -- consistently & confidently!
Nice post. Learned a lot.
https://moz.com/
Ahh, I've been patiently waiting for you to slip up, Jordan... I knew it would happen sooner or later. Away, to comment moderation!
Great article. Content is king. Just kidding!
I love the idea of seeding questions in the comment section. It sparks discussion, but it also helps to shine a light on additional thoughts the author may have had but was unable to communicate in the body of the article.
After reading this article I've come to believe that creating this seedling should be the responsibility of the person writing the article.
When you think of an article in terms of someone presenting to an audience it shouldn't be much different than watching a presentation in person. What slide do you see after the end of every presentation? The almost obligatory "Questions?" slide. The speaker has just spent the past 5, 10, 20, 60 minutes taking up your time to talk about a specific subject. Assuming it had some good content naturally there should be questions. Seeding these questions kick starts the conversation while getting the audience to give some more thought to the topic.
Haha! You almost got me there ;) You draw an apt comparison between live presentations and written media. Love that point!
I'm really grateful to the blog authors who have helped with this project to date, and for those who (I sincerely hope!) will continue to help spur better comment discussions. Hopefully we can build the right framework to include a "featured comment" or "discussion question" that can be pinned to the top of the comments, and make the process easier to participate in overall!
I didn't suspect anything either. I'm so glad that you didn't consider ditching the comments - in my eyes, Moz is all about the blog, and the blog is all about the discussion in the comments. If you'd given the comments the boot, the blog just wouldn't be the same. It's funny that you use Search Engine Land as an example - I'd wondered when their comments had disappeared and reading their articles just doesn't seem the same anymore with that element now missing...
I hate spam
Me too, friend. Me too.
Me three - kidding. Please don't ban my account.
After reading, I instantly got some phobia commenting short opinions.
Haha! Oh gosh, not my intention, I'm so sorry. Sometimes the short opinions are the best :D When we look at comment quality during moderation and consider whether it's MozPoint-gaming spam or honest commentary, it's usually defined by a pattern -- lots of "nice posts" or placed links in a short time frame, and often targeting old posts from months or years ago.
This post by Rand applies to all kinds of content, from posts to videos to even comments. :)
Honestly, I've tried this commenting thingy when I was a baby and I've seen the presence of those domains in my Google search console. I stopped the boring routine after reading some updated articles that call us as dumb and stupid optimizers. LOL
Yet, until now, I'm still in doubt if no-follow links really have no value to Google's algo. Because why are there people still pushing through their old conspiracy theory.
Well anyway, content is still king.
Haha! Well, it's an always-evolving game; you've got to try things to see if they work, succeed or fail. :) Kudos to you for making that decision to refocus your efforts elsewhere — that can be tough to do, especially when it's an established part of your routine.
I can't speak to how the Great and Powerful Google views nofollowed links myself, but (though you've probably already read these, they're from 2014) we've published some pieces in the past that examine a nofollow's value:
https://moz.com/blog/how-i-learned-to-stop-worryin...
https://moz.com/blog/the-hidden-power-of-nofollow-...
Thanks, Felicia. You yourself is a great commenter. Aha! I hear the sound of your voice whenever I read your comments and posts. I think it's something that separates auto spam bots from real humans. :)
I read this article with interest because I wasn't sure that i'd agree with it. Comments are so subjective as you say...
Personally I prefer short snappy comments that make just one point. I do not have time to read long rambling comments with several paragraphs. I prefer the ones that state a point and then allow for a response, not leave an essay that takes an age to rebutt.
Let me congratulate you on making a keen, concise point about making keen, concise points :D
It can be exhausting to read through super long pieces of content; I'm definitely guilty of being a renowned skimmer in my off hours. It'd actually be interesting to study which lengths of comments tend to spark livelier, longer discussions -- my money would be on the short & snappy ones!
Blog commenting has been trend for SEO professionals where they build keyword reputation through spam commenting. I appreciate Felicia Crawford article who put this topic because comment express feedback or tips not for spam link building. We need to take a stand for these kind of activities but we are silent because we are also include in these activities.
Spammers must be punished. But ignoring others is just not the way out.
Last comment for the day - a good read. I have been following MOZ since long, and still come back as you fellas have the knowledge, you also know how to make your content spicy and worth reading:)
Great read Felicia! (and imagine if I stopped with this. Now that would've been hilarious. Though I see some folks have already beaten me to it,but apparently for other reasons entirely)
I love the fact that Google pays attention to thriving comment sections. They represent community, dedication, verification of good ideas... I love the comment section as a site owner and I love it more as a visitor. Your post has just reminded me of this.
As for solving spam, regardless of whether or not seeded discussion questions work, I'm not exactly a fan. They kind of guide the course of the discussion- one that might have developed differently if not for the comment.
The call to action, can instead be embedded within the post itself. Or more precisely, a different question/call to action after every section of the post. Questions can be asked there, and left as seeds with the help of which the reader might come up with an additional issue/idea/concern.
This is not really up my alley, but how about a deep learning algorithm that can be trained within a closed and heavily observed environment first, i.e. a members' section? How hard would that be? Can it be done at all?
Certain values can be assigned upfront for example, derived from years and years of experience about how spammers operate on membership platforms.
Oh, and while awaiting for moderation is not really user friendly, it's totally understandable if it's only for the first 2-3 comments, especially if they don't surpass a certain length, include links, use certain words and phrases...
I suppose there may be a danger that we kill off spontaneity by directing comments too firmly with the seeding concept.
If for example I had wanted to make some observations that were nothing to do with the initial seeds on this post, I may have been put off. I might think that my comments, however valid they might be, could be interpreted as 'off topic'. By seeding are we not basically saying, 'you may comment on the following' or 'you may answer these questions'. It might be a trifle stifling?
I suspect that this is a minor consideration bearing in mind the overwhelming evidence of the success of the idea!
Actually, those are really great points -- it very well could build a barrier to spontaneity if we aren't careful. I hadn't considered that before, but I'm so grateful you brought it up -- and hey! Look at the spontaneity in your comment, going off the traveled path and presenting a new idea! We're going to have to work hard to keep avenues for unique perspective open, too :)
Hi Felicia,
I think it make more sense to add these seed question just at the start of any discussion, the reason is this helps to get more point of views from other folks. This way we learn and we see the different prospect of the same point. I think, this is initiative is good one. Good Work.
Thanks so much, Ikkie! Varied perspectives are integral to the health of any active discussion. Great point :)
While the ratio of high-quality to spammy comments has improved, are you seeing fewer total spammy comments or just more comments in total (with the increase being of the high-quality kind)?
We're seeing fewer immediate spammy comments (they tend to pile up as time goes on, however, as spammers will target older posts for those sweet, sweet MozPoints) and more comments that are high-quality and contribute to the discussion at hand, but not necessarily more comments overall. Sometimes it seems that's a pleasant side-effect, but not a rule. I'll take quality over quantity any day, though! :)
Thanks for sharing. But let's not forget why we're all gathered here. I just want o share a link to my seo website with you and I also hope that you will make this link a dofollow. I will post one under each article, this is my link-builing strategy!
Honestly though, I do believe that there are people who pay money for linkbilding and all they get are lousy forum posts like "best baby dress online you can shop here friend - website.com", and the forums are usually irrelevant to the website. Good job on getting rid of those.
I definitely didn't suspect anything and am excited that you guys are making such a big effort to keep the community going. It saddens me that a lot of the other big publishers in this space have removed the comments section. Especially as a writer myself, I really want to hear questions and feedback from the community!
I'm so happy to hear this perspective! That natural interaction between authors and readers is so important. And fun to read, speaking as a total comment lurker. :D
I sooo wanted to post something spammy here! Just to keep you on your toes ;) But alas, I didn't have the heart. Love the new approach, although it seems like lots of extra work for the author to not only write the article but tack on an additional spiel with questions to help shape the conversation. One other thing I've always wondered, are some comments actually spammy or just bad English from SEOs that reside in foreign countries?
Oh, the spam will come to keep me on my toes for sure -- I think I already see some at the bottom of the post ;)
"One other thing I've always wondered, are some comments actually spammy or just bad English from SEOs that reside in foreign countries?"
I'm so glad you addressed this question, because it's something I think about a lot (I spend a lot of free time thinking about comment quality, haha). I think it's really easy for folks to casually write off commentary or questions that aren't written in perfect English as spammy, perhaps because it can take some extra processing power to comprehend the heart of the reply. But when assessing the quality of comments, I try to discern the intent behind the comment -- is this person striving for better understanding? Are they contributing meaningful depth? If I tried to express the same thing in Spanish or Italian, would I be even half as successful? That last question usually leaves me humbled and full of respect for people who put in even more effort to read a marketing blog in a non-native language and participate in the community!
A really long-winded reply, I know, but I hope collectively as humans we learn not to equate broken English (or broken Spanish, or broken Italian, etc) with spam -- imagine the ideas we could be missing out on! :)
Oh wow! I had no idea about this experiment! :-) Thanks for sharing. I think the discussion questions are wonderful. To be honest though, some of them are so technical that I struggle with answers (I end up skipping such questions!)
Thank God, MOZ haven't killed the comments, yet. To not forget what I read and what I have to say, I'll be commenting as I scroll down to the bottom.
So, yup we do receive spam comments. More spam now than ever, I guess. So, what? Let the spammers do the job. You've the control to approve the comments.
Why do we get spam comments, even when they usually don't get an approval? Does (just) link-sharing makes a huge difference to them?
Does liking a comment or a post affect your ranking?
How about the spam that almost all f us keep getting in that junk/inbox of ours. It is literally caused some serious trouble as I was the unfortunate one of clicking on one of those links and almost got my personal accounts hacked. Though I now use PureVPN to guard my privacy but still there remains some places for spammers to squeeze in. What about that?
Yeah, writers do like to engage with their audience. But to be honest, I have seen very few. People do post blogs or share them and not just blogs or their own write-ups, but they also post other content grabbing our attention, and we do respond. But, then those bloggers disappear. They ignore as if they don't care. This ain't also a good thing. And to tell you the truth, since that one THUMB UP and one THUMB DOWN button showed up, people use it as the scroll down. And it doesn't matter very much.
What do you have to say about it?
Hello Felicia,
I have few questions regarding your post.
1. Do nofollow links matter in passing juice? As this commenting has nofollow links
2. Is PA of any page matter as PA of this page is 1, means do not have any authority but DA is 91, so would it share a link juice?
3. Why don't you like links in the comments but Neil Patel on his blog has auto approve commenting system and people sometimes share links.
Please tell me because I am trying to build quality links for my blog, so it shall be useful for me.
Hi Junaid, those are really great questions -- I'd actually recommend asking them in the Q&A, because the topic's a bit deeper than what can be covered in a comment. Here are a couple resources that might help you out in the meantime:
https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/growing-pop...
https://moz.com/blog/20-attributes-influence-link-...
https://moz.com/community/q/does-blog-comments-lin...
https://moz.com/blog/comment-marketing-as-an-inbou...
As for #3, sometimes links in the comments are okay -- I put a couple in above! The difference is that these links are relevant to the topic and provided to help someone understand or answer their question. The vast majority of links we see in comments are self-promotional and off-topic. Because the comments section is here to foster discussion and spark new ideas, we really, really don't want self-promotion to take over and drive away the folks who want to learn or discuss. I confess I don't spend much time on Neil Patel's blog, but here at Moz we mix automation and human curation when it comes to the comments section, and usually determine whether each comment/link is valuable to the discussion one by one. Of course, there are many more comment spammers than Mozzers watching for them, and some slip through the cracks. Perhaps something similar happens on Neil's blog!
finally someone made a blog post dedicated to these spammers ha! i always notice them lurking below selling viagra and other non relevant stuffs and they just pollute a certain great post published with a respond like "KK" "OK GOOD" "GREAT POST" and the list goes on.
Nothing in this world is certain but spammers and taxes. :) So far, there have only been two spammy comments on this post in particular that we've caught in moderation, and both were definitely trying to sell unrelated products -- I sure wish they'd read the whole thing! :)
First things first, there was nothing at all to doubt about with your experiment. Secondly, I too have noticed and experienced that seeding discussions questions has actually improved the quality of comments and discussion. Though I have also left quite common and generic comments on some of the posts, I believe after reading this post, people will now seriously think before posting any sort of comment here, including me. Taking this in a positive way, it is certainly going to improve the thought process and analytical skills of the people as well. Cheers!
I love this, Himanshu! I don't think people should be scared to post comments at all (it is really humbling and sweet to see authors receive honest praise for a post, and even simple, short responses can be powerful), but it would be fantastic to boost inspiration and analytical thinking across the board! It'll be fun to see what happens moving forward. :)
You got me right Felicia! Cheers!
The problem of comment spam is a big problem and a lot of websites have resorted to blocking comments altogether even though they are running a WordPress blog. I have noticed that all profile pages are noindexed now. Though this move will make no difference virtually to people who comment to add value to the discussion and get noticed because they add value to the discussion, I think that some spammers will spam anyway.
thx for best article
Fantastic and valuable post. thanks for sharing. keep sharing
The Blog of Moz, has the record of spam comments in the whole internet, a million times you can read "Thanks for the article or brillian article" to get a point for your profile. ;) xDDDDDD
PD: The articles are greats, always, but we already know it.
Yeah, but we've gotten pretty good at removing those (still a ways to go, but the thumbs down really helps us ID them, so keep using it please!)
@Webtematica, that's audience (readers) who do comments, Not Mozers, so we should care world's no 1 website Moz.com and shouldn't spam by posting non sense comments.
Still, spammers have no room here, either they keep spamming and mozers keeping removing them. OR Spammers, just stay away.
Thank you !
Couldn't have said it better myself! As long as we're speaking to the spammers, I'll even add this: Spammers, you're already in a community chock full of thousands of experts and kind people willing to give of their time. Ask them for help! I bet your marketing efforts will bear better fruit after a little elbow grease and learning :)
Well said Felicia !
You know, the thing I appreciate about this even more than the reduced spam volume is the transparency. Most brands would be tinkering with these types of experiments behind the scenes and we'd probably never even notice. I love the fact that you share the changes you've made, the motivation that brought them about and the end result.
One type of spammy comment I failed to mention in the main post: the ones that copy and paste parts of other folks' original comments. Plagiarism makes me sad :( Please don't do this, I'd almost RATHER you include a link to Atlanta's Best Gutter Cleaning Service 24/7!
You can't make this stuff up!
Thanks for te article. I hope learn a lot in this community.
For a good seo I prefer cuality than cuantity. And the time give us the reason.
I like this article about spam comment in blog because I still see comments like nice post, great article and other that I don't to mention anymore in other blog sites. What makes me more puzzled is how they are being approved when I see no useful view from their comment.