Last week, Matt Cutts got the blogging community in an uproar over whether or not guest blogging was dead. (It’s not.) Actually, what Matt said was that guest blogging for “backlinks” was no longer going to be tolerated by Google and that we should be especially concerned with spammy links in guest posts intended for SEO. He cautioned us to only accept guest posts from trusted bloggers who we could vouch for. That got me thinking about the backlinks that are left in the comments of blogs that use the CommentLuv WordPress plugin.
What’s the Difference Between a DoFollow and a NoFollow Link?
Before we get started talking specifically about dofollow links on CommentLuv blogs, let’s take a quick look at what backlinks are and what the difference is between a DoFollow and a NoFollow link. First off, websites and webpages are connected using hyperlinks. There are three different types of links.
- Inbound links: links that point to your website from another website
- Outbound links: links on your website that point to other websites
- Internal links: links that point to other pages within your website
When it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), links can be either DoFollow or NoFollow. The difference between the two is that it’s possible to pass SEO strength, or PageRank through a DoFollow link while (in theory) that doesn’t happen when you use the NoFollow tag.
How Does WordPress Assign the DoFollow and NoFollow Attributes?
- WordPress automatically assigns the nofollow attribute to all user-submitted links (for example, in comments, the website URL and the comment).
- When you insert a link in WordPress pages, posts, widgets etc., they are by default dofollow (for example, a link to another website).
According to Matt Cutts, in this Google webmaster help video, the rel=”nofollow” tag means that:
PageRank won’t flow through that link as far as discovering the link, PageRank computation, all that sort of stuff . . .
In his video, Matt recommends leaving the internal links on your site (from one page to another) dofollow so that Googlebot can find those pages and the PageRank can flow. He goes on to say that you may want to add the nofollow rel tag to external links (for example those left in comments) because they are often left by spammers. He then goes on to suggest asking yourself if the comment has been left by a trusted user who has been around for a while. (Isn’t this what he suggested this week about accepting guest bloggers?)
Is the CommentLuv WordPress Plugin Right for You?
One feature that makes the CommentLuv and CommentLuv Premium (my affiliate link) plugins so popular is that by default, they allow do-follow backlinks in user comments. One of the biggest benefits of upgrading to the premium version is the ability to only enable the dofollow tag based on specific criteria. For example, you can only allow dofollow links based on the number of approved comments a person has or as an incentive for sharing your post on social media sites.
In the past year, there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not the benefits of CommentLuv outweighs the cons. There’s no disputing the fact that do-follow links attract spam. I know several well respected bloggers (such as Ileane Smith), who have switched from CommentLuv to the Google+ commenting system. I’ve even written a post myself about some of the pros and cons of the Google Plus commenting system. My biggest con to Google’s commenting system is that a user has to be logged on to Google Plus to comment.
Thankfully, my biggest concern about using CommentLuv was the amount of spam that I was receiving. However, recently, Andy Bailey (the author of CommentLuv) has created the Anti Backlinker WordPress plugin. Please note, that at this time, this plugin is only available to people who own a CommentLuv premium (CLP) license. (Although many of us have licenses that allow us to install CLP on all of the sites that we manage, we are only authorized to install Anti Backlinker on our own site.) I can attest that by aggressively tweaking the Anti Backlinker plugin, I have practically eliminated spam comments on my site.
Over to You:
What are your thoughts? Do you use the CommentLuv WordPress commenting plugin on your blog? If so, (and you’re using the premium version), do you have set criteria for having the links in your comments to dofollow? If you own your own premium license, are you using the Anti-Backlinker plugin?
One last question: Are you more likely to leave a comment on a do-follow CommentLuv enabled site than on one that isn’t? We’d love to hear from you.
About Sherryl PerryWelcome! If you're looking for help building an Internet presence that fits your needs and works for you, you're in the right place. I blog common sense articles about WordPress, social media and SEO. My goal is to help small business owners and entrepreneurs understand their core business. Together, we can develop and implement business strategies that make sense to you.
Hi Sheryl,
Well today i am searching comment luv enabled blogs list for creating some quality backlinks. So, i found this useful resource about comment luv.
You have shared an excellent information, bloggers definitely get benefits from it.
Keep writing 🙂
Mairaj
Personally? I think blogging was a lot more fun when people simply linked to good content that supported (or contradicted) their own posts – either because they liked it, found it interesting, or wanted to give a fellow blogger a little boost. Now it’s all about whether a link might suck link juice from a blog – feels a little selfish, anymore. Too commercial. So many blogs have become little more than infomercials. Is blogging dead? I’m starting to think it may be – looks like it peaked in 2008, and interest has been declining ever since, with a brief bump in blogging tips around 2010. It’s kind of a shame.
BTW, did you disable CommentLuv but forget to tell it? (I’m getting “API URL not found.” Hadn’t seen that error before! 🙂 )
I haven’t used comment luv and I am having a tough time understanding how do I insert my links here. I see no specific field to put my link in. Do I put it in the comment box instead, like this:
http://link here
I can’t even test it here as I get I warning that I don’t have gravatar. I do have gravatar, not sure why its doesn’t show up here.
Great share.
Found out a lot of interesting things through this blog
But still cofused. Does this mean that the backlinks we create using comment luv are no follow links?
Can someone help me out on this?
Moses Nueman recently posted..6 Best Methods to Create and Protect Your Passwords
Hi Moses,
I’m glad you’re finding my posts interesting. As for your question, by default, CommentLuv links are set to do-follow. In the free version, that option is all-or-nothing (meaning their either do-follow or no-follow).
In the premium version of CommentLuv, you have the ability to set criteria to discourage spammers. For example, links left in comments here on my blog are no-follow by default. It’s only after someone has left 10 comments, that their links are tagged do-follow. That has helped eliminate a huge amount of spam.
I continue to be an advocate of CommentLuv. I believe it’s a wonderful tool for someone who is trying to build a community. On the other hand, it does add a lot of work. Not only do you need to be diligent about monitoring comments, you also have to make sure that you check old links (to ensure that they’re not broken or that the domain hasn’t changed hands).
One thing that can get you into trouble quickly with Google is to not monitor those links. One thing that happens (over the years) is that some domains get abandoned and parked with registrars like GoDaddy. If you have an old comment that points to a parked domain, you could potentially get penalized for pointing to a spammy site. Yes. Google has penalized sites for having links that point to sites riddled with Google ads. Doesn’t seem fair does it?
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Thanks for dropping by and keeping the conversation going!
Sherryl Perry recently posted..How Safe Are Your Backlinks? #FridayFinds
Hi Sherryl,
CommentLuv plugin provides an added incentive for people to comment on blogs, it’s very simple, the commenter leaves a valuable comment and gets a backlink, this is a win-win situation for both the commenter and the blog owner.
I use commentLuv plugin on my blog (free version) and I have also noticed that a lot of people are likely to comment on a commentLuv enabled blog because of the backlink they will get. This is also a cause for concern because it attracts spammers but I still prefer it to other blog commenting system.
Obodo Charles recently posted..List Of Dofollow CommentLuv Blogs (Verified)
Hi Charles,
I’m glad to hear that the free version of CommentLuv meets your needs. It’s a wonderful plugin and the free version is a great option for many bloggers.
I do caution bloggers to be diligent about monitoring the sites that their comments are linking to. Google is much stricter now than they were years about about what they call “unnatural links”. It’s very easy to find yourself being penalized by Google’s algorithms. (The same applies for leaving links to our sites when we leave comments for other bloggers.)
I’ve gone into greater detail about what I mean in the post that I link to below. If you get a chance to read it, you may find it interesting. Meanwhile, thanks for taking the time to weigh in on this and I wish you continued good fortune with your blog.
~Sherryl
Sherryl Perry recently posted..How Safe Are Your Backlinks? #FridayFinds
I’d probably buy the premium version if it didn’t cost so much. Do you know if commentluv premium ever goes on sale? I’ve found coupon codes online, but I don’t see where I’m supposed to enter the coupon code.
Shelly recently posted..Easy Tater Tot Casserole
Hi Shelly,
It has been a while since Andy Bailey has offered CommentLuv Premium for a discount. Occasionally, some bloggers do obtain discount coupon codes for it. I believe that there is a box to enter promotion codes on the checkout screen. (At least, I remember there used to be one.)
To me, the primary reason for moving to the premium version is the ability to handle spam. There’s an impressive amount of settings that can be configured to help eliminate it. For those of us who have been targeted for backlinks, those features can be a lifesaver.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. If I do hear of a discount code, I’d be happy to email it to you.
Sherryl Perry recently posted..Commenting On Blogs â What Strategy Works for You?
Hey Sheryl,
I stumbled across this post while trying to decide whether to go Pro with CommentLuv or not. I’m still not sure, but this was a good read. 🙂 Thanks!
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