What is a good website comment? Advice for newbies! And a rant.
First of all, you need to understand the difference between comments and feedback.
Secondly, you need to give some detail about the topic of the post and actually sound interested in the topic.
A comment is about the topic of the post. If it is a dog food post, your comment should be about the dog food recommend or at least about dog food in general...such as, "I have been looking for a better quality dog food. I had not heard of this brand before but it sounds really nutritious and I think it would work well for my dog. I am curious to give it a try"...etc. etc. etc. I don't have a dog food post, this is an example.
You should not discuss the look of the site, the color of the font, the links etc. That is feedback, not a comment. If your "comment" gets deleted it may be because you are actually leaving feedback.
Don't start your post by saying. "I am not a dog person." If you say this right off the bat, it is obvious that you are not on the post as a legitimate searcher or interested visitor. It looks like you are a person there only because you were asked to leave a comment or hoping for a comment in return. You probably won't get a good comment in return because your comment will be considered poor and will probably just get deleted.
HOWEVER: people can leave good comments starting with "I am not a dog person" or "I don't have a dog", if they continue on to discuss the topic of the post as it relates to their friend's dog, child's dog, etc. I have many good posts that start with someone saying this was just the information they needed to pass on to someone close to them that had such a problem with their pet. It shows they are actually interested in the topic.
I am getting a ton of these comments that start out opening stating they are not interested in my topic at all and then just have one or two more sentences. I know they are trying since they say nice things like they learned something or they would pass my post on to those who are "dog people" (this is an example).
In site comments you are forced to leave a slightly longer comment. In the comment thread there is no such requirement but it is still good practice to leave a longer comment so it looks like you are actually interested! Please follow it!
Despite these problems I am trying to be patient and nice and leave comments in return. I still haven't decided whether I should delete the comments left on my site. I probably should based on advice I have seen here.
You are kind of wasting everyone's time. If your comment gets deleted you probably won't get a comment in return on your site.
Just an FYI for the new members who don't know.
Jessica
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I don't think I've ever made that mistake myself, since I kind of have that concern (of making sure it sounds like I'm interested in the topic, e.g. dogs, even if I don't have a dog). I mean, it's kind of common sense.
I found an interesting comment the other day when I was making a Site Comment on a website that was promoting WA. The comment was by someone I recognized as already being a WA member for a long time, yet his comment made it sound as if he discovered WA for the first time and that it sounded interesting and that he would probably join. Not honest, but well-meaning.
Yes, you always address the topic at hand. I agree. I don't pretend to be a newcomer when leaving comments on WA review sites. I prefer to be honest and say I am a member.
It's unfortunate how often this keeps coming up, but it really does bear repeating, so thanks for sharing.
I am lucky that I have never had to delete or turn down a comment, but I know many people who have. I know that it comes from a lack of understanding on the part of the person leaving the comment, but yes, it would be very frustrating to earn or buy credits to get comments, and then not be able to use them.
Here's hoping that this has reached a few people who will help spread the word.
Yes. I ended up approving them...I hope this run of comments comes to a close soon though and I can get the good ones again! I just got one good one today so hopefully we have moved on.
Right on point here Jessica. I myself got some comments that are not at all relevant to my post. I find it also frustrating to get one-sentence comments back.
Of course, I understand that it's difficult to comment on some topics you're not interested in that's why I also do not have a problem skipping posts that I don't know anything about.
Me too. If I can't leave a good comment, or it would take me a long time to do so, I will just skip it!
Good Morning Jessica,
Good point you made there. Sometimes you get a 1 line comment which is really too short. When I want to earn points I will have to leave a comment on sites which do not interest me at all so then it gets a bit difficult. I will do my best but if it gets too bad I will ask for an other site to comment on.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
I don't have any problem clicking the button to say I am not interested, or just refreshing the page to get a new one. It is probably not a good use of my time to struggle trying to comment on a post I have no interest in.
Thanks Taetske.
I added a paragraph above to clarify that there are many good comments I get from people who may say they don't have a dog (to use my example above...) but my post is just what they need to pass on to a family member or friend who does. They explain how their loved one has the same problem I address in my post and they are excited to see this solution and they will pass it on. That shows they are interested in the topic even they don't personally have a dog. As most of you know my site is actually about cats but you get the idea.
Being relatively new to this, I can understand what you are saying. I imagine it can get frustrating, but I don't see the benefit in eliminating comments, due to the interactivity in the eyes of google. But, then again, I'm fairly new to this.
Personally, I'll continue to follow the course as written by Kyle and Carson and deal with anything I perceive as "problem comments" on a per instance basis.
I will also keep your article in mind when leaving comments myself, and try to keep them honest and on-topic.
Thanks Jay. There are some successful members here who suggest deleting anything that is not a really good, on topic, in-depth comment. I do not fully understand the reasoning myself, hence my reluctance to delete them.
It is a good idea to stick to high quality comments in any case since you will be more likely to get high quality comments in return.
Hey Jessica!! I am new at this and you made some good points about comments. I do try to comment on topics I'm interested in and personally, I'd like to ask, why would someone post on something they aren't interested in? I know what you said up above but I don't believe that's what we are taught in the training. BTW, I don't think you're ranting it's great advice!
Thanks Shelley. I think some people hope to be a bit lazy and write a couple sentences so that it counts as a comment and then they can get a comment in return. They don't yet understand the value in high quality comments.
When you leave a great comment, the post owner will be more inclined to visit your site and leave a comment in return. That is just one benefit. It doesn't really pay to be lazy.
I know you know this from reading your profile!
Another benefit is that everyone else reading a great comment might be curious to click on your link and check out your site too, thereby bringing traffic and potential customers to your site.
Agree with your post, I don't ask for comments on my niche website anymore, I get frustrated having to disapprove comments, there should be a better filter in place so people only get websites they are interested in.
I know there is a filter but it doesn't seem to work properly, I chose only to comment on tech/internet marketing/sports/science and yet I still get websites to do with pets.fashion,self help etc, things I made clear I have no interest in.
Yes, we all should bow out of leaving a comment on anything we have no interest in. I agree the system seems lacking also.
@zidane786 You can now choose what you are interested in. But I think it will always come things up which you haven´t interest for, then you can push that button. And should do.
For me, personally, I have learned a lot in this area. I admit, I have not been great at comments, but I hope I am improving. I used to view the comment credit area, as simply that WA is feeding me posts, so I had better write a comment no matter what the subject, so I can earn a credit. Now I am taking a different approach. If this is something I don't know anything about, and can't write an engaging comment, I skip it. This has definitely taken some time, and some rejected comments. With the comment forum, I don't know that a lot of people put as much effort into comments, since there is no minimum criteria from WA, like in the comment credit area. It has certainly been a learning experience for me. This is a great reminder, thank you. As with my life, this is a work in progress and I am trying to get better.
I certainly wasn't referring to you! You left a detailed comment!
Yes, I skip many that I just don't know anything about or am not interested in. Thanks!
Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like it was directed at me, I didn't take it that way at all. I was just documenting my experience, and hoping someone else can gain from it. It is learning experience. It just kind of "clicked" with me recently, so it can take some time.
No, it's ok, I just wanted to make sure! I am intimidated by the whole feedback thing...I still haven't requested site feedback!
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SiteComments Tip #3: Don't Offer Design/Grammar/Site Feedback
Don't confuse the SiteComments platform with the SiteFeedback platform. You are offering people and engaging comment on their post, you are not critiquing their website. Comments like "nice site, you should fix your design, you have a spelling error, your theme is good, etc) are not appropriate.