Is it rude to leave links to your blog, or one of your blog posts, in a comment on someone else’s blog post?
Some people seem to think so. I’ve noticed some discussion on blogs and Twitter recently where people were being coached to “never-ever-ever” do this because it was rude and inappropriate. Really? I was already pondering how far we’ve come from “the good ole days” of blogging when someone left me a link for something they thought I’d be interested in.. and practically apologized for it.
Okay, that’s it. It’s time for an intervention.
The Classic Housewife’s List of Rules for Proper Link-Leaving in Other People’s Comment Sections
If a blog comment form includes a box for your website/blog address, it’s okay to leave one.
These types of comment forms automatically link the comment author name to the comment author’s blog. This allows the blog author and other commenters to click through to the comment author’s blog and return the favor, get to know more about that blog author, etc. Leaving your url here should never be considered rude because that’s what it’s for. (If your blog has a url box in the comment form and you don’t want one, a few simple edits in the code can fix that for you. Really, really.)
If a blog comment form does not include a way for you to leave a comment in any way other than “Anonymous” (because you aren’t on the right blogging platform, etc.), it’s okay to leave a signature – and link it.
I’ll be honest, my opinion on this one stems from the fact that blog author hasn’t created a way for people from other platforms to leave a comment in any other way. But that’s a etiquette topic for another post. I don’t see any harm in leaving a linked signature in cases like this if a.) you really are leaving a sincere comment and not an empty one AND b.) you really did enjoy the blog, would like to keep reading the blog and get to know them better. BUT.. if you do, please know that using HTML to link your name or blog name is a MUST– because long urls in a comment box can be unsightly and cause problems for some blog themes, hanging off into or under the sidebar. Also, not linking means someone has to copy/paste the url. Linking makes it easier for the blog author to visit your blog if they so choose.
If a blog comment form does allow you to comment with your name, but does not include a place to include your blog link, you might want to rethink leaving your link in the comment area.
There may not be a good reason why a blog author doesn’t include a way to link your comment author name to your blog. It may just be the way their blog theme came. Or they may have done it on purpose, and you just never know. In cases like these I opt NOT to leave a link, UNLESS.. I really really want to share something I have written that is directly related to the discussion at hand. Again, using html to link it the name of the blog post is a must. Avoid leaving long gibberish url links in comments for the sake of the blog author.
Just a thought: if you have your blog set up like this on purpose, it wouldn’t hurt to go a step farther and add a line above the comment entry form saying, “no links, please.” That would clear things up nicely.
If you have a blog post that you really want to share (yours or someone else’s), that you think REALLY adds to the conversation, you should go ahead and leave a link for it, but…
You should know that a.) you might catch flack for it, b.) your comment may get deleted for it and c.) it would be wise to SAY in your comment “This post really sheds some light on why that is,” or “I’ve been reading the same thing from other people” or “I posed the same question to my readers and this is the answer I got.” You get the idea. Most blog authors just really need to know that you really do just want to add to the conversation and not just leave a bunch of links lying around their blog.
You should also know that:
- If you leave links in comments, in most cases it’s not likely to help your SEO any so don’t just run around and leave a bunch of links in comments hoping it’s going to land you on the front page of Google.
- If you do run around and leave a bunch of links in comments on lots of blogs in the same circles, people are going to start noticing and you’re likely to lose some followers and traffic, too.
- If you get a comment with a link in it (and it’s obviously not spam – just delete those fishy ones), most likely the commenter had good intentions – so why not give them the benefit of the doubt?
- If you have WordPress and you use the Akismet plugin. You will almost never ever ever ever get a spammy comment that actually makes it to your blog comments section. Not even the fake ones. (You WILL on occasion get a legitimate comment that ends up in the spam bin, but you can rescue those.)
And last but not least you should also know by now that you can’t please everybody.
No matter which side of this “debate” you’re on, you’re going to get comments from people who do it differently, and comment on other people’s blogs who don’t agree with you. That’s just how it works. But really – is leaving links in comments really worth getting all in a tizzy?
Not in my opinion. Not on my blog.
So, please…If you ever have something of interest to share, leave a link, I don’t care. (If you’re just gonna “pitch” it, then you can just skip it.)
Other blog posts on (both sides of) this topic:
- Comment Etiquette for Do Follow Blogs
- BlogHer – Is adding your blog address in a comment rude? (Read the comments, too!)
- The Blog Etiquette Your Mom Didn’t Teach You
And remember – this is just MY opinion. What’s yours?
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/ / CC BY 2.0
I like when people leave comments that include somewhere a link to their blog (either their name as the link or the blog main page linked in the comment). That tells me a little more about who is commenting and gives me an opportunity to visit their blog and possibly create an online friendship. Those connections would never be made without linking up. What annoys me is the people who leave a comment and then a link to a random post that has nothing to do with the topic. That tells me that the person is not interested in what… Read more »
Rachel – Agreed. I think you can tell when are people are trying to add to the conversation and when people are just looking for an excuse to leave a link. Which is one reason why I don’t understand the “all linking is bad” movement. In my mind “all linking” is not bad.. because like you, I enjoy being able to click on an author’s name or signature and head over to their blog. (I guess I’m lazy like that.) =)
I so agree with you girls.
The only time it starts to annoy me is if I have a commenter who seems to ONLY comment when it gives them an opportunity to link to a post on their own site. Feels self-serving and gets frustrating after a while! 🙂
Kristi – “Self-Serving” Yes. And I’d also like to add that one reason I like to encourage linking in my comments is that (on the other side of that coin) I don’t want to be “self-serving” for my own blog and say “no linking, all links on my blog are my links.”
I WANT to present the opportunity for readers to share other articles they’ve read or written. I’m all about sharing the link love. =)
Hi. I found your post via Kristi Stephens on Twitter. You know this is something I’d not thought about before but I do think it’s good to have some general rules of etiquette. I personally don’t mind if people leave a link to something they think would be pertinent to the topic of the blog but I suppose if someone were to leave a link that was not helpful to the discussion it could be annoying. Thanks for sharing this and the food for thought.
Kristine – thanks for your thoughts. I hope I don’t come across like I spend TONS of time thinking about comment etiquette. ;0) It’s usually something I don’t think about, either, and it’s something that *you’d think* most other people would just use good manners for and not make a big deal over. But after seeing some people make a big deal out of it, well.. I guess it just bugs me to think that some bloggers who take issue with it might be making other bloggers feel bad for doing it. And I want my readers, at least, to… Read more »
😉
I tend to be hesitant to leave a link b/c I myself don’t like it when people stop by saying “Hi. Neat site. Come check out mine! (link)” It seems, like y’all were saying above, “self-serving.” I feel like, “neat site??” that means you probably glanced at it long enough to get to the comments box and leave a link to YOUR blog. Even in the digital world, people want to feel valued, not used…
Emily – I know what you mean, and that’s why a lot of people have swung in the general direction of “don’t do it.” Because they’ve had too many comments like that. But then in the process of laying down a blanket rule, people on that side of the debate cut off a good ole fashioned bloggy method of sharing and relating to each other. Sure, you could send the blog author an email if you want to share a link – but what about the others involved in the conversation? There’s something good and original with people seeing other… Read more »
I love it when my readers leave a link to their site in the space provided. If I don’t know them, I always click over to their blog and put a face with the name. It’s really nice. I also don’t mind when someone leaves a link to a post they wrote that contributes to the conversation. But I have in the past, when I had more readers, gotten commenters who would just come on and constantly link to their own site and things they had written. It just isn’t good etiquette, as you would say. 🙂 I actually wrote… Read more »
“I actually wrote a blog post about this topic myself” – You made me laugh out loud! For a whole minute! =)
Thanks for coming over to “meet” me! (See – links in comments are a good thing.) ;0)
And knowing that someone came over to meet me is always incentive to return the favor. (So I’m still trying to understand why some people think that even “Nice” linking is a bad thing.) =P
This is one of those things that just can’t be blogged about enough. I say this right after I just finished moderating my blog comments for this morning and deleted at least 5 useless comments that were about absolutely nothing. It is fine to comment on blogs to help increase your SEO, but you should indeed, at least have the common sense and enough courtesy to read the post you are leaving a comment on. Then ensure that you are leaving an intelligent and timely comment that relates to the post at hand. By the way Amber, many thanks for… Read more »
And let’s not forget the CommentLuv plugin, which automatically adds the commenter’s last post to the end of their comment. I LOVE that. I love getting new readers from it, and I love being able to find new blogs through theirs. I’m like you. I am totally open to following a good link if it is shared on a topic of discussion. 🙂 Good post!