Commenting on others peoples blog or website is probably one of the simplest form of creating communication channels and driving traffic back to it, but considering the amount of time and effort needed for it to become effective, it’s often considered inefficient and a poor strategy as most businesses often implement it by spamming other sites.

Still, why do you think many successful bloggers or businesses still use this tactic?

Because once done properly, it becomes one of the most powerful weapons in a bloggers arsenal in driving traffic to his blog or website, building credibility in his niche, established his brand and, cultivating strong long lasting relationship with its readers and Industry Influencers.

Imagine done routinely and religiously, say 5 times a day, you’ll have 1825 healthy organic links in a year that will drive traffic to your blog or website which may then turn into leads and conversion.

So what should be your objectives?

A. To establish credibility and build Brand Trust.

Comments aren’t only used to express ones opinion but also establish ones credibility in his niche.

Giving bite size informative comment is probably the simplest way you can show your expertise in a given field, establish your brand and in turn build trust to your potential customer or key influencers.

So why does building Trust and one’s personal Brand so important?

In a study made by Carlos Flavián and Miguel Guinalíu, Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Zaragoza, entitled “Consumer Trust, Perceived Security and Privacy Policy: Three basic elements of loyalty to a web site” there finding state that “an individual’s loyalty to a web site is closely linked to the levels of trust. Thus, the development of trust not only affects the intention to buy, as shown by previous researchers, but it also directly affects the effective purchasing behaviour, in terms of preference, cost and frequency of visits, and therefore, the level of profitability provided by each consumer.”

So how does effective commenting in turn establish consumer trust?

The more people regularly encounter your name in prominent blogs, the more insightful your comments are, and the more they will perceive you as an expert in your niche. That level of familiarity is often one of the greatest factors when you’re just starting establishing trust with your target readers.

Your opinion reflects the level of knowledge’s you hold and the amount of experiences you have about a certain topics. It allows the readers or even potential costumer a sneak peak of what they can expect from you, your brand and your site.

With time, practice and persistence you’ll be able to grow that level of trust people will associate whenever they hear your brand.

B. To Improve SEO and drive traffic back to your blog or website.

With all the latest Google update from Panda to Penguin and now Hummingbird, Commenting is shockingly still considered one of the most relevant techniques in creating backlinks necessary in ranking high for any search results.

But obcourse too much can be a bad thing. So here’s some friendly reminders.

Use your real name and picture if not you may be deemed a spammer.
Comment manually. Using automated tools might raise red flags to search engines that your manipulating their system causing you to be penalized or worse, your website being de-indexed.
Just take note to comment only on “QUALITY SITE” related to your niche.

Here’s a really nice video from Google’s head of Web Spam, Matt Cutts explaining the topic more. Also you can check this spectacular article by David Arnoux where they actually made this compelling case study about the effectiveness of commenting. I hope you enjoy it!

C. To Cultivate a strong long-lasting relationship with Industry Influencers

Aside from building trust, allowing you to cultivate strong long-lasting relationship with Key Influencers, whether they are in the top, middle, or low levels, is probably Effective Commenting strongest point.

By frequently commenting on their blogs will not only let you build a higher level of credibility needed before starting any brand promotion campaign but also give you a more concrete perspective of what motivates them, the topic they love to write, and the type of content their readers respond to, allowing you to craft a perfect pitch irresistible to your key Influencers. It’s probably a hundred times more likely Influencers will respond to your request if they already heard from you.

Connecting with industry influencers has a lot of perks as it allows you to “piggy-back on their success”. It allows you to tap into bigger streams of people who would expand your reach giving more traffic back to your site.

But bear in mind, you’re not the only one hungry for their attention. Instead asking “Muhammad” to move the mountain, first figure out how “Muhammad” can piggy-back on your success. Let them realize that your brand has value to them as much as they have value to you. Only then can both of you have mutual long-lasting relationship.

D. To improve one’s craft.

I have to admit that I don’t know everything about online marketing but commenting somehow help me improve my knowledge and perspective in many ways. You see due to my obsessive nature to give out the best in everything I do (in this case commenting) it allowed me to better understand my niche.

In every article I’ve read, every forum I’ve joined, every comment I’ve given, I try to read as much about the topic first so I could bring something new to the table, something useful for the readers. Time and time again it surprises me how this simple yet effective process allowed me to broaden my knowledge, my expertise and in turn earn respect in the web community I joined.

I also have to admit that this process was a pain in the ass at first.

I thought why make life miserable and just go with the flow, write what you feel and believe whatever I wrote is awesome hence it’s on ly inevitable that hordes of people will want to know me.

Then I woke up, not having a single person wanting to click the blue line under my name.

I then came across this research by Psychology Professor James Uleman of New York University, he said that “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, judgments are being made and impressions formed all the time. The impression you create may affect future opportunities, collaborations or other important matters.”

Opportunities do not happen merely of luck. More often than not, it is the result of your hard work and dedication for your craft. The more you bring your best foot forward, the more you and you brand will benefit from it in the long run.