How to Make Your WordPress Blog’s Comments Section More Appealing to the Commenter
Did you know that by default, your WordPress blog has the rel=”nofollow” attribute enabled by default? This means that anybody who comments on your blog will not receive a backlink from your website. It takes time and effort to provide an insightful comment, and many people who comment hope that your blog will in return provide a backlink to their blog for their efforts.
Have no fear! There are many plug-ins available to spruce up your comments section. The plug-ins suggested below will add a lot of functionality beyond the WordPress basic comments feature, and entice your readers to actually leave comments, rather than just read and move on.
Simple Twitter or Facebook Connect
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-twitter-connect/
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-facebook-connect/
Simple Twitter Connect & Simple Twitter Connect are great plug-ins for integrating their respective APIs into your comments section. With these two plug-ins installed, users can connect to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, and leave comments without having to fill in their information.
NoFollow Free
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/nofollow-free/
This plug-in will remove the nofollow attribute from the comment author’s link providing some “link juice” back to the website that the author inputted. The commenter will be pleased to see that they are receiving some gratitude for taking the time to leave an intelligent comment on your blog, hopefully providing some value. The best thing about this plug-in is the ability to allow dofollow links to the comment author’s URL, but will leave the nofollow attribute on any links they try to put into their comment. Another great option is the ability to specify how many comments a single author must leave before they will receive dofollow links.
CommentLuv
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/commentluv/
This plug-in retrieves the latest post from the author’s URL and then the will display the link below the comment if the comment author chooses. This plug-in is a great way to provide a backlink for your readers. CommentLuv is the latest and upcoming trend in improving blog comments. With thousands of blogs already using it, make sure you install CommentLuv before everybody knows what your blog is missing.
SI CAPTCHA Anti-spam
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/si-captcha-for-wordpress/
After you have configured all of the plug-ins mentioned above, you will need a plug-in that reduces the spam emails that will begin to come when every SEO web-bot catches wind of your Dofollow blog. SI CAPTCHA Anti-spam will help prevent automated software from filling out and submitting your form.
On a special note, don’t forget to monitor your comments. If you are going to give “link juice” away, make sure that the comments are worthy, and so are the links! You do not want to find your blog is “guilty by association” by being liked to some undesirable websites. With that in mind, please feel free to leave a comment!
