Polite SEO For Link Building
This post is about polite SEO; don’t ask, all will become clear in a minute or two.
I have to laugh, someone left a comment on this blog for about the fifth time now, and their email address and website were for different domains so I decided to take a look.
The web link left was for a blogging package (installation of WordPress, blog optimisation and blog training video tutorials amongst other things) from a company that is pretty well known across the web.
However, the email address was for a different domain so I decided to pay the website a visit. I found a company website for ‘search engine optimisation and link building specialists‘.
I looked around and found their link building service and this includes blog commenting.
This is how they sell their service:
We find related blogs that match your service and then leave regular comments.
By leaving regular comments we add value to the community and earn you quality blog traffic and optimized links.
Here is my problem with this; they use different email addresses (but with the same domain), different Gravatars and leave various keywords for their names, this in my opinion makes them no different from a spammer.
It states that they add value but all they essentially leave is a quick sentence that is loosely related to the blog post, meaning that they either didn’t read it or they cannot provide anything of value.
The other issue I have is that I clearly state in my comment policy and in the comment snippet below that a ‘real name’ must be used. Leaving a comment with a name like ‘blog coaching’ will only have your message deleted or I will remove the name and put in a first name of my choosing (and the URL will certainly be removed).
They are billing their service as a relationship building service but all they have done is repeatedly annoyed me by ignoring the box below that states clearly that I love to receive comments but you must us a real name. Simple!
If you are using this sort of service to build ‘quality inbound links‘ to your website then I’d seriously consider a better use of your money because you may just be severing relationships with people without realising it.
Link building can be very fruitful when done properly, blog commenting can be a great source of getting optimized links. If you are looking to get a quality search engine optimised link from blog commenting then find blogs with Keyword Luv enabled, then you can drop a link with your keywords without annoying anyone (this is just polite SEO! 
)
If you are outsourcing your link building, at least give the company a detailed list of do’s and don’t's.
To your success,
Karl Foxley
P.s. If you are reading this and are from the ‘link building’ company, please stop wasting your time here!
Okay, so I completely, out of habit, always use my main keyword for my name “SEO Writer” as you might have noticed in your other post. Sorry..:D, On the other hand, I do agree that finding sites with the keyword luv deal is a good thing. My site is less of a blog and more of an informative site with the blog look so that people don’t just go there and say “boring!”; I’ve managed to have the same thing happen to me in the past and just got annoyed too.
In any case, great post on polite seo Karl.
Tony
Hey Tony, it’s a pleasure to have you around and I’ll be sure to come visit and read what’s going on over at your site.
Karl
Great post Karl and I think you get to the heart of the matter when you talk about adding value.
As a digital marketer myself using blog commenting isn’t something I do much of for clients. The reality is I can’t console myself with the ‘I’m adding value’ attitude when I am dropping links for clients on blogs because I personally feel that it is something the client should be doing.
Clients know their own business inside out so my approach is to find blogs and relay them to the client to action themselves.
If the blog is good enough for the client to engage with then the comments will be good and this can often open up a guest blogging opportunity which as you know can generate powerful contextual links.
Like you say, the example you cite is just spamming so why bother pretending otherwise? There are plenty more ways to do that if that is your boat.
Great site by the way.
Hi Jason,
‘The reality is I can’t console myself with the ‘I’m adding value’ attitude when I am dropping links for clients on blogs because I personally feel that it is something the client should be doing,’ this is something that I seem to be going backwards and forwards on with one of the clients we white-label for.
I am great at finding niche related sites to share with clients but I can not begin to share their knowledge or enthusiasm for their product(s) or service(s). This would equate to wasting a lot of time trying to write a meaningful comment or leaving a simple ‘great post’ or ‘thank you’ that provides no value and is unlikely to generate any interested visitors.
I look forward to chatting with you further about our shared interests.
Regards,
Karl