ContentLog.com

It happens all the time. You have your blog up and running. You’re writing interesting stuff and you’re even getting some attention. All of a sudden there’s a flood of comments on your site. Having comments helps a blog look busier, so everyone wants to get comments.

But comment spam like:

Get Rich Quick! Visit my site at…
Want to meet girls?! Visit www…
Low cost morgages for anywon! Check out www.

Grrrrr - these aren’t comments, they’re unpaid ads, taking up space on your site.(*and yes, they frequently have misspellings like the third one!)

It makes your blood boil. How dare they!? What right do they have, cluttering up your comment section with their advertising!

Comments that are off-topic and blatant ads are annoying. Most comment spam is self serving claptrap that needs to be deleted, and doing so is just the cost of doing business in the blogosphere.

But lately a new breed of blog comments have started arriving at blogs all over the web. Comments like:

“Nice job - keep up the great work!”
“I really enjoyed this post and I’ll be back often!”
“Wow, you really made me think. Thanks for the insight!”

Unfortunately, these comments are not from legitimate readers, but instead they’re from some pharmaceutical or casino site just trying to get free links.

You see, some comment spammers have even gotten clever, writing praise and reasonable comments that a blog owner would hesitate to delete, hopeful that maybe, just maybe, they’re legitimate comments. This tactic ensures that the sites get free links all around the blogosphere.

But you can turn the tables, you can use some comment spam to your advantage, and it’s amazingly simple. Keep the comment, delete their link. You’ll get the benefit of a good comment without the spammer profiting at your expense. I even go so far as to replace their link with “Auto-Deleted by http://www.ArticleMarketer.com” - why not make it a self-serving link in the process?

If the link was from a legitimate reader who really intends to “come back often”, you’ll get a note by email or a follow up comment that protests your change. When you find out it’s a real person who really liked what you said, you can make the decision to put the link back.

I personally have no trouble allowing legitimate links from my blog. That’s what makes the blogosphere interesting.