The Difference Between Site Feedback and Site Comment With Examples

Hey folks, it's been a while since I've dropped a line here. But this one has been in the back of my mind for a while. I know the topic of site comments vs feedback has been addressed on a few occasions. But it seems that some people are still having some difficulty with understanding the difference.

It’s often frustrating for some of us when we submit a post for a comment and we get feedback. For that very reason I stopped using the site comment platform for a while. I just couldn’t take the frustration anymore.

So after what I thought was a reasonable time away from using the platform, I decided to give it a go again. Think you can hazard a guess as to what happened with the first post I submitted for a comment? Yep..., I got feedback.

Okay, honestly speaking, I think that some people genuinely don’t know the difference between the two. So I thought I'd put a spin on things by including an example of each to sort of help clear things up a bit. The examples are based on actual feedback and comments received, errors included. Cool? Just so you know.

Site feedback

Okay, when it comes to site feedback, that relates to you providing information about things like, website layout, colors, use of imagery, headings, even the font used etc. It becomes clearer when you look at the actual definition of feedback; information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement.”

Below is an example of feedback that fits the definition. Now this was actually left on one of the post I submitted for a comment.

“Wow, this was a great article! you gave a lot of advice that came from your own experience, that made it more personable and interesting. Your use of images was great, they were relevant and not overwhelming. the only thing I might change is to give a little more promotion to WA as an alternative. You did use the banners, but maybe a short paragraph towards the end about the help that's available at WA would peak some interest. Good job”

Now that’s feedback, because the person is providing information related to what they thought I did right and what they thought I could improve on. Hey, there is nothing wrong with that. But if you think about it, the feedback becomes irrelevant to the post, once you "use" the information. That's why it has no place on your website.

If you want to give someone feedback on their website, then you can always send them a PM, but it’s not something you’d post on their website.

You also may have noticed that with the feedback example, there isn’t anything related to the content of the article itself. Therein lays the difference.

Site Comments

When it comes to site comments, the focus is on the article itself. It’s your written expression, opinion, or reaction to the article/post you just read. Here are a few things you can do when making a comment on someone else’s website:

1. You can share your experience on the topic,
   
2. Agree or disagree with something the person wrote, or
3. Even ask a question about the product or something that stood out to you, or
4. Any combination thereof.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s just meant to give you a bit of insight. That being said, I’ve included two examples below of what comments can look like.

Comment Example #1

“I love this post.
You’re so right, in that running an online business is the same as running a bricks and mortar business- you’ll get out of it what you put in.
I started my blog about a year ago now, and learned everything the hard way. I can happily say, though, that I now have a sound foundation for my business and that it’s now starting to take shape. That said….it took me a year!”

Comment Example #2

“Really nicely put, I gained a lot from your article and it just goes to show that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Facebook ads are great of recently, I’ve been contemplating using them to boost my posts.

After reading this, I am going to try them out, also do you know what the ROI is per ad?”

In both cases, the comments are related to some aspect of the article. Nothing about the use of images or website layout, etc. was included in these comments. In other words, there was no feedback.

It helps to read the article before you make that comment on someone else’s website. It also helps if you put yourself in the position of being a consumer who was looking for said information.

So, that's it from me. I hope this little blurb was helpful and of course feel free to comment. Pun intended. :-)