Yes, Me Laying On Railroad Tracks!
Same Old Topic - Site Comments UGH!
I know that many members here are tired of reading the blog posts about getting awful comments that we use our credits for meaning we have put in our time and paid for these credits we are requesting for our own websites.
Even since certain members have found out they can make a little extra money by doing the comments things have gone down hill quickly.
Prior to WA paying members for comments once they reached 50 comments and became certified commentors members could wait up to a couple of weeks for comments.
This did bring about complaints waiting on the comments but back then members took the time to read the whole post and give a detailed comment that applied to the post correctly.
Well, tonight I was in need of some comments and against my better judgment I went ahead and requested them to keep my Site Health at 100% where I like it to be.
Unfortunately, I ended up with comments on 4 of my posts (another big mistake on my part) all from the same person and although they were not bad they were very short and basically not relevant to what I had requested.
A Comment That Is Fantastic
Out of the twelve comments that I received I asked the person that left the only comment which I have copied and pasted below if I could use it here as an example.
MEMBERS please take the time to note how this member took the time to completely read and gave such a comment that I am so grateful for.
The post was a review for "Heyoya - it is a new way of leaving voice comments on websites"
"The concept that Heyoya allows is an attractive one for me, I can see how comments, as they have been used for years on websites, are useful, if limited. Means to communicate with your audience. These day's internet users have become more sophisticated as have their expectations for the user experience when they stop by a website.
Being able to simply record your comment is faster, more user-friendly, and likely will result in more feedback for your website and posts. I have a daughter that uses WhatsApp, but refuses to type much, rather trading short recordings - it is more convenient. This is where the kids and many people are at today.
The Heyoya tool kind of reminds me of a mix between a full-on Messenger widget and the old comment section which is still used widely on many sites. I would be interested in doing some tests to see which is more effective, as in placing both and then asking for user feedback.
Also, this brings up the question of the search engines and how they evaluate the content that may be added to posts from readers and author replies/recordings. I would hate to lose the SEO boost, no matter how small that may help if the search engines do not factor in what is added to Heyoya...
The last concern I would have is that I have 25 websites between e-commerce niches and the making money online niche. Is there an unlimited website option for the plugin? That would make it affordable even if slightly more per month, as paying $7 to $8 per month per site would cost too much.
Good post and a good tip for the Heyoya plugin. This is an innovation whose time may have come! I will give it a try..."
I am happy that I received this one comment and the member who wrote it and took the time was well worth what I spent in credits for all the comments that I did get!
How Do You Leave Comments?
With as many members we have writing blog posts on this topic over the past four to six months you would think that by now whoever is giving out comments for the sake of making money would somehow understand that eventually all comments are going to get disapproved sooner or later that are substandard.
For those of you out there that take the time to read the posts like I do and take the time to leave valuable comments as per requested I am so sorry that I have done another post about the same topic once again.
What I wish I could do is send this blog post to the members that have left the three short lines of never heard of this until I read your article very informative will need to check into this thanks for your time in writing the article.
In Closing
I get emails daily from WA in reality make that all day long about new training someone has created or comments to my blog posts.
Why do these members not take the time to train in doing Site Comments and Site Feedback once they get banned from leaving comments they will be asking questions and whining we can count on that.
It is now decision time do I approve any of the other comments or disapprove them I am going to have to think about this for a while and calm down before I go back in!
Alright finished with my rant and terribly sorry to have to put all the members through this once again.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated I am just plain worn out with dealing with the issue!
Please let me know what you all think in comments could use your help,
Susan
Recent Comments
124
While I haven't had a ton of experience with Site Comments on WA, I do know exactly what you're referring to in WA. I also regularly participate in Facebook blogger groups where people are required to leave comments on ten blogs in the thread. While many are indeed very thoughtful, it is frustrating to get the "great post really enjoyed this" comments. I get that time is limited, but I put a ton of time and energy into leaving thoughtful comments on others' posts so I expect the same in return.
Kate,
Thank you, and I do believe this comes with experience here
in WA as well - but I do not even use the Site Comments
unless absolutely necessary for Site Health.
Another thing people do not understand is these comments
are seriously part of the SEO for websites and generic
comments are not helping anyone especially if members
are going to get feed up with them they are all going to
end up disapproved.
Thank you and I am still considering what I am going to do,
Susan ::))
I am so pleased you posted this.
That was an excellent comment that you shared.
As for the others if they are not up to scratch I think you have a duty (as we all do) to disapprove them. How else will they learn?
I stay away from site comments because of the short comments that clearly show no interest and are only there to keep their numbers up.
Lawrence,
Thanks so much, I would but when my Site Health drops
below that 100% mark, my OCD kicks in and I then break
down and get the comments to get it back up.
And are not comments part of SEO? As a newcomer
to this, I need all the help with my SEO that the comments
afford me.
Believe me, if I did not need them I would not use the Site
Comments area at all - I spend time reading a post looking
for the author's name so I can write a very good comment
then when I need them I end up with generic ones and this
comment that I shared is glorious so great I had to share!
Thank you for the insight to possibly disapprove the rest,
Susan
I just have to add that I don't even look at Site Health. It measures things that only apply to WA such as Site Feedback as well as more standard measures of success. I have never used Site Feedback so my Site Health will probably never be 100%. I just don't worry about it. There is too much to do to worry about it.
I do think getting comments is important though. I am not suggesting you stop getting comments since they really help SEO. I just don't worry about Feedback I guess. I should but I just haven't gotten around to it.
I am sure you will benefit from carefully monitoring your site health though overall!
Oh Susan, I'm so tempted to say "never heard of this until I read your article very informative will need to check into this thanks for your time in writing the article."
But it really did speak to me.
When I comment, I take the time to read the whole blog post, then I close it and write my comment, addressing the things that stood out for me and are therefore in the forefront of my mind. This also often means that I've learned something from reading the article.
I take the trouble to find the person's name so that I can include it in the closing thank you paragraph.
And while I can't claim to have left a comment as long as the one you included as an example, I always try to write around 5 paragraphs.
You've made me wonder if I should be a bit harsher about disapproving comments. I've only ever disapproved one. It was off topic and was mainly a bitch about WA!
Loved the railway track pic. Where did you find it? Or is it really you and you got someone to photograph you in all your dark despair. Just kidding.
Phil,
If I could have had someone take a photo me laying on the
tracks believe me I would have done it - we have a railroad
right across the river from me, that still runs about every 4
hours!
But considering it is cold and snowy out I would need to pass
do not want to leave the nice warm house!
Apparently, I need to be less critical according to comments
that I received below and begin to accept things that I have
no control over so these last 10 comments will either be
disapproved or possibly a few amended to help my SEO.
I feel guilty changing something someone else has written
but in all fairness, we are paying for these comments with
our own time and for us time is money.
If my Site Health was not in need of these I would not have
requested them in the first place so I am stuck between a
rock and a hard place at the moment and need to do what
is right for the website, best case scenario in my book.
Thank you for leaving me a response much appreciated,
Susan
PS I do the same looking for the author's name so that the
comment is personalized for the website owner!
Jessica,
Stop you are letting everyone know we are in the
upper age bracket now SSSHHHH - ROFL
Susie
Yeah. I am 38 and I am old apparently...no-one I know ever writes thank you notes anymore (or even bothers to SAY thank you sometimes) and it really bothers me. I give presents to friend's kids (who are close enough to call me "Auntie") and neither the kids nor their parents bother to say anything. Of course there isn't much choice but to bring a present when you are invited to a birthday party!
Jessica,
I am well over that age but sure wish I could go back LOL
And yes the manners we were taught even at your age are
long gone in today's world, I think I was one of the last to
raise my children with them and the youngest is only 3 years
younger than you.
They were raised with manners and used them I receive to
this day about what nice young men they are. Thank you, Lord,
because around mom they sure do not use them LOL
Susie
Cold and snowy out. Mmm... 29 Celsius here (around 85 Fahrenheit) with a cool breeze off the ocean, great beaches and a water temperature around 20 Celsius. Paradise.
Phil,
I am very jealous right now I would love to be
lying on the beach with my laptop or sitting on
the deck with a cold glass of wine enjoying the
ocean - good thing I am a good girl and do not
curse LOL
Susie
Three of my four children are older than you and not only are they unfailingly polite and appreciative, but their children are as well. I'm well pleased with all of them.
They're not long gone, Marley. I have 3 sons and a daughter, 3 granddaughters and a grandson and can confidently say that ALL of them are unfailingly polite and appreciative and generally nice people.
It depends on how they are brought up.
Phil,
Two of my grandchildren were adopted thank the Lord
and yes I will admit the adoptive parents have raised
them correctly with manners and being polite in every way.
My comment was geared more toward the way most of
today's youth are brought up, and I seriously in my heart
feel sorry for them.
I know of a little girl who is only 6 years old that is treated
worse than I treat my dogs, but there is nothing I can do breaks
my heart. And her mother has no idea why she is selfish and
has no manners or knows how to act correctly.
Susie
Susan sorry about all the negativity but sometimes there must be a little rain in your life to help you become the beautiful person you were meant to be.
Robert,
You are such a doll, come along and make me smile
at a time like this really?
Thank you so much and yes this just is frustrating,
Susan ::))
Susan, I am sorry that you are frustrated with the comments that you are receiving. I try my best to leave good comments.
Yet, have you ever looked at the comments that people receive naturally on Youtube posts and top bloggers blogs? Many of them are hideous.....
Personally, I would think it would be very strange if I didn't see more low quality comments on someone's website than I saw quality comments.
If I saw only long ones like most people want here via WA, and like I tend to write, I don't think I would trust the comments at all. We don't want to look like we are paying for comments after all. :)
When I am seeking comments, I hope that overall they would be very similar to what I get in the real world. Granted, most real world comments are only 2-3 sentences.
Try not to worry too much. Low quality comments are a part of life in general. Relax and let people be people.
Sondra,
You might be right in the length of the comment and no they all do
not need to be great like the one I did receive but short choppy
sentences that really give no good SEO content?
Members need to know that comments are part of our SEO
and this is why we have our Site Comment platform here at
WA to up our SEO.
I do not care if they leave a 3 sentence comment as long as
it is thought out and well written - sure we can edit them but
I am like Jessica and feel that is being dishonest and cannot
bring myself to do that - I will correct grammar or spelling that
is all Google is the worst when it comes to having proper
English, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
Thanks for letting me know that you have read such
written comments in other places,
Susan :)
I've also encountered the same problem (and have witnessed a TON of pretty crappy comments on folk's sites as I am reviewing them to leave my own comment).
Now, my comments aren't usually as long as the fine example you have shown above...but I do make sure I always do three things:
1. Read enough of the page to understand what it is about.
2. Create some kind of relatable introduction. Something that shows I came to the website because of my search results...that I care about this topic. (NOT - I don't like cats! Even if I didn't like cat, I would never start a comment with something that goes totally against the post of the website)
3. ASK QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO THE POST!
Honestly, the last is the most important in my opinion. REAL PEOPLE leave comments to share ideas, but to also have a dialog and ask questions.
I feel like if I can leave a comment that is 3-4 paragraphs with a couple of good questions in there, I have given the author some blog gold. Instead of me writing 7 paragraphs on what I think...the author can address my questions in as much detail as they like.
What do you guys think? Are those three things a recipe for a good comment? Maybe there is something I'm leaving out that would add more value? (You all see what I did there? I asked lots of questions!) :)
Kim,
I have an idea - we all need to get together and have a
separate platform for those of us who do not mind reading
and giving comments that actually boost a websites SEO!
You have all the ingredients for a seriously great comment
I always try to ask a question but sometimes there is that
is not checked off so I do not ask only because they did
not request that as part of the comment.
How do you leave a nice paragraph comment on a post
that someone requests comment on with spelling errors,
grammar that is terrible, and in all honesty stinks, but
somehow I always manage to write a paragraph on those
ones as well.
Being content writers for a website you would think that
leaving a simple comment would not be so difficult but
over the past 4 months or so this has become a huge
issue - I am so sorry but I think that I have made up my
mind finally to disapprove the other comments that do
not give my site any love.
Thank you so very much for helping me on this,
Susan :)
Hmmm...maybe I should put my software engineering degree to work and solve this problem! ;)
I'm totally open to talking about how we can make "quality" comments happen. I'll keep an eye on this thread and see what others have to say.
Hang in there Susan!
This has been an issue for as long as the comment feature has been available, but it bears repeating. Please put some effort into your feedback/comment, it helps everyone when we all do that...
I actually enjoy reading the varied posts and providing some feedback. At times, it can take a little creativity, as the post is extremely short.
There have been occasions when my comment is longer than the post! In this case, I try to add in my own experiences or perhaps expand on the original subject...
Bottom line is that it takes just a little more time to do a comprehensive comment than just adding in a few words or sentences to meet the minimum length of a comment.
Those that are using the comment feature for it's earning potential only will soon find themselves barred from making comments because they are not following the established guidelines...
So although over time this issue will correct itself to a degree, I do understand the frustration of getting a totally unsatisfactory comment until the ban arrives for the person...
On the other hand, I have received more than the requested comments for comment requests, so that does make up for the instances of less desired/unacceptable comments somewhat...
BTW, this is the first comment I have made on any post from the WA internal blog posts in about a year. Lots happening in my life, as in everyone's, I am looking forward to getting back here more...
Cheers all and all the best for 2019! It is going to be a great year, I just know it! : )
Dave,
I was reading some of your comments on your profile -
welcome back it is good to have you back at WA.
I would appreciate if we could follow each other I think
that I can learn from you possibly some of the small
things that I might be missing from others ::))
Thank you so much for leaving me use your comment
on my blog post, this means so much.
Thank you,
Susan :)
I agree Dave! I missed you! I am so glad to see you back here along with your always thoughtful and thorough comments!! I checked your profile a few times to see if you were back.
Jessica
Hi Again, Susan...
First, an aside...
In the first paragraph of my comment, there should have been a comma after "...if limited[,] means to..." Sorry about that, bad eyes and operator head-space... : )
Back to the subject at hand...
I have followed you, no issue...I am in the middle of standing up a brand new LLC in Northern Minnesota at the moment and we are going to funnel the business activity through that base...
For that reason, which involves a litany of taskings, and more, my time will likely continue to be somewhat limited here. However, I was an Ambassador and understand how much effort you are devoting to the community.
Bottom line...
You can drop me a DM anytime, I see I have a bunch unopened over the past year! Perhaps I can catch up slowly on these...I will do the best I can to help you and others...
You have taken this online business by storm I see, and are doing well. Congrats for that, and congrats on the Ambassador position as well!
It is going to be a great year! Good luck to us all...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Dave,
Thank you and I understand how life gets in the way with
working and trying to do WA so I will keep in mind that a
PM is in order when I should need assistance.
Good luck with all you are working on outside of WA,
and I have Grammarly installed it caught your mistake
so it has been corrected. LOL
Susie:)
Hi, Jessica!
Good to see old friends here...I hope you and your husband are doing OK? Are you affected by this crazy shut-down thing so many are living with at the moment?
Me...I am surviving, always challenges. Last year t was my business partner who passed from cancer, now I have Stage 2 skin cancer hehe...
Trying to get things settled so the business can continue if something happens while staying positive that I will beat that cancer (skin cancer, a good one to have????)...
In the meantime, building the business as well, lots happening and I am staying involved/involving my family now in a number of ways.
There are silver linings in everything, you have to play the game with the hand you are dealt. I am doing that, and hope everyone here feels and does the same.
Before I get accused of hi-jacking this thread (which addresses a good issue) I will depart...Meanwhile, all the best to you and yours, and to all WA'ers for the new year, and so nice to 'talk' again! Take care...
Dave : )
I sent you a PM earlier. Yes, that is at least a better one to have! I wish you didn't have it though.
I will leave further discussions for other places but in short:
No, the shutdown is not affecting us too much since we both work for State Government.
We are mostly affected by the huge 7.0 earthquake here Nov. 30th and the thousands of aftershocks, several of which have be 5.0. We have had some expensive damage from that to our personal property and our 4-plex. Plumbers, broken water valves, my husband's computer, our aquarium and tons and tons of damaged sheetrock. We have not had an inspection yet so we are hoping none of it is structural.
Other than that life is pretty normal except that we now manage a 6-plex as well as our own 4-plex. The 6-plex is in need of tons of repairs and has been a never ending project.
So, therefore, my websites are my 3rd job. My regular job has been very, very busy this year to the point I have had to come in on weekends due to oil companies needing lots of water this season. So, I have not made as much progress as I would like on my online businesses but they are still growing and I make a profit now.
I am sure I will be seeing you around!
Thanks!
I feel your pain.
Not only do we have to deal with the poor quality of comments in the platform, but the platform itself sucks.
I see incentives for commenting like the 50 comments to become certified or 10 comments in 24 hours to boost my own requests.
I can maybe comment on 2 or 3 websites and then the WA system tells me there are no more comment requests in the queue. I check back several times a day and maybe get a total of 3 to 4 websites I can comment on in a 24 hour period.
This entire system is flawed and broken. The saddest part is that no one that has the ability to change this seems to care.
What can we do?
Thanks for sharing. I think this is a pain point for most of us.
All the best,
~e
Eric,
The old platform was slow in producing the comments which
I agreed with but dealing with the comments I get now is just
so annoying - even members who have been here long enough
to know what they are doing leave crappy comments.
WA system is the best anyone is ever going to find for the
training if you take the time and apply what you learn, but
some parts are so hard to deal with so we can reach our
goals - and comments are a part of this.
I am still undecided and trying to calm down with the
comments left but I know eventually I will have to deal
with them.
Thank you so much for at least giving me an idea,
Susan :)
Hi Susan,
Sorry, I do not have much in the way of a solution for you. I am struggling with this as well.
You mention "the old platform" ... I am having these issues with the current platform. I gather the old platform was worse.
Have they launched a new platform? Maybe that is why there are so many issues.
I wonder if I am using the correct one?
As far as comment quality. I have seen so many places where guidance is given from the platform emphasizing "good comment quality".
If you reject these poor quality comments, do you get your Community Credits returned to you? ... or are they gone forever?
~e
I can't offer any advice Susan but I totally agree. I have the same problem.
I always read the whole page before leaving a comment and I would never write something like "I have no interest in this but great site". I get these kinds of comments quite often. Or the proverbial comments on my cat posts that start with "I don't like cats..." Yeah. Helpful.
I still get many good comments but there are certainly many that I struggle to decide if I should disapprove or edit. I really hate the idea of editing another person's comment however. I feel like it is dishonest and I either approve it or reject it and move on.
I know you are more of a dog person but I am sure you would not like a comment on a dog site that started "I don't like dogs..." since it would not seem like it was coming from a genuine visitor.
If I actually dislike something I don't leave a comment on that post unless I have something positive and engaging to say.
Jessica,
I realize what you are saying in the beginning when I first
started at WA I probably left some crappy comments myself.
But after you have been here a month or two then you
should be able to leave a good relevant comment for
members who are in their right paying for them.
Thank you so much for trying to help me I am still a little
irate and confused on what to do trying to calm down so
I can get back to doing those comments GRRR.
Thanks so much sweetie,
Susan :)
I really do understand how you feel!
I got some comments (and emails) from another member yesterday on one of my WA posts. They asked in an email how I made any money since they looked at my sites and saw my sites get "no traffic"! I replied as calmly as I could that my sites do indeed get traffic so I am not sure what they were referring to.
They replied back that they used some program or site (I didn't bother to look it up) to look up my websites and it shows I get NO traffic. It felt like this person was calling me a liar. I realized it may be that this person is not an Native English speaker and may not mean it the way it sounded. Maybe they are really trying to understand how this all works I told myself. So I replied again that perhaps you need to pay to see the full results of whatever this program was they were using or maybe you have to be the owner of the site to see the results. I have no idea but I told them my site gets about 1,000 visitors per month. They have not replied a forth time...yet.
I was not referring to you Susan! I think you may have said "I am more of a dog person" but that is different than saying "I hate cats" like some of the comments I have received! I have some dog related posts so your comments were fine.
Jessica,
I remember that comment - please do not think that I am
hurt by the fact you disapproved the comment you were
correct in doing so - my only defense is that I was so new
to WA and leaving comments it was a poor choice of
words for a cat site - I really love all animals and would
never let anyone harm or let a cat starve - but yes, I am
a dog person LOL
Thank you for being understanding with me back then I
do appreciate it,
Susie ::))
Oh, and for that email - alert Carson to that member
we are having some very strange things going on inside
WA lately and this is highly inappropriate by WA
standards.
I still don't know if they really are a new person who is just learning how everything works. If that is the case then I would hate to get someone in trouble for asking questions.
It was strange though since they just insisted their program said I get NO (their capitalization) traffic.
It they keep it up I will report them.
Jessica,
Do you have the profile? If you do would you mind
sharing? And the date they joined is right on the
profile picture so this will tell you that. New or not
they have no right to look at your traffic or call you
out about it.
I know you are going to think I am overprotective with
WA and members who I know are faithful to the
platform, Debs has taught me well when I look at these
profiles and what to look for when people are out to
scam our system.
Susie
See more comments
What about people who come on our websites that are not connected to WA, what so ever, and they leave comments according to their own wishes, they comment on whatever they want. We can't go back to them and say, oh! would you mind changing your comment on my website so that it will look better!
I'm sorry your website is not as good as you would like, I know how frustrating that can be because I have not, as of yet seen the color you have worked hard to achieve! I'm still in the pumpkin color and hope that I can achieve the same color you have, that would be great! however, I'm not going to put my head on a railroad track (of course I don't think you would carry that out, obviously) I guess what I'm trying to say, is be content with what you have done. You've done great at internet marketing.
Sincerely
David W.
David,
I see you have been with WA for some time now and would
think that your knowledge would include that the comments
we pay for through the Site Comment area have an effect
for the SEO on our websites.
The problem is when new members are leaving comments
they are generic and rushed and you can tell!
I take it you do not use the Site Comment area so this does
not have much bearing with you.
Thank you for reading and responding to my blog
and I appreciate your input but remember one thing no
matter where that comment is coming from within WA
or from someplace on the other side of the world we do
have the power to disapprove and trash it ::))
Thank you,
Susan
Hi David - you're absolutely right! We have no control over what outside visitors say.
But the difference is we sre PAYING for these comments from WA members and have a right to expect a certain standard, don't you think? :-)
As for unsuitable outside comments - there's the Bin! :-)
Ian
That's true, I think I (at least to a degree) I can understand Your frustration. Have a great day!